Team Rookie (RWKY)
by WhichOneIsWill
Summary: The World of Remnant is a big place, and not all of it is friendly. While Blake remains loyal to the White Fang - either unable or unwilling to see the evil it's become - young Kassidy Smith is thrown headfirst into a combat academy with the rowdiest and strangest bunch of kids she's ever met. Her skills might have been enough in the past - but not anymore. AU, non-SI.
1. Introduction: Khaki Teaser

**Teaser: Khaki**

 _When in the depths of despair, the only way is forward._

 **AN: Welcome to my first attempt at any sort of creative writing. I enjoy watching RWBY, and my imagination can come up with some ludicrous scenarios from time to time, so I decided to put… keyboard to Word document? and see how others gauged the stories I can come up with.**

 **First things first, this is going to be more or less a rewrite of RWBY, with my own OC (not a self-insert) taking the place of Blake. I'll be focusing most of my effort into filling in the gaps between the episodes, although the episodes themselves will also be making appearances. The first few chapters, specifically, will be focused on events during the first eight episodes.**

 **There will be plenty of time where there isn't heart-pounding action. I consider story to be at least as important as action. There will be exposition. The story will be written mostly from third person limited. Though viewpoints differing from the OC's will be used as needed to help the story along, this is very much a story of her viewpoint and experiences as she goes through the world and happenings of RWBY.**

 **Finally, for legal jargon/ass covering, for those of you who are too dense to figure it out on your own, I don't own RWBY, Rooster Teeth does, blah blah blah. Seriously, apparently some people can't figure that out on their own.**

 **This is a rewrite of the original Introduction.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

"And you're sure there's no way I can sneak in? Do I really need to kick in the front door in this piece of garbage?"

A lean, dark blonde haired girl looked up from assembling her ramshackle armor. Covered in bruises and scars, and with a look of not eating enough showing through her ripped jeans and tank top, she took a look at the computer screens showing blueprints of the building in question.

"Hey, I'm the one that got these blueprints, remember? Of course there's no way to sneak in. What, did you not do a good job putting that discount iron man suit together?"

The girl scowled at the source of the robotic voice – a black, oversized tablet computer that looked more like an all-in-one PC without the stand. Plugged into some monitors and the local network, the computer was a technological marvel, built from stolen tech by the girl herself and housing none other than the artificial intelligence program that served as her best friend.

"You know I'm complete garbage at forging metal. Remember how long it took me to make ammo that didn't misfire? Not to mention that I'm dubious about the bulletproof properties of melted down scrap."

"Relax, Kassidy. You made it an inch and a half thick, right? The guards only have standard issue gear. An inch and a half of scrap should do well enough to protect you."

"Should?"

"If I were you, I'd worry less about that and more what happens if you don't stop the experiment. You do know what the Big Rip is, right?"

"Look, Bob, just because I'm not a theoretical subatomic particle physicist doesn't mean I'm not smart." Kassidy, satisfied that her makeshift armor was as good as it was going to get, then made another check of her gear. Her rifle, an M1 Garand, was a family heirloom seeing as her great-great-grandfather used it in World War II. Her sidearm, a 1911, was her father's whenever he was in the army. A bulletproof vest, frayed to the point where it wasn't quite obvious it could do its job, had pockets stitched to its front to give her easy access to all her extra rifle ammunition. Her gigantic hiking backpack, which held the remainder of her possessions, was off in the corner.

As she was checking her equipment, she talked more to her computer. "So, just to be clear, they open their impossible wormhole generator machine thing, don't have enough stabilizer fluid, and it destroys the universe as we know it. Because some dumbass dropped a zero and nobody caught it."

"More or less. The test starts in twenty minutes, so I'd advise getting your butt in gear."

With the final encouragement from her computer, she decided to pull her vest on and start strapping on armor. First were the armored greaves, covering her legs. Next up were the breastplate and lower torso armor. Before continuing, she got everything into her backpack and moved to Bob.

"Alright, are you all set up and ready to be packed away?"

"Virus implanted. I now have backdoor access to their local network. Everything else I should be able to manage on the Internet."

Unplugging the gigantic tablet, the girl stuffed it into her backpack and slung it on her shoulders. Next up was the armor covering her arms, though she didn't put on the gauntlets. Reaching for the helmet and snapping it into place, the HUD she built in flickered to life. _Metal forging I might not be good with, but computers… that I know. Good to know that still works as it should._ As she pulled on the gloves, she asked a question she had already asked several dozen times. "So, remind me yet again why we can't tell them they fucked up their math and need to not do the test?"

Her computer, now talking out of her earpiece, was not amused. "Well, gee, why don't we start with how they wouldn't take the word of a teenage girl over however many scientists failed to notice an arithmetic error? Oh, and from there we can go to how you're the most wanted person in the country!"

"Hey, that second one was a setup and you know it. Not my fault someone wasn't happy with how much power their elected position gave them."

"Perhaps we should focus less on talking and more on stopping things from going real bad?"

"You're the one with the self-driving box truck turned battering ram. Whenever you're ready, Bob." Her temporary staging area started moving, as the computer did as he was told. Grabbing her rifle from its sling on her backpack, she grabbed a railing with her other gauntleted hand as she felt the truck accelerate quickly, then slam into a wall. Wasting no time, she yanked the door of the truck up and stepped out into the mess room they had planned their assault to begin in.

Immediately to her left, as she turned, were a quintet of workers who were trying to get out of the way. They were all shot dead before they could leave the room. _Sorry folks. Wrong place, wrong time._ Further left, two guards were failing at the whole 'aiming' deal, a problem which she did not have. One more shot to someone running across the room, and she swapped the clip for a fresh one of eight. Swinging around to the far side of the truck, she dropped three more guards.

"Alright, which way to the generator room?"

"Left, then third right. Also, they're panicking and starting the test now. T minus five minutes before the process is irreversible."

Sprinting through the halls and shooting whoever got in her way, the armor proved to be up to task after all, and she was damn glad she made it. No time for stealth, no time for subterfuge. If she wanted any chance at all, she needed to blitz her way to the lab as quickly as possible, which meant eating bullets. The scrap held, at least well enough.

"I just got the power cut to the building. Shutting off the generators should kill the experiement. Seventh left down this hallway. Three minutes thirty, you're cutting it pretty close."

Ripping the door open, she did indeed find several electric generators continuing to power the facility. She hurriedly started smashing them, reasoning that the only time brute force didn't work was when you didn't use enough brute force.

As she got to the last one, though… the power stayed on. "Talk to me Bob, what's going on?"

"They just activated another set of generators in the lab itself. Ninety seconds. Out the door, third right, second left, first right. If you can find explosives, that'll be the fastest way."

Almost as if on cue, two more guards burst into the room she was in. She gunned them down, but not without getting pelted with lead. The armor still held, but it wasn't clear for how much longer it would do so. Miraculously, these guards happened to have grenades on them. She clumsily got them up as best as she could, and started sprinting for the lab itself.

Bursting down the doors, she chucked the grenades at the portal before bringing her rifle up to find there were no guards in the room. Scientists looked up from their screens and positions, staring at the metal monstrosity that had just entered. The next three seconds happened in slow motion, as the grenades flew right up to the portal… bounced off the side support, and exploded a few feet too far to destroy the device. She threw them too hard. All of a sudden, a small green disc appeared in the middle of the apparatus, humming and slowly growing in size and energy.

"What is the meaning of this?" An oriental, probably Chinese, voice called from her side. Kassidy's rifle dropped from her hands, her mouth agape underneath the suit. _I failed again. I failed. I fucking failed. And it won't just be my family that pays this time. Every family is going to die. Because of me._

Bullets impacting against the back of her helmet brought her back to reality. Twisting around and killing a trio of guards, Kass looked around at the scientists. The voice from earlier asked her the same question. _They did this. Their complete incompetence killed everyone._ Rage overriding thought, she barred the door shut. Then she executed the nearest scientist. The room turned into a panicked shooting gallery.

After a few minutes of venting her anger, she cornered the last scientist. Rather than scared, he almost seemed resigned. "Let me guess, this is about the stabilizer fluid?"

In shock, Kassidy lowered her rifle and blinked behind her mask. "Yes, that's why. And now you're about to kill everybody."

As soon as she spoke, his eyes widened, and his jaw tried to plant itself on the floor. _This is an odd reaction._ It took him a moment to regain the power of speech. "Smith? Kassidy Smith? Is that you?"

It was Kass' turn to pick her jaw up from off the floor. "You know me?"

"I do. And it appears you don't know me. Hmm… well, it appears the experiments were a complete success after all."

Her patience was running out quickly. "What experiments?"

The scientist, a middle aged German man with a comical handlebar mustache, stepped to a workstation and turned on the computer. "After all these years, I never thought we'd get the chance to meet again. Such a shame, what happened to you."

"We haven't met before." It was true, the gunslinger didn't remember seeing this man before.

"Only proof that my procedures went perfectly."

"Your procedures?"

He looked up from his computer. "Oh, where are my manners? Especially considering you don't recognize me." He walked over and shook her armored hand. "I am Klaus Schmidt, genetic engineer. I know, I know, what's a genetic engineer doing working on a wormhole generator? That's an excellent question, and that is because – " The man was interrupted from his monologue by the portal hissing angrily, spurts of radiation coming from the green disc which had grown in size substantially. "Oh dear. That is not good. It appears we have no time for introductions. We don't have long if we're to survive."

"Survive? You're tearing apart the fundamental nature of the universe. There's a reason some things aren't to be messed with."

"OUR universe," he corrected. Bob let out an impressed comment about how they actually did it, but the scientist didn't hear. "It works. We have done a terrible thing, but there can be salvage from it. Because it works. We opened a doorway. An opening to a new universe."

Kassidy thought momentarily. "So then we're killing two universes, am I hearing this right? Since they're both connected now."

Klaus shook his head. "The wormhole will collapse before damage is done to the other universe. Come here." He scurried back to his workstation, and hurriedly plugged a hard drive into the computer.

After moving several terabytes worth of files onto it, he unplugged it and handed it to the armored girl. "I have a lot of explaining to do to you, and no time to do it in. That hard drive is encrypted, an unfortunate circumstance that I don't have time to remedy. But my explanation is there. Along with all of your data."

"My data?"

The scientist smirked. "Dear girl, did you really buy the story that one or two simple mutations were what allowed you to survive almost anything? Or did you already forget that I'm a genetic engineer?"

She narrowed his eyes at him. Kassidy knew instantly what he thought he was referring to. Something that was absolutely impossible. Genetic engineering on that scale… the technology didn't exist for it, first off. And she would know if she was some artificial freak grown in a test tube. If she was, then how did her mother die in childbirth?

"You don't believe me," he said with a fallen face. "We only have ninety seconds of stabilizer fluid left, and I can't shut down the machine at this point. Take this, as well." He shoved another hard drive into her backpack. "I will not let it be said that I was not prepared. That hard drive has our history stored on it. As unbiased as I could find. You need to go, Kassidy. Go and make sure our story is told."

"And what makes you think I give a damn what you want?"

"You don't. But you do give a damn about what you want. And what you want is to not die. I gave you too great a survival instinct for you to simply accept your fate." Klaus sighed and buried his hands in his face. "It's strange. So many mistakes, and the only regret I have is that I will be unable to see what my greatest creation is truly capable of."

"I can give you a hint." She finished the sentence by executing the man in his seat. She'd had heard enough of his lunatic rambling. Still, more data never hurt anyone. Shoving the hard drives into her backpack, the portal suddenly quivered.

"Thirty seconds. I'd advise getting your big metal butt in there." _Bob apparently has no intentions of dying, either._

"Yeah, yeah. Anywhere's gonna be better than here in a few seconds." She stepped forward, stopping in front of the angry green disc. "Bob?"

"Yeah?"

"How many more people have to die because of me?"

"Don't do that to yourself, we've been over this. I'd also advise stepping through right about now." Reality began to tear itself apart, and Kassidy Smith took the hint as she stepped into the greenish portal.

The journey was instantaneous. The first thought that struck her was the realization of how not dead she was. Behind her, the green disc disintegrated, sighing and sputtering sadly before collapsing. Looking up, Kassidy recognized that she was in a city street, and read the sign which greeted the new arrival.

From Dust Till Dawn.


	2. V1C1: Arrival

**Volume 1 Chapter 1: Arrival**

 **AN: Well, if you're reading this, congratulations for making it this far. Sorry you had to go through that Introduction chapter, but after several months and a half dozen failed rewrites, I've more or less written it off as a failed project. However, I did want to bring the quality of the rest of the story up to par with some of my recent work in the first Interlude, so I took the time to rewrite pretty much everything from here to V1C24. If you're already familiar with this part of the story, don't worry – nothing actually changed plot-wise. This is all just to make it easier and more pleasant to read. And now, with that out of the way, let's get to the part of the story you guys actually care about.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

 _Alright. I'm not dead yet, which means the air is breathable and the pressure is good. I'm in the middle of a city, facing a storefront. Apparently English is spoken here._ Kassidy's eyes darted about as she tried to get her bearings as quickly as possible. It's nighttime out in the city, and most of the storefronts around the T-junction she found herself in seemed closed; the shop in front of her, however, was an exception. The sight of a guy in a white coat leading about a half dozen men in black suits, taken through the picture window, was enough to make Kassidy grind her teeth together. _Alright, I can recognize a gang when I see one. Seems even in a different universe, I can't escape these trigger-happy, bloodthirsty punks. Don't even need to see the gun being pointed at the storekeeper to know there's trouble here._

"Is the iris cam malfunctioning, or are those men robbing this store?" A voice in her ear provided external commentary for her train of thought. "Heh, thirty seconds in and we've already run into trouble. Why exactly do we always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

"Stuff it Bob, I need to focus. Now, if I –"

A thud jolted Kassidy from her argument, and she looked up just in time to see a man tumble into a row of shelves, along with another man being shoved towards the window by a flash of red. She had to sidestep the crimson blur that exploded out of the window with the henchman, which turned out to be a girl that couldn't have been more than twelve years of age. _They tried to rob a little girl?!_

Kassidy turned back to the store. Apparently the man in white had told his lackeys to go after the little girl, and the four men came charging out with swords drawn. She didn't even think to question why they drew swords instead of guns as six years of instincts kicked in. Reaching to her shoulder, Kassidy drew her rifle and found herself standing off against four different henchmen. Letting Bob project her voice through the suit's faceplate, she growled, "Not even a minute here, and I drop onto the scene of trouble. Now I'm sure you totally have a very valid reason why four grown men are attacking a little girl, but I really don't care right now. I'd advise you put your flashy red swords down and start backing off slowly, or we're going to have some trouble."

The kid behind Kassidy protested, "Hey, I'm not a kid!" She ignored it, however, in favor of focusing on the man in the white coat walking out as if to greet her. She decided that, in lieu of a name, the man with a bowler hat and mascara was now known as Mister Roaring Twenties.

"Well, well, well, it seems I have more unwanted guests. Ugh, how I hate unwanted guests." Mister Roaring Twenties took a final puff from his cigar, then dropped it to be crushed under his cane. "Look, miss, I don't know what you're doing here, but my perfectly planned night out has had enough setbacks that I'd really not deal with this. How about you keep Little Red there busy, I'll just take this Dust, and we'll both be on our ways. No harm, no foul. Sound good?"

Kassidy stood unmoving for a few moments as she contemplated her options. _Alright, option 1: fight this guy. Would be able to gain some goodwill with the local authorities, and I might even be able to help myself a bit to the spoils, but attention isn't a good thing to have. Option 2: join him, fight this 'Little Red' girl behind me… yeah, I'm many things, but a child murderer isn't one of them._ "No deal," she barked back. "I've done plenty of bad things, but attacking children isn't one of them. And I really, _really_ don't appreciate you and your boys threatening little girls."

"Oh for the love of – fine! I guess if you're so eager to get yourself killed, who am I to stop you?" Mr. Roaring Twenties raised his cane at her, the tip opening to reveal a set of crosshairs. Kassidy contemplated her options, then decided the guy on the far left with the machine gun was the largest threat, and aimed accordingly.

They both squeezed triggers at the same time. Kassidy put a shot into the man on the far left, then swung her body around to dodge around her opponent's shot. Or, she would have if it weren't for about 100 pounds of scrap iron that she called a suit of armor. An explosion filled her vision, and she got knocked back several feet. It took a few moments to make her head stop swimming.

 _Alright, so Mr. Roaring Twenties' cane is a grenade launcher. Because reasons._ Glancing down, her suit reflected the shoddy workmanship. It was worse than useless, the scrap offered nothing further in protection and only served to weigh her down. _Well, better the suit than me._ Once she could see straight, Kassidy tried bringing her pistol up, but was incredibly confused by what she saw.

 _Is that girl carrying… a giant scythe? Where the hell did that come from? And how is she using it? It's bigger than she is!_ Whatever the answers, the red-haired girl obviously knew how to use it, planting its blade in the ground and using the handle for added maneuverability and leverage. Glancing over, Kassidy saw a seventh black suit come ducking out of an alleyway, taking aim with another machine gun.

The guy dropped like a sack of bricks. Her pistol smoking, Kassidy found Mr. Roaring Twenties dashing across the street and tried to take aim. She was foiled, however, when her armor caught on itself, keeping her arm pinned and unable to make the full traverse. She tore at the armor that was keeping her stuck on the ground, but suddenly noticed that her pack had went flying. She spoke into her earpiece, panicking that her computer might have been damaged.

"Bob, status report."

"All systems nominal and undamaged. Judging from the view of the camera, I'm only counting one hosti-"

"Hey, are you okay?"

The sudden interruption made Kassidy snap her head up. The kid – red and black hair, black blouse, black and red skirt – had her head tilted to one side, her eyebrows drooping and lips a frown.

"I'm – agh! Fine. Did you see where the guy in the white coat was going?" Kassidy hissed again; looking down and patting her stomach with her free hand, she quickly figured out that shrapnel had made its way into her gut.

"You don't sound fine. And he went over that way. Don't worry, I'll get him." With that, Scythe Girl sprinted in the direction of what looked to be an apartment building.

"Hang on!" Kassidy tried shouting at the little girl, but it was too late. _Damn, that kid is fast. And… are those flower petals trailing her? The hell? Alright, need to go after her. No chance in hell a kid's going to do anything against a guy with a grenade launcher, even if she has an oversized gardening tool with her._ Finally, she was able to pry off the bent metal around her stomach and pull herself out of the mangled remains of her suit, before picking up her rifle and taking off towards the apartment building's ladder.

The ladder was excruciating, the metal in her gut complaining very adamantly every time she took a step. But reaching the top of the building made Kassidy completely forget the pain. White Coat just clambered into a helicopter - _Is that an Osprey?_ – and had thrown a red thing at Scythe Girl, preparing to shoot her. Sprinting forward as quickly as she could, Kassidy came skidding to a stop behind the girl, grabbed her around the waist, and pulled for all she was worth. The little girl went flying behind her, but it left Kassidy a sitting duck for the grenade shot. She took a knee, curled up as tightly as she could, and waited for the pain to start.

The pain never started, as the explosive detonated on a circle of purple appearing out of nowhere. Kassidy uncurled and looked behind her to see what was going on. Front and center stood a woman that looked in her early- to mid-30's, wearing what could only be described as a school teacher's costume and holding out some sort of stick that had a purple glow dissipating. _Where did she come from? And… did she make that circle come out of nowhere? The fuck?_

Whatever was happening, Kassidy decided that she had enough of it. She took aim at Mr. Roaring Twenties and almost laughed at how easy this shot was, squeezing it off right at his head. Unfortunately, the helicopter ducked slightly and caused the shot to merely separate the bowler hat from his head. Suddenly, the woman's stick brightly glowed purple, and purple streaks of light manifested out of thin air and started bombarding the helicopter. _Wait, what was that? Energy bolts being summoned out of thin air? The double fuck?_

Before she could get over the physical impossibility of what she just saw, White Coat disappeared to the front of the craft. A few seconds later, a fourth contender for strangest person ever stepped into the open door. Wearing a ridiculously short red and gold dress along with a pair of heels that were almost comically out of place, she arrived just in time to see Wand Woman shoot… _a storm cloud?_ and, with a flick of her wrist, cause shards of ice to come crashing down on the helicopter.

"Umm, is the camera faulty or did that woman just-" Bob tried to comment, but got interrupted.

"No, it's not faulty. I'm starting to think reality just got thrown out the window here." Kassidy couldn't believe what she was seeing. Things were getting more ridiculous the further time progressed.

"If you don't mind keeping your comments quieter, I'm trying to focus here." the older woman shot back, glaring daggers. The outburst surprised Kassidy, but the message was clear. Breathing deeply, Kassidy took aim at Red Dress, but then had to dodge from a freaking fireball that appeared out of thin air. Wand Woman made another purple circle appear to block it, but then the roof beneath her started glowing and screaming. She and Kassidy were both just able to roll out of the way as a pillar of fire came tearing up from beneath, sending shards of debris flying.

As something purple happened and more ridiculous things unfolded, Kassidy felt a nudge on her left shoulder. Turning around, she found Scythe Girl kneeling next to her, the oversized and overly lethal farming implement balanced on her shoulder. "Wow, so… awesome…" she shuddered.

 _Is this kid ogling over a very lethal and reality-defying situation in front of us?_ "Whatever it is, I'm kind of ready for it to stop now. It's time to end this, and fast." In response, Scythe Girl made her weapon somehow collapse into a fraction of its original size, now resembling something like… _A sniper rifle? Did her scythe just turn into a sniper rifle?!_

"Yeah, let's get 'em!" the girl said quite excitedly, cocking her gun. Wand Woman just stepped back towards them, as a ring of fire just exploded around the helicopter. This time, Kassidy didn't bother with deciding which eye she wanted to put the bullet in. Volume of fire was going to be the order of this engagement. Riding the edge of her rifle's trigger, Kassidy was able to squeeze out her remaining six shots in two seconds, while Scythe Girl's sniper rifle started cracking away as well.

As Red Dress held out her hands, Kassidy noticed a dim orange glow as every projectile sent against the helicopter was blocked by absolutely nothing. She swapped the empty clip with a fresh one on her vest and was about to send more fire against the copter when something glowing under them caught her eye; her fears were quickly confirmed when the roof started screaming again. She was about to roll to the side when something unceremoniously shoved her forward. Recovering quickly, she saw Scythe Girl get shoved onto the ground next to her by a small circle of purple, while Wand Woman rolled forward with them as the roof erupted into pillars of flame. Kassidy looked up to see the helicopter starting to fly away. The Garand cracked like mad as she sent another volley of eight shots chasing after it, a last futile effort to bring down the antagonists in tonight's events.

Letting out a breath, Kassidy spotted her earpiece had tumbled out next to her. Putting it back in, she decided to consult with her AI. "Bob, do you have even the slightest idea of what just happened?"

"Yeah, a fight."

"Smartass. Did you manage to record everything?" As Kassidy shouldered her rifle, she caught Scythe Girl bug-eyed and apparently asking Wand Woman for her autograph.

"Duh."

"Then it'd probably be best to get going while the going's good. We can worry about those people some other time. I think I've had enough excitement for tonight." Walking briskly back to the ladder trying not to be seen, she almost made it before…

"Stop right there. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm going to need to ask you to come with me." Kassidy stopped and turned around to see Wand Woman holding her stick out at her.

Every instinct she had told her – no, screamed at her – to start throwing lead and leap down the ladder. Wand Woman may have just helped her with the fight, yes, but she was still an unknown, and unknowns were what got you killed. Shooting first and asking questions later was how you stayed alive. Her left hand reached for her pistol at her belt, and then stopped when she saw the little kid right next to the woman, head tilted to the side with an inquisitive look on her face.

 _Goddamnit, am I really about to gun down a twelve year old kid?_ Her eyes flickered back to Wand Woman, obviously not pleased with how her hand reached for her gun. Her stick had started glowing purple. _She's not aggressive, but defensive. She apparently isn't trying to kill me._ Letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, she moved her hand away from her pistol. _No need for fights that aren't necessary. Don't think I could take them with my gut as it is, anyway._ Finally getting the courage the courage to speak, Kassidy asked, "Did I do something wrong? Because that whole incident was kind of self-defense."

Wand Woman harrumphed, before shooting back, "Indeed it was. But I don't think you realize just what you got yourself into. I still insist that you come with me so we can talk."

"We can talk just fine right here." Kassidy let the words trail off as her brain ran a mile a minute. After a few seconds, she inquired, "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Because she's a Huntress!" Scythe Girl blurted out. "You can always trust a Huntress! Right?" She turned her gaze onto the woman.

"A… huntress? Is that some sort of law enforcement around here?" Kassidy was now thoroughly confused, and extremely wary. She knew what it was like to be hunted.

Wand Woman adjusted her glasses, and although her wand was still held out it had stopped glowing. "In a broad sense, yes. And it is with the honor and reputation of my profession that should let you know you can trust me."

Kassidy kept her eyes flickering between the two before her as she weighed her options. _Alright, either pick a fight with a little kid and a woman who proved on no fewer than six separate occasions that the laws of physics don't apply to her, or go with her to whomever she answers to, wherever she works, for whatever they have planned for me. No good options... but one keeps me alive significantly longer than the other. Hopefully long enough to come up with a better plan._ Sighing and relaxing her stance, Kassidy resigned herself to her fate. "I need to go down and get my gear. Where to from there?"


	3. V1C2: A Second Chance

**Chapter 2: A Second Chance to Make a First Impression**

 **AN: The chapter that establishes the basics of Kassidy's past, and the foundation for the relationships she'll build with people. Lots of dialogue incoming. As always, don't hesitate to leave a comment critiquing my work so I can make the future entries that much better.**

* * *

(Perspective: Ozpin)

"You want to come to my school?"

"More than anything."

"Well, okay." As Glynda groaned yet again at Ozpin's unorthodox methods and Ruby's eyes widened, the headmaster was pleased with how events were passing tonight. Well, the events so far. "One more thing, if you don't mind?"

"Of course! I mean, uh, sure." Ruby practically yelled at Ozpin from sheer excitement before she could get herself in check.

"It has to do with that girl who was with you tonight. She is proving to be quite the enigma. I was hoping you could help us in learning more about her."

"Oh yeah." Ruby looked at the table at the mention of the strange lady who showed up out of nowhere tonight. "She seemed pretty hurt, but I think we'll be able to talk. If she's up for it."

"Now there we seem to have a problem. If you could follow me."

The trio left the room, and after a short walk found themselves on the other side of a one-way mirror to another room. There, Kassidy was seated in a chair, staring into space. A black box, which seemed to be some sort of computer, was chattering away at her, which she either ignored or mumbled at. Grabbing a clipboard, Glynda turned to Ruby.

"She's been like this for a while now. Once she got seated, she dug in her bag for some bandages that couldn't possibly be sterile and quite poorly addressed the wounds in her abdomen. After that… she's been completely zoned out. She hasn't even conversed with her device in any meaningful way."

"Alright. She seemed to be in a lot of pain when we were on the way over here – maybe that's why she hasn't said anything. I can try and see if she'll talk with me, but…" Ruby thought for a moment. "What are you wanting me to talk with her about?

Ozpin didn't even look away from the mirror. "For now, just make sure she's alright and see if she wants to talk."

* * *

(Perspective: K)

 _This is bad. I'm stuck in an interrogation room without my weapons and with metal in my gut. I knew I shouldn't have trusted that woman._

The room swam around Kassidy as she tried to focus on the hell that had been the past hour. The adrenaline high which helped her ignore the shrapnel in her stomach crashed hard and let the pain return with a vengeance. The car ride was miserable, taking turns just hard enough to make the pain force its way to the front of every thought. It took everything she had to not scream and bawl like a baby. When they arrived at… wherever they were, Kass was promptly disarmed. She didn't like it, of course, but she wasn't in much position to do anything about it.

 _And then I got dropped in this room. At least they've left me in peace so far._ Staggering to a seat, Kassidy had wasted no time in digging some grimy cloth out of her bag and wrapping it around her torso. It was practically a flashing neon sign of infection and did nothing about the actual problem of scrap iron in her abdomen, but it cut the bleeding down to manageable levels. Still, it did nothing to alleviate the pain that almost had her doubled up in fits of tears. So Kassidy did the one thing she could do about it, which left her in her current state.

Letting her focus drift, she was able after a minute of concentrating to deaden her nerves from feeling. Kassidy cutting herself off from pain was nothing new, and there had been multiple times in the past where it had come in handy. The searing fire in her midsection had died down to a dull ache.

 _But eliminating sensation doesn't come without drawbacks,_ she thought grimly. Ignoring the signals from so many nerves had the effect of partially separating her from the world. She knew the air conditioner kept the room freezing cold only because of the goosebumps on her skin; she couldn't actually feel the temperature. She knew the chair was uncomfortable only from the way she kept shifting her posture. Her body felt like it was made of lead, it was impossible to focus her vision on anything, and any sound was horribly muffled, like she was underwater. She was vaguely aware of Bob trying to get her attention.

"Bob, you know how I space out when I need to remove the pain." The words came out slurred, as if she were drunk. "Just… don't talk to me unless someone comes in so I know to snap out of it." The computer said something again, and Kass groaned. "What was that?" Focusing all her will on hearing, she was just able to make out:

"Someone is here. The Scythe Girl."

Blearily looking around, Kassidy was just able to make out a swirl of black and red. Focusing again, she willed feeling back into her body, and the world suddenly came rushing back. A gasp was shuddered as the pain came flooding back as well, but at least now it wasn't dominating her mind.

"Hey there." Kassidy was surprised at how weak her own voice sounded. She must have lost more blood than she thought.

"Hi!" The little girl took the chair opposite the table, and motioned at her midsection. "Are you okay? That doesn't look good."

"It's fine. For now." Forcing out a weak smile, Kass could tell that the girl wasn't buying it. _I always was a terrible liar._ "Do you have a name, kid? Bob keeps calling you Scythe Girl, but I don't think that's it."

The girl giggled. "Ruby Rose. And who's Bob? Is he who you've been talking to over your box?"

"Bob's my computer. Say hi, Bob."

"Greetings, Ruby Rose. I am Bob, an artificial intelligence program. Well, that's actually a bit of misnomer as I've yet to achieve sentience, but-"

"She doesn't need the whole spiel, dingus. And I'm Kassidy. So what brings you to my little slice of paradise?"

"The woman we were with was getting concerned about how you were looking. She wanted me to come check on you and see if you wanted to talk." Tilting her head to the side, Ruby was the picture of adorable curiosity. "Where did you come from? A giant metal suit's kind of hard to hide in, but I didn't see you earlier."

 _Some idiot forgot how to perform basic calculus and killed everyone._ Even thinking about it, the phrase sounded ridiculous. "Just arrived in town not long before that scuffle in the street. I'm a traveler."

"Oh. Where did you travel from? Atlas?"

"I'm…" _Alright, how do I put that I'm a multi-dimensional universe hopper?_ "… not from around here. And do you seriously have a country that's named after a book of maps?"

"Yeah, it seems kinda weird. Oh well! So… you're from outside the kingdoms?"

"One could say that." Offering a grin, Kassidy's attention was drawn by the door opening and a silver haired man walking in. Black and green suit, black spectacles, and a cane all shouted that this guy thought he was someone important. _He probably is too_. "Looks like they decided they're ready to interrogate me. You… might not want to be here for this."

Glancing behind her, Ruby saw Ozpin walking in with another plate of cookies and a fresh cup of coffee. Glynda was standing by the open door. "Oh, he's not going to interrogate you! He's really nice and – "

"Ms. Rose? If you could come with me so that Ozpin can talk with the lady…" Glynda motioned, and Ruby sulked out, but not before giving a wave and saying how nice it was to talk.

Taking Ruby's seat, the man being called Ozpin set the plate of cookies down in the middle of the table before speaking up. "Please relax, Ms. Kassidy, this isn't an interrogation." _Wouldn't be the first time I've heard that._ "I can arrange to have a doctor look at that, if you want." Ozpin motioned to her torso.

Sitting up straighter – only to clutch at her wounds in pain – Kassidy eyed the man in front of her. "Thank you, but I'll be able to take care of it myself once I get some fresher bandages."

"Yeah, because you're so good in dealing with the squishy stuff." Even with being a computer, the mirth in Bob's robotic voice was palpable. "If you throw up on me again…"

"Shut up, Bob." Ozpin gave her an inquisitive look. "Forgive him, err, us. It's been a while since we've dealt with people not trying to kill us." Kassidy offered a grimace. "And I may or may not have a weak stomach."

"I see." Ozpin was slowly, methodically choosing his words. _At least they haven't gone straight to the torture._ "You've caused quite the stir around here, believe it or not. Showing up in a flash of green light, wearing a suit of armor, and breaking up a storefront robbery."

"I always did have a knack for being in the wrong place at the right time." _Useless information, small talk. Just keep him talking, get him distracted from-_ .

"And yet you chose to intervene. Despite, from what I understand of the events that transpired, having a strong inclination towards not dealing with excitement."

"They tried to rob a kid. She barely looks twelve. Once they drew on her, there wasn't a choice to be made." Sighing, Kassidy looked at the wall over Ozpin's shoulder.

"Yet that doesn't explain why you almost drew your weapon on my associate here." Pulling out a screen from absolutely nowhere, Ozpin showed a video clip from Wand Woman's perspective: Kassidy reaching for her pistol, then stopping whenever she looked to the side to see Ruby. "Tell me, what made you think about attacking the woman that just saved your life twice?"

Kass' mood visibly soured. "There's a saying where I'm from: it's not paranoia if the world is actually out to get you. I didn't know what she wanted, and I still don't really know. But past experiences have taught me that I save myself hassle and injuries when I don't find out."

Ozpin's eyes narrowed. Kassidy's heart strained against her chest. "And who, exactly, has been out to get you such that you would have this demeanor? You certainly have the look of one who's lived a hard life."

 _Oh shit. What do I say? Do I lie and probably get caught? If I tell the truth, then the best I could hope for is a jail sentence. Wait, is it? I haven't done anything illegal here… yet. But if I can get away with lying, I can walk free and start establishing myself in this brave new wo-._

"Are you alright, Kassidy?" Ozpin looked at her expectantly. _Not threatening. Inquisitive. Maybe I can work with this._

Letting a breath out, Kassidy composed herself. "Everyone. The gangs were trying to kill me because I wasn't one of them. The authorities were trying to kill me because they thought I was with the gangs. Anyone who somehow hadn't picked a side yet were trying to kill me because they thought I was trying to kill them." Kass made eye contact with Ozpin. "Being a good person got you killed. I chose to live."

Ozpin seemed almost… _amused?_ "You have most certainly lived. And your skill with a gun does reflect that you've had to use it quite often. But tell me this:" Ozpin leaned in, their faces only a foot apart. "Did you regret it?"

The question caught her off guard. "Did I…?"

"Did you regret killing the people you killed this evening? The ones out at the shop, trying to rob a young girl."

 _Wow, this guy is into some deep stuff._ Leaning back into her chair, Kassidy gave the question some thought, genuinely not knowing the answer. _They were robbing a kid. What kind of low life scum does that? The world's better off without such folk._ Her face settled into a scowl. _Except I'm a low life scum too. Everyone has a story, and I had no idea what theirs were. I just ended the stories. Would I want someone gunning me down for some of the things I've done?_

"Do you regr-"

"Yes, I do. I don't regret having acted, but the fact remains that I killed them." Kassidy looked at the wall again, unable to meet Ozpin's gaze. "There could've been a better way, if I was thinking clearer, relying less on instinct. I wouldn't want someone gunning me down for doing some of the things I did, without knowing my story. But I didn't know their story; I just ended it without caring about the contents."

Ozpin appeared deep in thought. Eventually, his face softened a bit. "Do you know who I am?"

Kassidy gave it some thought. "You're apparently a certain Ozpin. But that's only a name. As to who you are…" Kass thought a little longer. "Ruby called the woman we were with a huntress. She seems to have deferred to you, and you have similar mannerisms, leading me to believe that you share fields – that is, a hunter – and that you're her superior as far as rank goes. But you also carry a scholarly air around you. A highly inquisitive mind, a keen eye for detail seems to suggest academia. Your outfit shows that you think quite highly of yourself, an opinion that was probably earned. And I sincerely doubt you could afford that kind of outfit on a law enforcement officer's salary." Finally meeting Ozpin's gaze, Kassidy grinned despite herself. "My best guess? You're a professor at a local university, highly esteemed, and you do consults for the local law enforcement."

It was Ozpin's turn to grin. "It appears you have quite the eye for detail yourself, though you're only partially right I'm afraid. I am indeed a professor, though the school isn't quite a university. I am also a Huntsman, though we aren't quite law enforcement officers. Rather, Huntsmen and Huntresses are the guardians of this world, protecting people from the evils that threaten them. I myself assist mostly by serving as the headmaster for Beacon Academy, a school focused on training the next generation of Huntsmen."

Kassidy had a few seconds to take in what was just said, then Ozpin continued. "You have entered a far more dangerous world from where you left. Intelligence and tenacity have gotten you far in coming here, but the things that wait outside will not care. You will need resources and instruction if you hope to prevail against them. Resources and instruction which, if you're willing to accept my offer, I can provide."

 _Here it comes._ "What kind of offer?"

"Normally, entrance to Beacon Academy is conditional on the passage of a rigorous entrance exam. This exam is meant to measure one's aptitude for learning as well as for combat, to determine whether they can be trained to be this world's guardians. But, after seeing you in action and talking with you now, I have little doubt you would pass the exam with flying colors."

Kassidy's eyes widened. _Is he actually…_

"I would be willing to drop that requirement and allow you entry into my academy, on one condition. That condition being that you strive towards higher ideals than mere survival. Being a good person might have gotten you killed earlier, but this is different. As a huntress, you will need to be the good person that prevents acts of kindness from becoming lethal to the average person."

Taking a thick swallow, Kass let out a breath. _This is too good to be true. There's no way he's actually giving me a way out._ But a look into the hazel eyes told all. _But what if it is true? This is the break I need, really badly._ Collecting herself, Kassidy regarded the man in front of her. "Well, I've made agreements on shakier grounds than that. I can't promise that I'll instantly be the nicest person around…" Her eyes sunk to her lap. "But I'll work on it. Old habits die hard, but I can do what it takes to make them die. So, is there a dotted line I need to sign or something?"

Ozpin stood up. "That won't be necessary. What will be necessary is getting you to a surgery, however. Opening day for my school is tomorrow, but I've managed to secure quarters for your lodging for tonight. And I'd rather not pay to replace blood-soaked sheets." Offering a hand to help Kassidy up, Ozpin reached for the untouched plate of cookies. "If you aren't going to have any, I will. I worked hard on these."

"I'll have some too, please." Bob decided to try his luck at speaking out again. Because a tablet computer eating cookies was totally a logical happening. _And totally something that he'd say, too._

"Tell you what, buddy. If you can get them, they're all yours." Kassidy felt a genuine smile form on her lips for the first time in years.

"You enjoy teasing me, don't you?"

"Of course."


	4. V1C3: Welcome to Beacon

**Chapter 3: Welcome to Beacon**

 **AN: I hope you haven't forgotten about Bob. He hasn't forgotten about you. Kassidy meets five of the seven characters she'll quickly be surrounded by. For those of you who don't like dialogue and exposition, the next chapter should strike your fancy. As always, don't hesitate to let me know how to improve.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

"And this will be your room for the night." Opening the door, the woman who made herself known as Glynda Goodwitch introduced Kassidy to her quarters. A bed and nightstand at one end, a table and chair at the other, and a half bathroom off to the side. "I apologize for how sparse it is, but this was the best we could do on such short notice."

"It's better from what I'm used to."

"Is there a power outlet at least? I could use some charge." Kassidy looked at her computer. _The disadvantage to being the most powerful tablet ever built. Bob sucks through electricity like nothing else._

"Of course. Unless there's anything else you need from me Kassidy, I'll leave you to your rest. I regret that neither I nor Ozpin will be able to meet with you in the morning. I have an airship ticket for you… here." Glynda handed over a slip of paper. "It leaves from the downtown air stop at 10:30. Don't be late."

"Thank you, Ms. Goodwitch. Have a good evening." After the door closed, Kass regarded her AI. "Now that we're to ourselves, we can move on to more important business."

"Like admitting that she is indeed a witch?" Bob has been going on about that particular conspiracy theory all evening. _At least he was tactful enough to talk about it in my ear so she couldn't listen._ "The cape, the wand, the magic, everything about her screams witch!"

"Firstly, she's most definitely not a witch. She doesn't have the pointy hat or flying broom." Kassidy smirked. "Well, at least not that I've seen."

"Exactly."

"And the important business is work."

"Wait, aren't we supposed to be resting? I still need to charge, you know. And you need to recover from your surgery."

"Quit whining, I'll get you charged up. And I've got too much energy right now, I couldn't rest if I wanted to. Stupid hormones." Grabbing her bag after having stretched a bit, Kassidy reached for the door. "We're on our own until 10:30, right? That's 11 hours we have to be productive. If I can find scrap of some kind and maybe a workshop, I think I can get some actual progress made. I've got some new ideas."

"Of course you do. At least the latest one didn't blow up on us."

* * *

 _Now I'm really wishing I had gotten some rest._ Standing in a giant flying box, morning had come around quickly. Looking around from the corner of the compartment, Kassidy noticed that almost without exception, the passengers were all around her age. _Must be kids going to Beacon also._ She fiddled with the newest addition to her gear: a metal bracer strapped to her left forearm, with one of her rifle clips sticking out the top.

"Is that Ruby over there across the way?" The sudden squawking in her ear brought her back to reality. Sure enough, the little girl was on the other side of the ship, standing with some blonde with the biggest hair of head Kassidy had ever seen. And the shortest shorts.

"Sure is." Kass was debating whether or not to go over and talk when her stomach rebelled. _I hate flying_. "Ugh… can you bring up something to keep me distracted from my gut?"

"Are you okay? You don't look okay." The perky voice came as a complete shock, and Kassidy whipped her head up, instinctually reaching for the pistol on her belt before she got control over herself. _It's a new life, and I promised to not be a scumbag. Shooting someone just for wondering how I was doing is the kind of paranoia I'm trying to get rid of._ The red headed girl in front of her had a white sleeveless shirt with a heart shaped hole under the neck, what looked like some metal corset, and a pink skirt and fingerless gloves.

"If I was meant to fly, I'd grow wings."

"Ooh! That'd be so cool! Just imagine if I had a pair of wings! Wait, then I'd need a new outfit and I like my outfit. But still, wings!"

Kassidy groaned internally at the pink ball of energy in front of her. _At least she's distracting me from my gut._ "I'm sorry, I don't think I picked up a name. I'm Kassidy."

"Where are my manners?" the red head practically shouted. "I'm Nora Valkyrie, and this guy with me is Lie…" Nora motioned to her side at a guy that was conspicuously absent. "Wait, where did Ren go? Oh Ren!"

"Nora, where did you run off to this time?" A voice called from about ten feet away. After dragging the poor man over here, Nora continued as if nothing had happened. "This guy with me is Lie Ren. We're together. Well, not together-together, that'd just be weird."

"Nora, I think she gets the idea. But please, call me Ren." A green shirt, white pants, and a streak of pink in his hair, Ren had just brushed himself off after being tugged around by his friend.

"Nice to – urf – meet you." Kassidy's stomach was making very clear how displeased it was with current matters. "Uh, Bob, why don't you take over while I focus on not making a mess?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely." After being dug out of her pack, the black box immediately held both their attentions. "Greetings, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. I am Bob, an artificial intelligence program. Well, that's a bit of a– "

Bob didn't even get to finish his introduction before Nora had started ogling over the black box. "Wow, your scroll talks! I mean, sure, it's kind of big and black and ugly, but still! Isn't it awesome, Ren?"

"Hold on a second, ugly?" _Oh boy, here we go again._ "I'll have you know that I'm the pinnacle of computer engineering and programming. A more perfect marriage of software and hardware has never existed before, and probably never will exist. Honestly, I think I would be insulted if I had the slightest clue of what this scroll device was." _Holy shit. I think he might have gone a little overboard there. Actually, I don't remember coding that part in…_

"Forgive her, my friend is a bit impulsive. Although, to be fair, your design does appear to be lacking finesse. I haven't seen a scroll of your type before." The picture of calm and collected, Ren kept his travel mate from saying anything more and seemed to be the only force capable of holding her in check.

"We're not from around here." Kassidy had to blurt it out to get a word in edgewise before Bob went off again. "So I'm afraid we're a bit lost when you keep calling my computer a scroll." Out of the corner of her eye, she watched what appeared to be a television screen switch from the news to Glynda talking to everyone on the ship.

Reaching into his pocket, Ren pulled out a white card with a yellow diamond in the middle. Pulling on either end, the card expanded into cell phone size, then tablet size. "Scrolls perform many functions for us, such as managing our communications, productivity, and identification. If you haven't picked one up, I would suggest doing so the first chance you get. They're necessary to make a lot of things work."

"That sounds like a challenge." Bob wasn't too pleased with the idea of competition. "Give me five minutes and I'll have that system cracked easy. Why, I could-"

"Ren, look! Isn't Beacon grand from up here?" A blur of pink whizzed its way over to the other end of the ship, as a tower came into view.

"Looks like you have your hands full. My condolences." Kassidy offered a small smile before her stomach reminded her how much she hated flying. And just in the nick of time, some kid went running across the ship on the verge of throwing up. "Oh lovely. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to be busy doing… not that."

"Very well. It was a pleasure making your acquaintance, Kassidy and Bob." Ren sauntered off to the other side of the ship, trying and failing to keep up with his hyperactive friend.

After several minutes, with the ship landed and her stomach settled with all its contents, Kassidy was slowly making her way down the main road. _Seems like I'm not the only one packing heat. Everyone here's armed to the teeth. Actually, that Ren guy was the only person I've seen so far without a weapon._ A glint reflecting in her peripheral vision, Kass turned to see a pair of butlers pushing a cart of pristine white luggage, with some girl in front leading them. She nearly busted up laughing until she saw a familiar red and black head of hair fall over on top of the cart.

"Ruby does seem to know how to get herself into trouble."

"Yes she does Bob. Yes she does." Noticing a glass vial of red powder had rolled to her feet, Kassidy picked it up and looked at it. The front of the bottle had a snowflake on it. "I doubt you have any idea what this would be. Have you had luck connecting to any computer systems yet?"

"Unfortunately not. There seems to be a fundamental difference between computing processes that's barring me from entry. So I might actually need six minutes to crack this scroll deal." Kass chuckled. Curious, she was about to pull the cork stopper off the bottle when…

 **BOOM!** Her pistol was in her hand before she knew what was happening. Looking around, she quickly saw that Ruby had sneezed and caused an explosion. An open vial of blue powder was on the ground next to her. Holstering her pistol, Kassidy began walking over to the scene of the incident. "Well, remind me not to open this vial, Bob. This powder seems to spontaneously combust in contact with oxygen."

The girl in a white dress turned around at the new voice, and glared. Kassidy held out the vial with a neutral expression. "Should I even ask why you're carrying around bottles of an energetic powder that combusts in the presence of oxygen?" Nodding to Ruby, she added, "I see you're in the habit of making new friends via explosives." The young girl blushed.

White Dress, however, was not having it. "Energetic powder? Combusting in the presence of oxygen? Are you an idiot? Do you not know what dust is? And do you seriously know this premature dolt?"

Kassidy bit her lip. Deciding to try again, "I happen to have made her acquaintance, but that's not the issue here. And no, I don't know about this 'dust' compound which just blew up a hole in the road from being exposed to air. Perhaps if you would care to enlighten me, preferably with fewer insults, we might actually get somewhere."

White Dress pinched her nose, wheeled around, and went to berate Ruby. "This is still your…" The young girl had apparently decided to make a tactical retreat from the scene. "Ugh! What is it with people today? Give me that!" Snatching the vial out of Kassidy's hands, she reached into a different suitcase and pulled out a pamphlet entitled Dust for Dummies and Other Inadequate Individuals.

"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee family highly encourages our customers to familiarize themselves with this easy to follow guide to dust applications and practice in the field."

Kassidy felt she needed to take a breath for the girl after that small lecture. "You get all that, Bob?"

"Obviously."

"Good. Hmm… alright, as far as your marketing department is concerned… 10 out of 10 on this one. Thank you, Ms. Schnee I would assume? This seems like a logical place to begin my research."

A satisfied hmph sounded from the girl. "Why yes, I am a Schnee, thank you for finally taking notice. Weiss Schnee." With a toss of her off-center ponytail, Weiss was the dictionary definition of arrogance.

"I think we better leave rich girl to her fancy luggage, Kassidy." She was startled when her computer's voice wasn't coming from her earpiece, but from her bag, clearly audible to the Schnee girl. "I'm suspecting it might be her time of the month."

"WHAT!?"

"Bob! You don't just say things like that!" Despite the situation, Kassidy was barely keeping herself from collapsing on the ground laughing. "I should probably go before my computer gets wordy again. Okaythanksbye!" With that, Kass elected to make a tactical retreat of her own. Once she was safely around a corner and out of earshot, she busted up laughing harder than she should have. "Holy shit man, that was gold! I mean, seriously, don't do that again but the look on her face!"

"Glad I could brighten your day. If the itinerary I snagged was correct, there should be a meeting in that building straight ahead of us. Ozpin giving everyone a speech and all."

* * *

(Perspective: R)

"Look, it's only been one day. Trust me, you've got friends all around you. You just haven't met them yet."

Looking up from her sleeping bag, Ruby saw a girl creeping along the edge of the wall towards a bag in the corner. Something seemed off about her, though. For starters, she hadn't changed into sleepwear. She was still wearing… a suddenly familiar khaki tank top, jeans, and combat boots. In fact, she had only just now pulled off a vest of some kind.

"That girl… she's the one that was at the store last night! Remember? When those jerks tried to rob me?"

"You know her?"

"Not really. I mean, we talked a little bit afterwards, but she seemed really out of it."

"Well, now's your chance to make a new friend!" Grabbing her younger sister by the arm, Yang hauled her over to the mystery girl digging in her bag and pulling something out.

* * *

(Perspective: K)

Kassidy found herself tucked into a corner in a ballroom. The speech was nothing to write home about, and after stowing her weapons in a locker she found a place to set her pack down. The Schnee girl hadn't decided to enact revenge, and her wounds from the surgery last night had closed up. Unwrapping the bandages and tossing them in the trash, Kass was peeling open a nutrient bar she had dug from her pack when two figures suddenly started making their way over.

"We've got company, Bob. And don't think this is going to be an excuse for you to keep acting weird." Looking closer, Kassidy could tell that Ruby was getting pulled along by a familiar blonde.

"I believe you two know each other?" The blonde seemed quite pleased with herself, while Ruby was pouting the whole time.

"Hmm… I can't particularly claim to know her, but at this point I'd be hard pressed not to recognize Ruby Rose. Considering how I kept some scumbags from trying to rob her last night."

"Hey! I helped too you know! So, uh… are you feeling better? Oh, this is my sister, Yang!" Ruby suddenly turned around, still a bit embarrassed at having been quite publicly dragged across the ballroom.

"Yeah, don't count little Rubes out! Actually, from what I know of last night you seemed to be pretty out of it after you got out of your metal shell. Maybe you were… shell shocked?" Ruby groaned behind her.

Kassidy, however, had a mischievous grin forming on her face before she clamped down hard. Bob apparently had an idea of what was going on. "Oh no. We agreed, no more puns. Kassidy, I hereby forbid you from interacting further with this Yang character."

"Dang, your man sounds jealous." Yang had a smirk on her face.

"Don't worry about my computer, he's just wanting attention at this point. Though he got plenty of it this afternoon. Word of advice: don't mess with the Schnee girl's luggage."

"Oh yeah! Thanks for distracting her! She was being really loud and cranky and I just wanted her to stop yelling." Ruby was acting rather flustered at the mention of the incident this afternoon.

Kassidy chuckled. "You missed the main event. And shut up, Bob." The computer was trying to pipe back in, undoubtedly to recount the tale of what exactly was said.

"Oh boy, this sounds like a story I want to hear." A devilish grin spread across Yang's visage.

"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to ask that we share stories another time. I've got a lot riding on tomorrow, and I still want to get some research done before I tuck in."

"You're going to sleep. In full combat attire?" The two girls said the same thing at exactly the same time. They looked nothing alike, but it was obvious that they had been together for a while. _Maybe sisterhood isn't so far out of the picture._

"Well, yeah. What else would I sleep in? Plus, I'm ready with all my gear if something happens in the middle of the night. And with that, I bid you farewell."

As the two girls sulked off, Kassidy finished her nutrient bar, rolled out a heavily used and abused bedroll, and flopped on it. Any semblance of comfort it once had was obliterated long ago, but she didn't care. _I haven't killed anyone at the school, and nobody's tried to kill me… yet. Tomorrow will truly be the first day of a new life. I won't have to be the bad guy anymore._ Satisfied, and with Bob still unable to connect to a computer network, Kassidy rolled over to try and get some rest.


	5. V1C4: Shenanigans

**Chapter 4: Shenanigans**

 **AN: A shorter chapter this time. I initially planned on putting the whole "Players and Pieces" episode into this chapter while ignoring the morning, but it wound up being too long for one chapter while being too short for two. So you get to have more Bob shenanigans and Schnee's revenge.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

Kassidy woke up to the sound of snoring. So much snoring. _I guess that's a perk of never having to deal with anyone. Not having to listen to this._ Grabbing Bob, she regarded the time and found it to be 3:30. _Hmm, I bunked down for the night shortly after ten. Must've been the whole skipping sleep that first day that made me sleep in._

She regarded the room around her. _Of course everyone else is still sleeping. No sane person would be up at this hour._ Kass gathered her belongings as quietly as possible – even since before she had lost everything, she knew that trying to sleep after already being up was an exercise in futility. Sneaking out the main door, she found a grassy part of the path to set Bob up.

"Have any luck figuring out the connectivity issues?" Kassidy needed to stretch first, but learning more about where she was needed to be a top priority. Even ignoring the rumors of brutal methods of initiation, or the hushed whispers of something commonly regarded as being grim, she had seen enough weird stuff already that knowing about it would improve her chances of survival immensely.

"Unfortunately, no. There's minor fluctuations that are scrambling my algorithms every time I try to gain entry. I've tried everything I can think of, but software solutions aren't working. Judging from how the systems are responding, I'm beginning to think it might be a hardware issue."

Kassidy gasped. Despite computers supposedly being unfeeling engines of logic and mathematics, Bob had a profound sense of pride regarding his capabilities. This was a computer that could hack the FBI in a tenth of a second. For him to outright admit he couldn't do it signaled that this was a serious problem.

"Having computer troubles?"

Ozpin's voice startled her enough to fall face first into the ground from her stretching. Picking herself up and dusting herself off, Kassidy grabbed her arm out of embarrassment. "Uh, no. I mean, yeah. I mean… nothing I can't handle."

The headmaster chuckled. "I can believe that. Your companion is certainly a testament to your prowess with software. I see you're having trouble sleeping."

Having finally composed herself, Kassidy faced him. The moon was bright tonight, and finding the shape of a person wasn't too hard. "I managed to sleep extra, actually. These days I'm lucky if I get four hours of sleep in. So what business pulled you out this early? If you don't me asking, of course."

"I had some matters to take care of. Initiation can be one of the more interesting times of the year, and it's important that everything goes off without a hitch. I was actually just passing through on my way to a meeting, and now seems to be the perfect opportunity for this." Ozpin dug around in his pocket and pulled out a grayish card; it will still too dark to make it out exactly. "I had almost forgotten about this. This device is called a scroll. While less impressive than your friend, it performs similar functions. In addition, it serves as your identification and is quite necessary to get quite a few things to work. Considering your circumstances, it seemed prudent to provide you with one of the tools you will need."

"Uh oh Bob, sounds like you have competition." Kassidy smirked and took the device from Ozpin's outstretched arm. "But in all seriousness, thank you. Getting back to sleep at this point would be impossible, so I was hoping to do some research. I'm hearing some disturbing rumors about the local wildlife."

"I can assure you they are probably true." Ozpin's voice changed from cordial to deadly serious. "From your reaction I can gather you haven't dealt with anything like this where you come from, so let me help you with your initial findings: the creatures of Grimm are beings of darkness. They are the closest to the physical manifestation of evil we have, and probably that you have as well."

"Really? I thought those were politicians."

"Shut up, Bob. I'm sorry, Professor, Bob's been kind of mouthy lately."

"That's quite alright. But keep this in mind: you will doubtlessly encounter Grimm during your initiation, and they are incredibly dangerous. They are one of the few cases where it is usually best to shoot first and ask questions later. They differentiate themselves from other animals through black fur, and white bone masks with designs of red."

"Alright, so if it's black, white, and red, shoot it. Understood. Thank you." Getting up from stretches, Kassidy collected her things. "I won't presume to keep you from your business any further. God knows the last thing I need is to be accidentally tossed from a cliff."

* * *

After several hours of configuring her newfangled holographic cell phone thing, Kassidy found herself in a locker room with several other prospective students. To her right stood Ruby and Yang talking and getting gear together. To her left, Weiss was doing her best to completely ignore Kass. It took a few tries of opening the door before she realized she needed the scroll to unlock it.

"I hate it already."

"That isn't jealousy I hear, is it?"

"Of course not! And I'm definitely not lying. I'm a computer. Computers never lie."

"Right." Kassidy chuckled to herself as she prepared her gear. After pulling on her bulletproof vest, she was wrestling with her belt when some red headed girl walked over. Weiss was immediately preening over her. _If the rich kid is infatuated with her, then that's a persona with some serious clout. I better be careful._ Glynda said this mission would only take the span of an afternoon, so Kassidy shoved her bag in the locker, taking out another nutrient bar before locking it and putting the scroll in her pocket.

"You are aware that they were serving pancakes this morning for breakfast, right? You don't need to eat a food bar." The redhead had just finished strapping on an impressive amount of armor that more impressively managed to hide exactly nothing. _What was the point of that armor? There's exactly no protection at the areas that matter._

"I am keenly aware of that. To the point where I refused to go in that building."

"How come?"

"Probably because her demented computer would make snide remarks while she ate." _Weiss is obviously still pissed from yesterday._

"Look, Weiss. Bob has a very primitive sense of humor. I'm still working on that part of him. What he said was uncalled for, and I'm sorry for that."

"Hmph. I'm sure you are. That's why you started laughing once you thought you were out of earshot." Arms folded, Weiss turned from facing away from Kassidy. "I bet you think you're so smart, don't you? Knowing big chemistry words, knowing how to program that black hunk of junk you call a computer."

"Uhh… yeah? Being smart is kind of my whole deal. So what's your deal? Or are you seriously such a stuck up snob that you can't accept an apology?"

"I am not a stuck up snob!"

"You just threw your arms down and stomped your foot. I might be a computer, but even I can tell that's the literal definition of throwing a temper tantrum. Told you it was that time, Kass."

"SHUT UP, BOB!" Both Weiss and Kass yelled at her computer at the same time.

"Okay, I think we all got off to a bad start with… whatever happened yesterday." The red headed girl stepped in between the two of them with arms raised. "Kassidy, I believe I heard? Your companion does seem a bit on the crude side. And Weiss, she did apologize. Why don't we shake hands and try to start again?"

"I don't have time for this." Weiss snatched up a rapier and stormed off. "I need to warm up for my initiation."

Kassidy slumped down on the bench. "Bob, you are just determined to sabotage my attempts at not being a scumbag, aren't you?"

"I'm sure you'll do fine." The red head offered a hand back up. "You tried, at least. I'm Pyrrha Nikos, by the way. And how come you were avoiding breakfast?"

Taking the hand, Kassidy heard her stomach growl. "Because it has been forever since I've had pancakes. I guarantee that if I went in now and had any, I would be collapsed thirty seconds into initiation from having eaten five thousand calories." Slinging her rifle over her shoulder, she added, "I think Weiss might've had the right idea though. I should go warm up."

"Alright, that's a bit too close! A little help here?"

Looking over, Pyrrha and Kassidy saw Weiss backed into a corner by some kid in jeans and a poorly fitted set of armor. Exchanging glances, Kass stepped forward, put a hand on the guy's shoulder, and did nothing to hide the edge in her voice. "Mind letting her out of the corner?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, of course!" The kid instantly shrank away from the three girls, and Weiss quickly backed out.

"Look, it's not a problem man. Just give a girl her space; nobody likes a stalker. You have a name, kid?"

"The name's Jaune Arc. And who might you be, again?"

"I'm Pyrrha Nikos, actually!" The redhead immediately stepped front and center. "My friend here is Kassidy, and it appears you've already met Weiss."

"Met me? He practically tried to fondle me!"

Kassidy sighed and walked away from the argument that was almost guaranteed to spring up there. _Could this day get any worse?_

* * *

"I suddenly regret our decision to change planets. I knew that Ozpin guy was full of shit." Finding herself dangling from a tree branch, Kassidy has so far managed to not die with a horrible splat after being quite intentionally tossed from a cliff. While she had climbed down as far as she could, Kass could still see a twenty five foot drop between her and the ground, with no more branches in between.

"There's obviously a method to his madness. Otherwise his school wouldn't still be in business." Bob was sitting strapped to a harness in the back of her bulletproof vest.

"I'll start worrying about the method once I know that I'll make it out of the madness alive." Kassidy would've continued, but a series of what sounded like a cross between shotgun blasts and flares barked up from under her. Looking down, she just caught a black and white creature getting thrown back. Shortly after, a second one took a step forward and reared back, standing ten feet tall. _Directly under me. This is going to be a hell of a long shot, but fifteen feet is better than twenty five_. Taking a deep breath, Kassidy dropped.

"What, you want some too!?"

A familiar voice shouted as Kass fell. In theory, this should've been easy, use the beast's head as a springboard to break her momentum and make the fall survivable with zero injuries. It might have even worked, too, if Kassidy was any good at acrobatics. Alas, it wasn't to be, and her ankle rolled out from under her. Rather than jumping off a safe distance away, she unceremoniously crumpled right in front of what could only be described as a sort of demon bear, which was very not happy that something just landed on top of its head. Letting instinct take over, Kass rolled to the side and emptied the pistol's magazine into its chest.

"I could've taken him." Looking over her shoulder, Kass caught sight of Yang, now dressed in a jacket that only reached to her waist and a half skirt that failed at hiding a pair of the shortest shorts she ever saw.

"Oh, hey. It's Yang, right?" Forcing herself into a sitting position, Kassidy looked down and tried to find the source of her new pain.

"Yeah. Kassidy, I think? Holy crap, what happened to your foot?" In a flash, the blonde was over at her side, trying to make heads or tails of the foot which couldn't have been at a more unnatural angle if Kassidy had tried.

"It seems to be dislocated." The robotic voice rang clear and true from Kass' back.

"No dip, Sherlock. Oh boy, this is gonna hurt." Bracing herself, Kassidy reached down to her foot, took a few breaths, and pulled. She shuddered at the wave of agony jolting up her leg, but it died down quickly to a dull ache. She rolled her foot around to make sure it was usable again.

"I'm pretty sure that's not how one treats a dislocated foot. And I'm also pretty sure I know the most about physiology and medicine between the two of us."

Kassidy sighed. Bob always was protective, and that included teaching her how to take care of any and all injuries that came up. She was about to shake it off before a gauntleted hand reached out.

"Maybe so, but it sure pulled through in a snap." Pulling the darker blonde off the ground, Yang was obviously quite pleased with herself. Kassidy smirked.

"Wait, you were the girl making puns last night, weren't you? And you're the first…" The gears were metaphorically spinning as Bob quickly put the pieces together, and he didn't like them. "The fates conspire to mock me. Or maybe it's just Kassidy. And to think of all the things I do for you."

Kass snorted. "Ah, a few puns won't kill you, Bob. Why-"

Snarling to her right brought Kassidy out of the conversation. After quickly realizing that yes, that trio of wolves was indeed bipedal and yes, they were about to attack, Kassidy grabbed her rifle. One and a half seconds and three shots later, the wolves crumpled to the ground and… started dissolving?

"Any idea where we're going?" Yang's question brought Kassidy back to the present.

"Yeah, I thought I saw some ruins over to the north through Kassidy's iris cam. Think that's where Ozpin wants us to go?"

"I'll start caring more about what Ozpin wants once he stops throwing me off cliffs." Kassidy huffed and tested her ankle. "Ready to go?"

"What's this iris cam thing?" Yang seemed puzzled.

"It's basically a contact lens that has a video camera in it. My dad's invention, actually."

"Oh, that seems neat. Alright! Follow me, my new partner!"


	6. V1C5: Initiation

**Chapter 5: Initiation**

 **AN: And here I make up the short chapter yesterday with a long one. Yang decides to poke some fun at Kassidy, Grimm get shot, and Bob's head starts hurting over how what few bits of reality that were still intact got thrown out the window.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

The next fifteen minutes passed by mostly in silence, with only the occasional gunshot. Not for lack of Yang's trying though. But Kassidy was having none of it. Rifle up, eyes and ears strained, this was a new persona. Stalking through the underbrush, the dark blonde was on a mission, and no amount of idle small talk would distract her. Pushing to the edge of a clearing, the duo found their target: a set of ruins in the north of the forest with a path leading up to it. They were about to start walking when a bush rustled to their left. It took less than half a second for Kass to whip around and fire a shot at the source of the sound, which was some sort of pig thing which had been charging at her until it caught a bullet in the brain.

"Dang, you're good with your rifle." Yang let out a low whistle.

"Had to be." Getting up and satisfied there were no more threats, the pair started walking to the ruins.

"Y'know, you're nowhere near as fun as I thought you were."

Kassidy scowled. "I haven't had much time for fun lately." Turning to take a look, Kass regarded her new partner. She noticed that Yang's boots and jacket were of an exceptionally high quality; the blonde obviously spared no expense on her equipment. Speaking of equipment, the gauntlets she had on were an enigma. They weren't steel, but the metal obviously had similar properties. They didn't even cover the girl's hands, ending right at the same length of her fists. What appeared to be shotgun shells were inside a revolving drum on the interior, but there didn't appear to be a firing mechanism. As for the girl herself, Kassidy had an inch or two on Yang, but the blonde's muscles by themselves seemed to weigh as much as all of Kass did. _That's what happens when eating properly becomes a luxury_.

Noticing her partner staring, and feeling a bit bored, Yang decided to strike a pose and have a bit of fun. "You like what you see, sugar?"

The innuendo seemed to go completely over Kassidy's head. "Somewhat. Your combat attire is of a high quality; it's obvious you take good care of it. Your gauntlets are a bit perplexing, they don't seem to cover your hands and I don't see what you have that would use the shotgun shells they're storing. And despite the care you put into your gear, you don't seem to own a shred of actual armor." Thinking for a moment, "And if we're going to be coming up with pet nicknames for each other, I'd prefer it if mine weren't 'sugar'. I don't even like sweets."

Yang looked taken aback. "Sheesh. Is she always this stiff, Mr. Computer Guy?"

A mechanical sigh emanated from Kassidy's back. "The name's Bob, first off. And whenever there's a job to do, she's actually being less serious than usual."

"Alright, alright. Wow, we need to brighten both of your moods." Finally reaching the ruins, Kassidy immediately noticed the relics were…

"Chess pieces? These chess pieces are relics to you guys?"

"I guess Ozpin doesn't like playing chess." Yang sauntered over to the stands with the pieces on them, not even bothering to pay attention to her surroundings. Kass cringed internally. Hoisting up a knight in triumph, Yang had a grin on her face. "How about a cute little pony?"

Kassidy shrugged. "Sure, whatever. The different types and colors obviously mean something, but I'm not convinced I care what the differences are."

"Okay, we need to work on this attitude of yours." The blonde came bounding up to stand right in front of Kassidy. "Firstly, I do take good care of my gear, thank you. As for my gauntlets, well… ever since we met up you just shot whatever moved before I had a chance to do anything. Speaking of which, I think I see an ursa over there. This one's mine, let me show you what they do." The blonde was already sprinting to the demon bear thing she just called an ursa before Kass could get a word in edgewise.

Taking aim, she was about to pull the trigger when, on a whim, she decided to take Yang's offer and see what those gauntlets did. She was not disappointed, as Yang slid under a swipe, then quite literally punched the bear to death. _So they're shotgun gauntlets? That would explain the firefight going on before I dropped from the tree._ The blonde soon returned with a grin on her face. "And there you have it. I punch things. Hard."

"So it would seem. Remind me not to get in a boxing match while you have those things on." Kassidy thought for a moment. They still had the clearing to themselves. "But those seem to be quite limited. What if you need to fight something that's out of your arm's reach?"

"Heh, watch this." Yang shifted her attention to a black and white pig rooting around at the edge of the clearing. Lining up, Yang threw a punch out, shooting off a shell that was part flare, part grenade. A satisfying explosion removed the boar from existence.

"So your fists are grenade launchers with those on. Seems like they would cause quite a bit of collateral damage. Still, neat." Kass regarded the event for a bit before Bob piped up.

"High explosives: never not fun."

"You can say that again." Both blondes spoke at the same time. They eyed each other, then started laughing. They busted up even harder when Bob did, in fact, say it again. The duo might have kept like that for a few minutes if a scream hadn't snapped them out of it.

"Some girl's in trouble!" Yang looked at her teammate after failing to find the source. Kassidy already had her rifle trained in the direction of the sound, eyes and ears straining. "What should we do?" Some more screaming could be heard from above, and they both snapped their heads up just in time to see a red and black clad girl falling, and then get shoved into a tree by a flying boy.

"Your sister does know how to find trouble." Kass was about to go on further when some roaring and explosions heralded the arrival of another demon bear. Surprisingly, it quickly collapsed, revealing a pink ball of energy that it was literally impossible to forget, along with a guy in a green and white suit. "God damn it, Nora," Kassidy face palmed. However, as if the situation wasn't hectic enough as is, another screech sounded as trees were uprooted to reveal a… gigantic scorpion.

"What in the recycle bin is that?!" Bob was just as stunned as Kass was. Ignoring some shenanigans on the part of the kids near her, she clambered on top of a pile of ruins to get a better picture of the surrounding area. Some Grimm were making their way to the commotion. She busied herself with some shooting before turning back.

"Alright, that settles it. This planet has zero idea of how biology is supposed to work." Kassidy jumped down to the group. Her partner seemed to be in a similar state of shock.

"Great, the gang's all here. Now we can die together!"

"Not if I can help it!" With that, Ruby dashed forward to clash with the giant scorpion. Both Yang and Kassidy had a look of terror on their faces.

"Ruby, wait!" Yang started running after her sister in a blind panic. Kassidy, however, had reverted back to her serious business persona.

"Alright, Bob, pull up what you can on scorpion anatomy. Some things we'll just need to assume for now. We need to deal with this, and fast." Taking a knee, Kassidy tried to remember what she knew about long range marksmanship. She was more proficient in mobile mid-range skirmishing, but right now that wasn't an option. _Alright, when in doubt, go for the obvious weak points._

Sizing up the monstrosity, Kass could also see Ruby try shooting the faceplate with her gigantic scythe cannon, which didn't even make the scorpion flinch. _Well, brute forcing the armor isn't going to work. If Ruby's ridiculous contraption can't punch through, my rifle sure as hell won't. That leaves only one obvious weak point._ Kassidy opened up, firing at the eyes. _Shoot, breathe. Shoot, breathe. One round a second. Find your groove._

It wasn't working. Whether she was missing the eyes or whether the bullets didn't have any impact, Kass couldn't tell. Backing out of her tunnel vision to reload, she was shocked to find a line of black between her and her quarry. She was about to set up for another salvo when something white and fast went rushing by. Suddenly, a giant ball of ice materialized out of nowhere. _Wait, what the hell?_

Weiss Schnee and Yang both led Ruby back to the group. Kassidy looked around at the bruised and tired teens around her. _They're not ready to fight this. It's going to have to be me._ Anxiety finding its way in her face, Kass gulped and started stepping forward. Yang took notice.

"Hey, you okay, partner? Don't tell me you're thinking of rushing in there too."

"You guys aren't in great shape to fight a 30 foot long scorpion, and that ice won't hold forever." Kassidy sighed and regarded her companion. "Bob, find me a soft spot."

"Forget it." A sharp, commanding voice rose behind her. Turning around, she found Weiss, with crossed arms, staring her down. "Our objective is right in front of us."

"She's right." Ruby had stepped up now, also determining to take command. "Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs. There's no sense in fighting these things."

"They're not wrong. Assuming we're linearly scaling the proportions of normal scorpions, that carapace is over four inches thick. The Garand will never get through even the weakest points." _That wasn't the news I wanted to hear, Bob._

"Run and live. That is an idea I can get behind." With some semblance of a plan, the group had started gathering the remaining artifacts and getting together. A cracking sound behind them diverting their attention to the scorpion being about to break free from its icy prison.

Ren stepped up. "It's time we left."

"Right, let's go!" Ruby stepped up to the front and led the group over a hill past the clearing. Taking a couple more potshots to clear out some of the smaller Grimm, Kassidy jogged up to meet with her partner, who made no move to join the group.

"Is everything okay?" Getting from around Yang's back, the blonde had a goofy expression that was instantly recognized as 'proud big sister'.

"Just fine."

Kassidy smirked and place a hand on her shoulder. "Ruby's gonna go far, I can tell." Starting to jog off, she shot over her shoulder, "But we should probably get moving. I for one have no intentions of getting eaten today."

Several minutes of jogging found the group coming up on a chokepoint created by more ruins. _Alright, just need to get on top of the ruins and avoid the choke point and I should be good._ Kassidy made her way to one of the pillars and tried to see if she could climb it, before realizing that everyone had just charged in. _So much for common survival instincts._ The group had gotten about halfway through when a giant raven perched on the end and stared them down. Kass found herself paired up with Weiss behind a pillar.

"Bob, if you so much as think of making a flippant remark here, so help me I will deactivate you. Now, I need raven anatomy. Do the linear scaling again."

"Nevermores aren't just giant ravens. Have you never dealt with a Grimm before?" Weiss was obviously still cross, but Kassidy could tell that was more of an undertone to Schnee's thought process rather than her focus. She was about to reply when the giant scorpion came busting through the forest behind them.

"Aw man, run!" With that, everyone went and charged further down the choke point. Taking a closer look as she ran, Kass could tell that shooting the raven would be a hell of a lot more productive than wasting ammo on the scorpion.

"Keep going, I'll get its attention!" Skidding to a stop, Kassidy breathed, aimed, and fired. Fortunately the thing was massive, and her aim was good enough that it didn't take much to get the desired effect. After ripping through a clip, she was in the middle of reloading when she chanced a look up and saw a giant mass of feathers flying towards her. Tumbling through and somehow not getting skewered, Kass scrambled to her feet and saw that the scorpion had almost caught up. _Damnit, I can't outrun that thing._

It turns out she didn't have to, as Ren and Nora came screaming in from the sides. A pink hammer and green blades tore at it and made it back up. While this was happening, something shimmering and white suddenly appeared below her. "Wha-" Kassidy didn't even get the chance to express her bewilderment as Weiss materialized next to her, grabbed her arm, and the two shot off at speeds no person should be able to reach.

The two stopped at the fore of a large bridge going over a gorge. Yang and Ruby had already started the trek across, while Jaune and Pyrrha had just caught up. Looking back, Nora and Ren were currently engaged in the most lethal footrace ever with a scorpion the size of a house.

"Go, go!" Pyrrha got Jaune and Weiss moving, and pulled a rifle off her back. Kassidy did likewise.

"How tough are those eyes?"

"Not very."

"Let's turn the lights out, then." _Shoot, breathe. Shoot, breathe._ As Ren and Nora raced past, Kass smirked as two of those glowing red eyes went dim. The smirk quickly disappeared, however, as a loud caw heralded the arrival of the nevermore as it tore through the bridge. _Yang, Ruby, Jaune, Nora, and Weiss are safe. That just leaves Pyrrha, Ren, and I to deal with this thing._ Getting as much distance from the scorpion as the broken bridge would allow, Kassidy reloaded and was about to fire another round.

"Nora SMASH!"

She looked up just in time to see Nora come flying through and, true to her battle cry, smash the scorpion right on the head with her hammer. A thump next to her side revealed that Jaune had also managed to make it across the gap. Before Kassidy could get her bearings back, Nora flew right into her and sent her plummeting off the edge of the bridge. Quickly realizing she was falling, instinct overrode everything. Pointing her left arm above her, she reached over and smashed a trigger on her bracer.

As the newest device in her arsenal was activated, a rifle round shot out dragging a grappling hook and a fifty foot long lightweight steel cable. Finding purchase in one of the intact stone towers, Kass held on for dear life as the cable quickly ran out of length and nearly yanked her arm out of its socket. Swinging in a wide circle, she would soon be back on the bridge, though on the other side this time.

 _Oh shit, that bird's coming right for me._ Throwing her weight to the side, she was just able to avoid getting eaten. Thought being overridden still, her free arm reached for her pistol and starting shooting into the side of the nevermore's face, which flew off in pain. Landing in a crumpled heap on the bridge, she was snapping back to reality when Ruby and Yang came running over.

"That was awesome!"

"You okay, partner?"

"Yeah, I'm fine for now. Holy crap I'm glad I built that." Seeing the oversized raven turning back, Kassidy reached for her rifle. "That skull's on the thick side. My pistol can't get through."

"Then let's hit it with everything we've got!"

Ruby extended her scythe and cocked the gigantic cannon on it, Yang loaded fresh shells, and Weiss had just turned a dial on her rapier, which made it glow bright blue. Kassidy, however, was struck by an idea and shouldered her rifle again.

"Are you crazy?! Ugh, how did you even get into this academy anyway?" Weiss was screeching up a fit. At least, she was until she watched Kassidy dig out a large red crystal. _Ruby and Glynda must not have seen me pocket this after chasing off White Coat._ Everyone instantly took several steps back. She looked at the girls confused.

"What, is this dangerous?"

"It's a dust crystal you dunce, of course it's dangerous!"

"Good." Staring Big Bird in the eyes, Kass drew her pistol and assumed a baseball pitcher's stance. _Well, I was the catcher actually. And this isn't little league. Here goes nothing. Just need to wait for it to get close enough and – there!_ Chucking the crystal as hard as she could, Kassidy instantly tracked it with her handgun and fired. A large fireball erupted right in the nevermore's face.

Ruby and Yang whooped and hollered for a bit, until the giant raven, which had apparently caught fire, crashed into the bridge. Fortunately, Kassidy was able to tumble out the way and avoided falling into the gorge. Bringing her rifle around, she sent a clip of shots after the flying inferno. Reloading, she saw Weiss and Ruby jump back up onto the bridge next to here.

"I have a plan. Weiss, cover me! Kassidy, can you get your cable strung up between the two towers?"

Kass blinked. The request to string her cable up between two towers on the bridge was an odd one, but Ruby said she had a plan, and it was better than the current no plan she was able to come up with. Running over to the landmarks, they were fortunately in such a condition that they had enough cracks for handholds, but still structurally sound.

"Do we have any idea what we're doing?" Bob did serve as her voice of sanity – usually.

"Nope. Dear god I am going to be sore tomorrow." Clinging to the side, Kassidy whipped her head around to find Yang landing in a three point stance. Catching her eye and pointing to the opposing tower, she then watched Weiss dash forward and cause another giant ball of ice to materialize out of thin air, apparently gluing Big Bird to the ground. Adjusting her grip so her left arm was free, Kass raised it and aimed to the side of her partner's head. "Yang, catch!"

Shooting the cable across, the blonde snatched it out of the air, wound it around her wrist a couple times, and pulled it taught. Kassidy shifted her position to get a better hold when Ruby jumped up… and pulled the cable back to the ground. Weiss joined her on the ground and made a white circle appear behind Ruby, which quickly turned black.

"Are we about to do what I think we are?" The strain from having the cable pull so hard on Kassidy was making its way into her voice.

"Yup. We're going to need to pull. You ready, partner?"

Kass didn't get the chance to respond, as Ruby shot forward. The instant slack developed, she and Yang hauled on the cable for all they were worth, and the pint sized sister landed on the cliff with the nevermore in her scythe's clutches. A line of white circles marched up the cliff, which Ruby used to… promptly start sprinting up the cliff?

Climbing down from her post and winding the cable back in, she joined Weiss and Yang on the ground. "What in the actual… Bob, I'm not sure what got injured more today. Me, or my grasp on reality."

Yang put a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, don't worry, you'll be fine. How's your foot doing?"

Kassidy rolled her ankle around. "Still good for now. That'll almost certainly change once I crash from this adrenaline high." Looking up, she watched Ruby reach the top of the cliff and outright decapitate the nevermore. Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren had somehow made their way to the cliff side of the bridge and caught up with the group. The seven of them let out a small cheer, but were too exhausted to do anything else. It was eventually Bob who broke the silence.

"Would it be safe to assume that an elevator would be out of the question?"


	7. V1C6: Friction

**Chapter 6: Friction**

 **AN: Another long chapter, and no I'm not planning on forever leaving them this long. More dialogue to follow up the past one and a half chapters of combat. Team RWKY is officially formed. RWY start suspecting something's up with their teammate. Nora challenges Kassidy to an eating contest.**

 **Also, after the three chapters past this, I'm currently coming up with nothing for a two week gap in the story. I don't want to skip that much time, so if any of you have suggestions for one shots during the first two weeks of school (shenanigans preferred), it would help me immensely beef up the story.**

 **As always, don't hesitate to let me know how my writing is going and what I can do to improve.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

"And finally, Kassidy Smith, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long."

 _Yay, ceremonies._ Kass was never a big fan of big public events, but this was kind of necessary. Stepping up to the stage with her partner, the little sister, and Weiss, she stood at attention as Ozpin regarded them from behind a microphone.

"The four of your retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, the four of you will work together as… Team Rookie. Led by… Ruby Rose."

Kassidy looked around her. Yang wasn't to her left anymore, instead running over to hug her kid sister who had just been made team captain. Ruby was busy getting smothered in a bear hug. It was Weiss that gave her some concern. Although Schnee was too practiced in formal public events to show it, she was obviously furious. Kass shifted her weight to her left leg; her ankle was now screaming at her for not having taken care of it yet.

Ozpin made some final remarks about this shaping up to be an interesting year, and the four girls stepped down from the stage. Her foot particularly didn't like the stairs, but Kassidy grit her teeth and the group found their way to JNPR. As the seven of them conversed, she leaned against the wall and rested her ankle. Closing her eyes for a minute and doing a breathing exercise, she managed to blink the pain back a bit before she opened them to come face to face with Yang.

"Your foot's hurting, isn't it?"

Kassidy gave a smirk that convinced nobody. "My foot? Nah, I'm just standing on one leg and leaning against the wall because it's fun." She moved to rejoin the group, but then a pain shot through her left shoulder and she practically doubled over. She managed to get out through gritted teeth, "Alright, so maybe I hurt myself a bit. Need to get to my bag."

Ruby found her way under Kassidy's shoulder, and together with her sister they got Kass to a chair. "What's in that bag that you need? And wouldn't the infirmary be better?"

Bob started squawking from her back. "Wait, there's an infirmary here? Thank Java, there's someone here other than me who'll care about your wellbeing."

"Hey, I care about my wellbeing plenty, thank you! And in my bag, among other things, are a number of toys for Bob to play with. One of them being a portable X-ray scanner."

"So why not just head to the infirmary and use theirs? It's closer than the locker room anyway."

Kassidy opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out. _Well, it is closer, judging from the map we all got. The doctors would probably waste their time with treatments, but… actually, that's the only drawback I can see to that plan._ Shaking her head in defeat, Kass fought to her feet. "You're gonna look out for me, right Bob? You know what needs to get done."

"Someone has to look out for you. I'll make sure they don't go messing around with stuff they shouldn't."

"Then it's settled! Team RWKY, to the infirmary!" Ruby raced off, curiously leaving more flower petals behind her. Weiss pinched her nose, then sighed and stormed off after her. Yang chuckled and got herself under Kassidy's shoulder, despite the latter's protests.

"Really, Yang, it's just pain. I can deal with a little pain on the way to the infirmary."

"Doesn't mean you have to." Pyrrha walked into her field of view. "And Yang didn't make it sound like it was just pain. You really ought to have that taken care of."

Kass tried to argue, but Yang was almost ready to drag her at this point and she decided not to make her partner's life any more difficult than necessary. As the pair stumbled through the hall, they didn't even need to consult their maps as a trail of petals led them straight to the infirmary.

"So… what's up with your sister dropping flower petals everywhere she goes? And where is she getting them all?"

Yang snorted and waved it off. "Oh, it's kind of her thing. Ruby's fast, really fast. And when she gets going, she just drops rose petals behind her. What did Bob mean when he said that he'd make sure nobody messed with stuff they shouldn't?"

Kassidy bit her lip. "He meant that I have certain tolerances. Sensitive to some compounds, outright ignoring others. It's some weird medical condition I forget the name of, but medical processes for me tend to be different than for other people. Bob knows them all, and so I wanted to make sure he'd step in if the doctors were about to do something stupid."

Bob piped up from her back at this point. "Kassidy, my prime directive is keeping you safe. You don't need to make sure I'll intervene if the doctors were to do something that might harm you. I couldn't ignore the situation if I tried."

At this point they arrived at the infirmary. A middle aged man approached and asked her to sit, and Kassidy handed Bob to him.

"I need X-rays of my right ankle and left shoulder. I have unique medical needs; my computer has dealt with them in the past and he'll be able to help you determine adequate treatments as well as which compounds to avoid."

The doctor looked surprised for a moment, then smiled and nodded. Taking Bob, who was busy chattering his ear off about something or other, he left the girls to their momentary peace. Weiss was the first to break the silence. "So how, exactly, did you get hurt? You weren't even in the fight half the time."

"Hey, she was in the fight plenty! She even got more kills than I did!" Yang hadn't taken too kindly to Schnee snapping at her partner. "And she fell twenty five feet on top of an ursa."

"So it only took a twenty five foot drop to completely deplete her aura, to the point of horribly mangling her foot?" Weiss was very, very mad. Wheeling on Kassidy, "How did you even get in this school anyway? You don't know what dust is, you don't know what Grimm are, and a small drop completely lowered your defenses? You don't belong here!"

Yang was about to argue more, but Kassidy stood up and glared daggers at Schnee. She was pissed, and venom flowed freely from her voice. "Listen here, princess. Between dozens of bipedal wolves, a scorpion the size of a house, and a giant murder bird that could shed its own feathers as projectiles, I've had it up to here with shit trying to kill me today. I don't know about you, but I could do without getting yelled at about how I don't know about things I've never had to deal with in my little slice of hell earlier."

Yang and Ruby had backed up a few steps, but Weiss, the smallest girl of the bunch, was unintimidated. Kass continued, taking some of the edge out of her voice. "Now, in case you've already forgotten, the lot of us are going to be working together for the next four years. If you would like to sabotage our chances of success by nursing a grudge, that's on you. I, however, will not be dragged down by petty concerns of being holier than thou."

* * *

(Perspective: RWY)

At this point, the doctor had returned. "Miss Smith, if you could follow me, we're ready to have you screened." Once Kassidy had hobbled out, the three girls were left standing for a short while. Weiss was practically quivering with anger, her left hand gripping Myrtenaster so tightly the knuckles were bone white. Eventually, she managed to calm herself down. Flipping her hair over her shoulder, Schnee made her way to a chair and sat down.

"Well geez. And I thought I had a temper." Yang had been sheepishly rubbing her neck, but she recovered and turned to Weiss. "Look, she's trying, okay? I know she's not the best fighter, but she's obviously committed to working on it. And from being with her all day, she just might be the best shot. Sorry sis."

"That doesn't explain how she had no idea how dust worked. Or what Grimm were." Crossing her arms, Weiss was staring a hole into the opposite wall, wondering how she could have been so unlucky to have been teamed with a child and an idiot.

"Well, uh, I think there might be an actual explanation for that." All eyes turned to Ruby. "When we met, she said that she was a traveler; that she wasn't from around here. She didn't know what Atlas was and was surprised that we had, oh how did she put it, 'a country named after a book of maps.'"

Weiss scoffed. "Did she seriously call my home a book of maps?"

Ruby ignored the comment and continued. "When we were fighting that Torchwick guy, Kassidy said that she hadn't even been around for sixty seconds. How would she get from outside the kingdom to being at the center of town inside of a minute, with that tin can on? You saw the armor she left behind, Yang. There's no way she could've been fast at all, never mind quiet."

"Yeah, you're right." Yang turned to the heiress. "After dad and I picked Rubes up, we went over to the scene of the crime. Right in the middle of the road was a twisted shell of iron bigger than Crescent Rose. It didn't look much like armor anymore, but still, it's inconceivable she just strolled up the street quietly in under a minute."

Weiss' jaw was clenched as the girl thought. "So what, you're saying she teleported into the middle of the road with a hunk of scrap built around her?"

Ruby shrugged. "I'm not sure, but here's the kicker: she didn't know what a huntress was. Think about that. There isn't a person alive on Remnant who doesn't know who the huntsmen and huntresses are. Combine that with all the quirks, the funny ammunition she uses, and her computer, and she might not just be not from around here." The scythe wielder paused for dramatic effect. "She actually might not be from around here. Like, from Remnant."

The heiress' brow furrowed. "That doesn't make any sense. At all. Do you even know what you're talking about?" Yang was about to fire back when some noise got their attentions.

*thump* "Argh! Son of a!"

"Kassidy!" Yang sprang up and was already dashing through the curtain. She found Kassidy leaning against the wall, shoulder already bruising. "What happened?"

* * *

(Perspective: K)

The doctor didn't even look at Yang. "Her shoulder had been pulled halfway out of its socket. Rather than accepting treatment for it, she settled for pushing it back into place by ramming her arm into the wall."

Kass grimaced. "My body can heal it up faster than the medicines can. Sorry doc, but downtime isn't a luxury that I have. You have news for us on the foot yet, Bob?"

"Unfortunately, I do." The black box was resting on a table on the other side of the room. "The ankle joint is shattered. I'm currently running simulations on how aggressive a treatment we can put you on without causing permanent damage, but there isn't a quick fix for this one."

At this time, Weiss stepped through the curtain, with Ruby poking her head through. "What kind of timetable are we looking at?" _Alright, Weiss seems to have calmed down a lot. Still cross, obviously, but at least she's not raving mad._

"Best case scenario right now? Eighteen hours."

Schnee's eyes widened. "What? That's ridiculous. Not even aura can heal that quickly. Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

"I don't make mistakes."

"Bob!" Kassidy snapped at her computer, and the argument died down. "It's pushing five right now. Eighteen hours puts us at eleven in the morning tomorrow. That's not good enough. Do better."

"Working on it. These people have some strange chemical compounds bolstered by this dust substance. I'm not exactly thrilled about you ingesting a powder that has a tendency to explode, but I'm starting to run out of options here."

"Dust only explodes in its pure, unrefined form." Weiss, now the picture of grace, strolled up to the table where Bob was. Pride dripped from every word, and she flipped her hair over her shoulder as she talked. "Given that I'm the heiress to the largest manufacturer of dust on the planet, I should know. The small handful of types that find their way in medicine are perfectly harmless after they've been processed into the chemicals you can access."

"Your friend is correct. Bob, you obviously know Kassidy's unique physiology better than anyone else, probably better than she does judging from her actions. Let me give you my usual recommendation for this type of injury, and I'll let you work with that. Miss Smith, please get back on the table so we can continue our work. No matter the treatment, your foot will need to be immobilized."

Kassidy grumbled, but hopped over to the bench and sat. As the doctor worked on bandaging her foot, she glanced over at her teammates. "I've taken some hard hits. Never been an invalid before."

Yang barely stifled a laugh. "You're hardly an invalid now, and it apparently won't even take twenty four hours for it to fix itself. You'll be fine. And besides, after this your ankle should hurt nevermore, am I right?" Ruby, Weiss, and Bob all groaned.

"Uh, alright. That was a bad pun, and I have some pretty low standards when it comes to puns." Kass thought for a moment. "It doesn't even make sense. Nevermore seemed to be the punchline there, but… what?"

Ruby piped up. "Nevermores are the big flying Grimm that shoot feathers. You know, the giant raven thing we fought today?"

Kassidy shrugged. "Alright. In the meantime, I guess I'll just need to Yang in there." More groans, accompanied by a laugh from her partner. A large growling emanated from her stomach. "Um, does anybody know what's for dinner?"

* * *

"Alright, this has been bugging me for a while now. The white knight? We seriously had to pick those pieces?" Bob was talking to the group, which had rejoined JNPR for dinner. Balancing on some crutches, Kassidy couldn't help but chuckle. "I know, for real? Why do I get the feeling that'll bite us in the butt down the road?"

"Oh, you'll be fine!" Nora bounded up and almost knocked Kass off her crutches. "Does anyone else smell that? It almost smells like – "

"TURKEY!" Kassidy had just sighted the dinner being set out, which reminisced of a full blown thanksgiving feast. "Oh my god when was the last time I had turkey?" She was already drooling.

"Uh, are you alright there, partner?" Yang poked her in the uninjured shoulder.

"Oh boy. Fair warning to you guys, she has been on a strict diet for the past while. We haven't had much to work with. And this girl loves food. I wouldn't recommend – "

"I bet she doesn't love food as much as me!" Nora smashed her fist into her palm. Kassidy regarded the pink ball of energy before her.

"That's a bet you would lose, I'm afraid."

Ren had already started pulling people away from Nora and Kass. "Kassidy, I've known Nora almost my whole life. This girl is an expert at putting away more food than should be physically possible. You don't want to turn this into a competition."

Nora wasn't having any of Ren's business though. "Oh, ho, so you DO want to turn it into a competition! Well I bet I can eat more turkey than you can, skinny jeans!"

Kassidy regarded the glorious poultry before her, then looked at Nora. "I'm afraid I don't have much to bet. How about we settle for bragging rights?"

"Nope! How about – "

"Nora would love to settle for bragging rights." Ren stepped in at this point and stared his partner down.

"Very well, it's decided. Yang, can you help me set up a plate?"

Yang's face broke into the biggest smile Kassidy had seen yet. "Yup," she said, popping the P. "I do NOT want to miss this."

"Wonderful. Our dinner has already turned into a circus." Weiss was facepalming near the rear of the group.

* * *

"Ugh, that was a mistake." Kassidy's stomach was filled to bursting.

"You can say that again – urf!" Nora wasn't looking much better.

"I must admit, you're the first person I've met to have outeaten Nora." Ren was helping his partner through the hallway. "Although I can't possibly fathom how many calories are in eleven pounds of turkey. Or where either of you put eleven pounds apiece." Scrolls came out, and doors on the opposite sides of the hallway opened to admit their new tenants.

"Farewell comrades!" Pyrrha waved at RWKY as they passed into the room. "And thank you for the lovely time this evening!"

The room greeting them had the essentials for students. Four beds, four desks, eight bookshelves. Weiss was complaining about how her luggage had been stacked wrong and that if Kassidy barfed, she was cleaning it up. Red and yellow bags sat in front of two of the other beds.

"They knew we were going to be in this room, right? Why's there an extra bed in here? They knew I had a bedroll. Is there a fifth one of us nobody's told me about?" Between exhaustion and being intoxicated on turkey, Kassidy showed confusion at the scene before her.

Ruby looked at her funny. "What, you don't sleep on a bed?"

Kass shook her head. "Haven't for a good while. It won't fit in my backpack."

"Well then you're gonna sleep well tonight!" Yang ran over and jumped on a bed, instantly claiming it. "Ooh, soft! Hey, where's your luggage K?"

Kassidy threw a thumb at the backpack on her shoulder. "You're looking at it."

"Dang, you travel light. Well team, let's get ready for bed! We've got a big day tomorrow!" Ruby unzipped one of her bags, got a small pile of clothes out, and raced to the bathroom to change.

"Alright Bob, hope you're not too jealous." Placing her companion to the side, Kassidy dug her new scroll out of her pocket and wrestled with the controls before eventually finding a map.

"What could possibly be on that plastic card that I couldn't provide you?"

"A route to the nearest gym. You know how much I don't sleep. Whenever I get up at…" Kassidy regarded an alarm clock on one of the bookshelves. "… one in the morning, I'd rather get something productive done that doesn't wake everyone up."

"Wait, there's a one in the morning?" Yang called out from the pillow her face was buried in. "I would punch someone if they woke me up at one in the morning. What could you possibly be doing up then?"

"These days I'm lucky if I get more than four hours of sleep a night. Three is the usual rule."

"Yeah, but that was on your bedroll that can't possibly be comfortable and also has a big hole in it. Your turn, Weiss." Ruby had just gotten out of the bathroom after changing into sleepwear, and Weiss slipped in shortly after.

Kass grumbled for a bit, but suddenly felt too tired to argue further. Placing her crutches on the wall and being careful not to land on her foot, she laid on the bed and sank into a sea of softness.

"Hey, aren't you going to change first? How do you even sleep in that stuff? Or with your hair in that incredibly tight bun?" Yang was just about to take Weiss' place in the bathroom.

Kassidy fumbled with her hair for a moment, for the first time in a while. That bun had been in place for the past few months. It took half an hour to fix her shoulder length hair into it because of how tight it was. It needed to be tight since it kept her hair from falling into her face or getting caught on anything.

Kass was about to answer when she fell into the deepest sleep she had in years.


	8. V1C7: Day One

**Chapter 7: Day One  
**

 **AN: Normal length chapter here. Warning ahead of time that next chapter might be on the short side. Kassidy tries (and fails) to get accustomed to her new life. Comments are appreciated as usual.**

 **Also, still looking for ideas on small stories (i.e. a chapter apiece) to fill in a two week gap in the story.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

The first thing Kassidy noticed when she woke up was how comfortable she was. _Been nice to sleep on a bed for a change. Don't have to deal with aches and cramps when I get up._ Sitting up, her eyes still closed because of the sunlight… _wait, sunlight?_ Taking a glance over at the alarm clock, she saw the time was 6:30. _Holy crap! I haven't slept for nine hours since ever! Starting to slack off, can't let the edge get dull._ Crossing the room and digging through her bag for her earpiece and iris cam to put them back in, Kass realized that she fell asleep so quickly that she forgot to take them out. _No wonder my eye's itching._

"Hey Bob, you there?" She tapped on her earpiece and kept her voice low, so her slumbering teammates wouldn't rouse. _Right, teammates. That's going to take some getting used to._

"Well good morning, sleeping beauty. I was wondering how much time you were planning to waste in that hard, cold, miserable bed."

"Alright, you can quit teasing now. Anything strange happen while I was out?"

"Yeah, you slept nearly three times as long as you usually do. How's your foot doing, by the way?"

 _Oh, right, my ankle was shattered._ "I've been prancing around on it, so it can't be that bad. Shoulder feels nice too. Let me grab your toolbox and let's see what we can see."

Digging around for an X-ray scanner, Kassidy plugged it in and started unwrapping her foot. _It looks alright, certainly feels alright._ "Might not even need the scanner for this one. Feels fine to me."

"You also have a tendency to ignore feelings you don't want to deal with. Let's take a look."

Finding a spare wall outlet, she plugged the scanner in, which now made Bob look like a black, ugly box wired to another black, ugly box. Passing the scanner over first her foot, then her shoulder, Kass waited for Bob to render the images.

"Not perfect, but it'll do. They gave you that injection at what, five in the afternoon? Thirteen and a half hour recovery time. Impressive." Bob was obviously just as pleased as Kassidy was about the results. "Everything should be fully recovered by nine o clock, if you don't put more strain on things than you absolutely have to. I'd recommend postponing your workout until this afternoon."

"For once, I'm going to have to agree with that logic. Still need to find a way to be productive this morning, though. A good start would be some breakfast."

* * *

"Alright, I know you have a high metabolism, but six eggs? You killed off an entire turkey yesterday! Considering that part of my functionality is maintaining your health, and that we now have regular access to actual food, it might be wise to set up a meal plan for you."

Kassidy chuckled through a mouthful of food. "Bob, dude, I'm five nine and weigh a hundred fifteen pounds. I'm the last candidate on this campus for getting fat. Especially considering my metabolism." Stuffing in more food, she thought for a bit. "I suppose it can't hurt though. Managing my macronutrients and whatnot so my muscle mass can grow the quickest. Or whatever those health buzzwords are."

Her computer sighed next to her. "They're not just buzzwords. With as much punishment as you put yourself through, I really wish you'd put more care into how you treat your body. And could you try not eating as fast? It's not like anyone is gonna take your food out from under you."

She eyed her companion. "Do you remember the last time I had a solid meal before we got here? Neither do I. I'm going to eat like it's my last meal because there's no guarantee that it isn't."

"Sure there is!" Ruby suddenly came bounding up next to Kassidy, setting her own impressively loaded plate of eggs, fruit, and toast with way too much jelly on it. "I mean, why would they? The entire point of this school is training us to be the best fighters we can be. We can't do that if we go hungry."

Kassidy regarded her new team leader. Still dressed in her sleepwear, Ruby was busy digging into a bowl of strawberries. "Yeah, well, they wouldn't be the first people to say that without actually meaning it. And you know that much sugar can't possibly be good for you, right?"

"But it tastes so good!" Ruby's whining was almost as adorable as it was annoying. She instantly snapped out of it, thankfully. "Why would they say it if they didn't mean it? I mean, they're the good guys." Putting down a piece of toast, she looked at Kassidy. "Kass, where did you come from that makes you so suspicious of other people?"

 _I was afraid of this._ Kassidy chewed on a load of hash browns while contemplating a wise answer. _If I told the truth, she'd hate me. So only part of the truth. But would she able to understand that? Would she be too young to understand the ways of the world?_ She suddenly cringed. _Does Yang have some sort of ground rules for what Ruby should and shouldn't be exposed to? But I'm a terrible liar anyway, and Ruby's shown in the past to see straight through it._

"Kass…" Ruby was practically pleading with her now.

Letting out a sigh, she elected for the path of least resistance. "There were no good guys where I come from. And if you don't mind, I'd rather not talk more about it than that."

Ruby looked at her plate for a bit. Head drooped, fork absentmindedly pushing around her eggs. _I'm sorry kid, but that answer's a hell of a lot nicer than I could have made it._ After about thirty seconds, the kid looked back up at her, silver eyes gleaming. _Goddamnit, quit making pathetic faces. It's almost like she knows I'm a sucker for those._ "When you do want to talk, I'll be here."

"Talk about what?" Yang had just sauntered up to the pair, chewing on a sausage link and settling down to a giant omelet. "Was Ruby trying to give you that puppy dog stare?"

Kassidy was about to answer when her pocket pinged at her. Ruby's and Yang's scrolls had pinged as well. Digging in her pocket, she pulled out her own device and found the following message:

"TEAM RWKY: YOUR UNIFORMS HAVE JUST BEEN DROPPED OFF AT YOUR DORMITORY. ATTACHED TO THIS MESSAGE IS YOUR CLASS SCHEDULE. DO NOT BE LATE."

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they might not want us late for classes." Kassidy shoveled what was left of her food into her mouth, then regarded the classes she had been put in. "Hey, since this message was sent to the four of us, does this mean we share all the same classes?"

"Sure looks like it." Yang swiped through her schedule before snapping her scroll closed. "Looks like classes end at four. If we don't have too much homework, we should be able to have some fun this evening. And we'll be able to improve your mood some, grumpy pants."

Kass took the physical ribbing as well as she did the metaphorical, namely by ignoring it. "I hope combat training won't require too much shooting. I used most of my ammo yesterday and I forgot to restock last evening. So, uh, where's Weiss? She doesn't strike me as one who would skip breakfast."

"Oh, she's still sleeping." Bits of egg tumbled out as Yang talked.

The three girls looked at each other with mischievous eyes, then all blurted at once, "Not it!"

"Drat." Ruby pouted for a bit, then finished off her breakfast. Kassidy was busy inputting her schedule into Bob while Yang finished, then the three girls went up to the room. Outside the door were four cardboard boxes, each labelled for a different recipient.

"Hey, do you mind letting me rinse off a bit before you get Weiss up?" Kass creaked the door open and stepped inside. She knew a thing or two about being quiet.

"Sure, Rubes and I already took care of it." Kassidy picked up her uniform box, then headed into the showers for bathing that involved actual hot water.

"Hey, aren't you gonna let your hair down first?"

She looked up and found Yang regarding her from having torn her box open. Reaching up to fiddle with her bun a bit, she answered back, "Nah, it's been months since I've let it down. Takes forever to put back up and I'd rather not spend that kind of time today."

Ruby her head tilted to the side. "Don't you ever let your hair down? That knot seems really, really tight and it couldn't possibly be comfortable."

"It kind of isn't, but it needs to be up so it doesn't get in the way of anything."

"Okay, step one of improving your mood." Yang sprang up and started poking at her pun. "You need to relax, and letting your hair relax is a good starting point. You see this mane of mine?" She threw the golden carpet from off her shoulder. "This doesn't get in the way of anything, and I can guarantee that mine's bigger than yours."

"My hair doesn't need to relax, it needs to stay out of my face and not get caught on things." She fought with her partner for a bit before resigning herself to her fate. "You're not gonna let me out of this with my bun intact, are you?"

Popping the P, "Nope!" With a final tug, Yang made the whole thing unravel. Kassidy resolved to put it back up as soon as her partner wasn't looking.

"Alright, I'm gonna hop in the shower before you find anything else to mess with. I hope you're happy." Yang didn't even need to reply to give an answer. The smug grin told all.

After stepping out of the excessively long shower and drying off, Kass opened her box of uniforms, and her heart sank. _Skirts, really? And is that a blouse? Like hell I'm wearing that! This is about as non-practical as it's possible to get!_ Cracking the bathroom door open just a hair, she stuck her head out and asked Ruby, "Hey, these uniforms aren't mandatory, are they?"

"Yeah, they are. What, you don't like them?" Kassidy swore under her breath, which the kid apparently picked up on. "Hey, watch your language!"

She ducked back into the bathroom, grumbling about what she'd give for a decent pair of pants. While not exactly a tomboy in her younger days, fragile fancy clothes were never her thing. After eventually figuring out how exactly everything was supposed to fit together, she stepped out. _At least the socks are reasonable, if still fragile. I really hope I'll never have to throw down in this getup._

"Lookin' sharp, partner."

"The instant we're done with classes, I'm putting my hair back up and changing into my gear. Bob, time check."

"It's eight o clock."

"Sure you are." Yang had a grin on her face, which vanished once a groan emanated from Weiss. Backing up across the room, the two blondes watched Ruby pull out a whistle. A shrill blast left the heiress on the floor.

"Good morning Team RWKY!"

"What in the world is wrong with you?"

Kass and Yang snickered at the two smaller girls' antics.

"Now that you're awake, we can officially begin our first order of business."

"Decorating!" Yang hauled an armload of her stuff up. Kassidy decided to join in on the proceedings. "You guys still need to unpack." Picking up one of Ruby's bags that was on the floor next to her, it almost instantly flopped open and dumped its contents on the floor. "And clean. I'll help with that second bit."

Ruby blew another whistle at Weiss, who promptly fell over. "All right! Weiss, Kassidy, Yang, and their fearless leader Ruby have begun their first mission! Bonsai!"

"Bonsai!" Yang went to join her sister. Kass was content with chuckling for a second, before her partner grabbed her arm and drug her to the two sisters. She put up her own arm and let out a cry that was nowhere near as enthusiastic as her teammates.

* * *

"Good thing I brought my bedroll." The scene before them would have been comical if they didn't have to live with it. The beds were all in one big pile in the middle of the room. Even with only three kids' room decorations to deal with rather than all four, her teammates had way too much stuff. They could learn a thing or two from her about travelling light.

"This isn't going to work."

"Maybe we should ditch some of our stuff."

"Or we could ditch the beds…" Upon Ruby saying this, three sets of eyes went straight to her. After a moment's thought, her face lit up. "… and replace them with bunk beds!"

"Um, that sounds incredibly dangerous."

"And super awesome!"

Kassidy regarded the proceedings before her. "That does seem more efficient. I mean, we do have room for two of the beds. Stacking them should work if we can get them to stay where we put them."

"Well, I think we should put it to a vote." Weiss was obviously accustomed to getting her own way in things.

"I think we already did." With no further argument, the group set to work stacking beds on top of each other.

Kassidy was helping Yang stack their beds on top of each other, with the latter doing most of the actual lifting. The result looked nowhere near as stable as Kass would like. "If this falls and crushes me in the middle of the night, I'm haunting you for the rest of your life."

"Aww, my partner already has a *crush* on me! How cute!" Yang was having way too much fun. Kassidy was about to correct her when the sudden sounds of a power drill sounded from the other pair.

"Do I even want to know what your sister is doing with a power drill?"

"Hey, I'm drilling eye hooks into the ceiling! I need to tie the ropes off to something, you know."

"And I take it all back. I'm glad we're on this side of the room. Poor Weiss."

"I can hear you, you dolt!"

The four girls met back at the front of the room. Ruby was quite happy with how things ended up. "Objective complete!" She grabbed her scroll and jumped on Weiss' bed. "Our second order of business is… classes." The team leader flipped through their combined schedule. "Alright, our first class is at nine…"

"What! Did you say nine? Its 8:55 you dunce!"

Kassidy looked at the clock; sure enough, it was only five minutes before classes start. Thankful she had already stuffed her giant bag with textbooks, she threw Bob in and chased after Weiss. "So at what point were you planning on telling us when we should have been leaving?"

"Whenever you four stopped being entertaining."

The argument ended there as all four girls, plus JNPR as they caught up, engaged in a footrace with the clock. Fortunately, they all managed to get to their first class just in the nick of time. A large man with a larger mustache calling himself Port spent most of the class telling a story regarding the sheer quantity of testosterone in his bloodstream. Well, at least that's what Kassidy got out of it. She spent most of the hour trying to reproduce the notes and drawings on the board as faithfully as possible, before watching Weiss fight a Grimm boar (apparently called a Boarbatusk).

At 10:30, the eight teens found themselves in a history class, taught by one of the most hyperactive people Kassidy had ever met. Despite paying attention in earnest – because that was so hard given the professor – history was one of the few subjects Kassidy struggled with. Combine that with the fact that she was on a new planet, and she found herself helplessly lost and really not needing Bob to interrupt her focus.

"I wonder what that Oobleck guy puts in his coffee to get that kind of energy."

"Shut up, Bob."

Afterwards, the two teams found themselves with an hour and a half to kill. Combat training was at one and would last until 2:30, and they needed to change out of their uniforms, a task Kassidy was only so happy to perform. She would've had her hair back in its bun too, if Yang hadn't busted into their dorm room to catch her red handed (or dark blonde handed, in this case).

"Hey, you're being missed at the lunch table... oh no, we agreed. Your hair is taking a break today."

"We didn't agree. You picked at my hair until it fell apart, and I'm not stupid enough to get into a contest of strength with you." Kass sighed as Yang quickly obliterated what progress she had made. Throwing all her stuff into her pack, the pair quickly found themselves at the lunch room. JNPR, as well as Ruby and Weiss, were already helping themselves to some BLTs.

"I've been meaning to say, love the hair K!" Nora had bits of food tumbling out of her mouth.

"It's… nice, I guess?" Weiss had apparently dropped the overt hostility. "It'd look nicer if it didn't seem to have been cut by a hedge trimmer."

"Serrated knife, actually." Grabbing her own sandwich, Kassidy found herself at the end of the table. "What are those looks for? It's not like I had a barbershop to work with or something."

"It's our secret. Right, Rubes?" The two sisters of the team had smirks way too big for Kass to be comfortable. Seven of the eight people continued to have their conversation, while the dark blonde on the end of the table just took it all in. _I know it's dangerous. Getting comfortable is what gets you killed. But a girl could get used to this._


	9. V1C8: Fight Club

**Chapter 8: Fight Club**

 **AN: This chapter will lay the groundwork cementing the OC as a hybrid OP/UP character, as well as where she fits in the tiers of power among Beacon students. I know, makes perfect sense, right? Hopefully it will if I write this well. Kassidy metaphorically fights Goodwitch, then physically fights Yang. Injuries sustained lead to her teammates wondering what's up with the third party member.**

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(Perspective: K)

"Alright class, let's form up here. Are you huntsmen or barkeeps?" Professor Goodwitch was currently trying to get the kids in some semblance of organization. After an unruly minute, she settled for good enough. "This class will teach you how to fight. Now I'm aware that many of you already think you know how to fight, and a select few may even be right. But the world of Remnant is a dangerous one, and you will find that your skills as a warrior will never be good enough. It is my job to make sure that none of you die within five minutes of graduation from this school, and I intend to do just that."

Many of the students around her had been cowed into reverence, but not Kassidy. She recognized the professor was merely playing hard ball to get the class to pay attention. Listening in the background, she fiddled with her pistol and rifle, painfully aware that she only had three remaining magazines for each weapon.

"… and aura is the most important as well as basic tool a huntsman can use. Miss Smith!" Looking up from her impromptu weapons check, Kassidy found Glynda staring her down. "Since you seem to be more focused on your firearms than my lecture, you obviously know so much about the finer points of aura manipulation. Perhaps you would like to step to the front of the room and provide a demonstration?"

 _Alright, what the hell is this aura crap everyone keeps talking about? And I'm supposed to give a demonstration on it? I don't think that she made a polite request._ Taking her backpack from off her shoulder, Kass left her rifle behind, carrying only her holstered pistol to the front of the room. Tapping on her earpiece out of habit, she consulted her AI. "So, uh, Bob, do you know what this aura stuff is that everyone's talking about?"

"Short answer: I don't have anything useful for you."

"Miss Smith, in this class you will be expected to put forth your own work. I will not allow you to use your computer as a crutch. Now, as for your demonstration, please show to the class how to properly flare your aura to compensate for a particularly strong attack."

"Um…" Kassidy fumbled for words a bit. "Right, aura. Could you remind me, by chance, about which kind of aura we're talking about here? I can think of nearly a dozen definitions off the top of my head, but I'd rather get it right the first time."

If looks could kill, then Glynda was giving off such a glare that every student in the room would be dead. "If this is a joke, it's a bad one. Your aura? The physical manifestation of your soul which any competent huntress would use to augment her abilities?"

Despite the situation, Kass had to fight to not laugh right in Goodwitch's face. After taking a moment to compose herself, she returned Glynda's glare. "My soul… right. Look professor, I like to consider myself an educated person, but I tend to not study metaphysical nonsense. I prefer to keep my head firmly rooted in reality, thank you very much."

The professor's glare now looked like it could kill every person in the building. "This 'metaphysical nonsense' you speak of is the single most important tool a huntress has access to. Do you seriously expect me to believe that you've never had a single lesson in manipulating your soul?"

 _And there's the problem._ Kassidy remained unfazed. "I understand that your group has a certain mythology to it, so let me make myself as plain as I can. There's no such thing as a soul. Humanity's been looking for it for the past fifteen thousand years. From science to spirituality, we've searched and come up empty each and every single time." Taking a few steps back, Kassidy continued. "If you want to continue to insist that some religious claptrap is what's behind your physical capabilities, then I'm not in much of a position to stop you. But it's kinda doing a disservice to every student passing through your doors."

Glynda was quivering so much it looked like she was about to shatter into a thousand pieces. A thought apparently appeared, and she took a deep breath, glint in her eye remaining. "So tell me, Ms. Smith, when I summoned a thundercloud and, how was it you put it that night, 'threw reality out the window,' what did you think was happening?"

Kass knew the question was coming, and she was ready for it. "Your stick, obviously. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic to a being not familiar with it. I'm not going to pretend to know what mechanics you have in that wand of yours, but it's quite obvious that you having a technologically advanced stick is a far more compelling answer than some soul based magic."

Alright, scratch killing everyone in the building. Goodwitch's gorgon-esque stare would turn everyone in a one mile radius to stone. Her voice came out strained, like it was taking every fiber in her being to not scream at rage at the blonde haired student standing in front of her. "The wand I use is irrelevant. I merely use it because it was what I have attuned the closest to. Miss Smith, how do you intend to compete with your peers if you don't have a command over your soul?"

Unholstering her pistol and twirling it a bit, Kassidy replied in a tone equal parts boredom and pride. "I've got a few tricks of my own. Combine them with a penchant for stealth and marksmanship, and I can stack up with anyone in this room." Putting her 1911 away, she made eye contact with the professor and offered a grin.

Glynda, despite Kass' calculations, returned the grin. "If you are so confident, then perhaps a demonstration is in order. Ms. Xiao Long?" The two girls in front of the room turned to her partner. "Perhaps you and Kassidy can show to the class exactly how important an aura is to a huntsman or huntress?"

Kassidy's heart sank. _I am not turning my guns on my partner. Not when she hasn't tried to kill me yet. Preemptively removing threats is the type of scumbag behavior I'm trying to get rid of._ While she mulled over the predicament she was in, she noticed that Yang's normally carefree face turned to one of sheer terror. "Uh… if my partner doesn't have an aura, then…" The blonde was fumbling over her words in a manner entirely uncharacteristic of her. "Do you have any idea how easily I could kill her?"

The professor offered a huff in response. "I will ensure the fight ends before lethal conditions are reached. I have no desire to clean up a corpse on the first day of class."

Yang sighed. "I'm still doing this unarmed." Unsnapping her bracelets from her forearms, she handed them to Ruby.

"That sounds like a great idea. Hey Weiss, can you put this in my bag for me?" Unclipping her utility belt, Kassidy removed her pistol and remaining ammunition. Her mind raced a mile a minute as she and Yang took up fighting stances across the room. "Bob, have I ever told you how much I hate hand to hand combat?"

"BEGIN!" Glynda barked from the far wall, and the two blondes started circling each other. _Alright, I've got a small reach advantage on Yang. I'm faster and can probably fight for longer than she can._ Hazel eyes turned to the gigantic muscles her partner had. _She'll tear me a new one if she lands a solid hit on me. Keep the fight going long, turn this into a contest of endurance rather than a contest of strength._

Yang made the first move, sending a right hook to her partner's cheek. It was nowhere near as fast as the muscle of the group showed off during initiation yesterday, showing that she was as excited about this fight as Kassidy was. Ducking under it easily, Kass threw a few blazing jabs at the abdomen. Finding an unnaturally solid wall of muscle, the punches bounced right off. She noticed a small spark of yellow wherever her fists made contact.

For about a minute, the fight continued in a similar manner, with Yang making halfhearted attacks, Kassidy easily dodging, and then throwing hilariously ineffectual counters. After a short while, the professor was fed up with the lack of progress being made. "Ms. Xiao Long, if you don't start putting effort in I will have no choice but to give you a failing grade for the day."

Yang caught a hook to the chin, then gazed at her partner. "Sorry K, but I kinda have to hurt you now." Throwing a left straight, Kassidy tried to block the stronger girl's attack. That was a mistake; as the flimsy arm just barely kept her partner from doing any actual damage, a vicious right jab found its way into her chest. Ribs audibly cracked, then failed as the scrawnier girl flew into a pillar, another loud crack resonating as her spine absorbed the impact. "Kassidy!" Yang was panicking at what she had done.

Kass' only response was a small chuckle. Staggering to her feet, the pain almost immediately vanished, and not due to the girl consciously blocking the pain. This was an involuntary reaction, and signaled the arrival of an all too familiar rush. With a highly tuned and engineered fight or flight response kicking in, she could almost feel her body being flooded with enough adrenaline to kill a normal person. Knocking her fists together, her partner had just recovered from the sight before her, and threw out a pathetically weak attempt at a kick. Letting her hip catch the blow, her arm caught the boot as an elbow flew for the larger blonde's face.

A large flash of yellow sparked from her partner's face. Not giving her the chance to regroup, Kassidy threw her partner across the room right at Goodwitch's feet. As Yang stood up, a look of shock regarded their professor. "We aren't still going, are we?"

"I do not believe that the class has fully appreciated the lesson. Please continue fighting." The haughtiness had vanished from Glynda's voice, like she suddenly wasn't so sure about this. Turning around, the muscled girl's eyes had turned from lilac to fiery red. Both girls surging forward, Kassidy had no idea that Yang's semblance had also given her partner a boost. A hook that she had intended to just catch with her head while counterattacking had a far more devastating effect.

"OH MY OUM! KASSIDY!" The brawler rushed over to her partner, upon whom a sickening crack heralded the arrival of a caved in skull. Ruby and Weiss had also raced to the scene. Semblance kicking into full gear, flames started erupting from the girl. She wheeled on her professor. "Why!? You knew this would happen!" She marched closer.

"You knew the consequences that could have come from this fight." Goodwitch had her stick up ready to block the blonde's advances. "Do not blame me for your lack of control." Yang could do nothing apart from returning to her group. Kneeling in front of her partner, tear filled eyes didn't catch a boot flying for her face.

Hazel eyes glassed over. Kassidy didn't know about the specifics of when she was pushed to her absolute limits. It had only ever happened once before. All she knew was that the source of her pain was kneeling in front of her. Her threat was kneeling in front of her. Lashing out, she sent the blonde flying across the room, then fought to her feet while two girls she didn't recognize were torn from hanging on to her arms. The threat had just stood up. If her jaw could have detached itself from her face, Yang's would be on the ground right now. Kass paid no attention, of course. There was a threat to her life, and she would deal with it.

Knocking her fists together again, hazel eyes strode forward, meeting fiery red. Kassidy couldn't think. She could only know. Know that the threat was before her. Know that she needed to end this fight, and now. Know that what amounted to pure energy was coursing through her veins. Ducking under a right straight, she could only know that she could end this with one titanic punch. Throwing her entire body into a right uppercut, Kass could only know the results.

When fist met jaw, it sounded like a clap of thunder. Aura shattering, Yang flew into the air and flipped several times before collapsing on the ground. Silence covered the room like a heavy fog. The threat made no attempt to get up. After sixty seconds, Kassidy's eyes could focus once again. The first thing she noticed was the blinding pain. This was quickly ignored as the second thing she noticed was her partner, decked out in front of her, whole left half of her face already bruising. Two and two were instantly put together. _Oh shit oh shit oh shit._

"Ruby, get my bag!" Racing to Yang's side, she glared daggers at Glynda, who seemed to still be in the process of picking her jaw up from off the floor. "I'll deal with you later." Right now, she was too preoccupied to care that she just threatened her teacher.

"Here it is!" Collecting her pack from the team leader, Kass tore through its contents, finding the x-ray scanner in record time.

"Bob! Get scanning. Focus on the brain cavity. Her jaw's going to be completely shattered, we know that already. We need to figure out how bad a concussion we're dealing with, or if that's all we're dealing with."

"On it. Looks like we're dealing with…" Bob stumbled for a second. "This can't be right. I'm detecting only a minor concussion, and only hairline fractures at the point of impact. That punch you just threw clocked in at seven tons of force. Her face should be irreparable by now."

"That sounds about right." The professor had finally composed herself, and joined the four students on the ground. "Her aura absorbed most of the impact. It's a shame it had been depleted so much during the rest of your fight, but it still served its purpose."

Kassidy looked at her teammates. Weiss had a mix of concern and horror on her face. Ruby was filled with concern for her big sister. Putting a hand on her shoulder, she could only come up with one thing to console her. "I'm so sorry, Ruby. But it looks like she's going to be alright."

Ruby sniffled. "I know. It's just…" She didn't finish the sentence, and Kass didn't ask for completion. Looking up at the rest of the room, she could only find faces filled with pure terror. _I'm doing it again. They're scared of what I just did. Scared of… me._

She turned to the professor, venom flowing freely. "Well, I hoped you enjoyed your demonstration on how superior this aura forcefield crap was compared to anything I could come up with. You won't be getting another one." Forcing Yang over her shoulder, she staggered to her feet. Yang wasn't light, and her surge of energy was dying fast. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get my partner to the infirmary before complications develop." Not even waiting for the excuse, Kassidy stumbled forward a few steps before collapsing, with her partner landing on top of her.

"What's happening, Bob? I need more energy."

"You don't have any more energy. You've got nothing left in the tanks."

"Like hell I'm going to die right here. Find me some."

Weiss suddenly materialized in her field of view. "You can't just find energy. But you aren't going to die here. The doctors just arrived, and they'll take care of you and Yang."

As the two now unconscious blondes were attended to before being lifted on stretchers and hauled out, the class descended once again into silence. It took Glynda a moment to get out, "Class dismissed." As the teens slowly filed out, Ruby and Weiss were quickly met by JNPR. The six kids all had the same question.

Who the hell is Kassidy Smith?


	10. V1C9: Better Biology

**Chapter 9: Better Biology**

 **AN: Welcome to your first dose of my patent pending pseudoscience. It works like this: whenever I feel the need to sound intelligent for the sake of the story, I'll go adding fancy science words for that little bit of extra depth. Keep in mind that I have probably done the bare minimum of research on the topics in question such that I'm not completely talking out of my ass. Don't go reading my stories and then start thinking you're god's gift to biochemists, or whatever the topic in question is.  
Yang recounts last chapter's events. People start asking about how Kassidy didn't die. The OC in question discovers a glaring flaw in her otherwise flawless plan to reintegrate with society.  
Also, I've found material for the next ~6 chapters, so me running low on you guys isn't going to happen any time soon. As always, don't be afraid to leave a comment and let me know how to improve my writing.**

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(Perspective: RWY)

"Shouldn't you be helping Kassidy out, Bob? I mean, yeah my sister's pretty hurt, but Kass is worse off." Ruby was sitting in the infirmary next to Yang's bed. Weiss was in another chair across the room. While the doctors had insisted that nothing further could be done for Yang beyond letting her aura recover and heal her wounds, Bob wasn't satisfied with that answer. He was currently doing something he called 'running simulations' on how quickly he could get Yang to recover.

"Normally, I would be helping her. But orders are orders. An executive override takes precedence over any other code." After requesting data on another batch of dust enhanced compounds, the computer went back to his work.

Ruby went over and sat next to Weiss, mulling over how terrible the day had been so far. "So, uh… what a first day of school we've had so far."

Weiss stopped staring at her lap, turned towards her team leader, and let out a small huff. She seemed like she couldn't decide whether to berate the younger sister or to reassure her that things really weren't that bad. After a moment's thought, she settled on berating. "That has to be the understatement of the year. You couldn't have woken me up in a ruder manner, I had to skip breakfast because of your antics, Professor Port is a piece of work, and our two teammates just tried to kill each other." Schnee regarded a clock on the wall. "And it's not even three o clock yet."

Ruby tugged on her cape a bit. Finding the courage to speak up again, "What do you think happened back there? During combat training?"

The heiress' brow furrowed, deep in thought. "I'm… not sure. Kassidy apparently doesn't have the slightest clue on how to use her aura, and Yang nearly tore her apart. But then it looked like she went crazy. That glint in her eye, the way she chuckled after she got thrown into that pillar. It didn't seem human, even."

"Do you think Kass couldn't control herself? Once the fight was over, she seemed really upset about what happened."

"That would explain a lot about your teammate." The door opened and admitted Professor Goodwitch, with Ozpin slowly following behind her. The former regarded the two girls seated near the door. "How is Ms. Xiao Long recovering?"

"Slowly." The black box sitting on Ruby's lap spoke up again. "The doctors said that her 'aura' would have her fully recovered in a few hours, but I was tasked with speeding up that process. But without more information as to the capabilities of this 'aura' she has, I'm afraid my calculations are woefully insufficient."

"Hey, could you keep it down over there? I'm trying to sleep." A groggy blonde tossed in the hospital bed. Ignoring her request, Ruby was instantly at her sister's side asking questions a mile a minute as to how she's feeling and if she's okay and how she's so happy her bigger sister's doing better. "Ugh, you just can't let me sleep in at all, can you Rubes?" Forcing herself into a sitting position, Yang glanced at the small procession in her room.

Ozpin strode over to the bed, picking up a water bottle along the way. "I don't suppose you would be thirsty?" Rather than answering, the brawler snatched the bottle from the headmaster's hand, and drained it in one go.

"Oh, sorry. Thank you, Professor."

"That's quite alright." Ozpin gave a slight chuckle before turning serious again. "I've been hearing some stories about what occurred during your combat training class. Each version is more fantastical than the other, but I figured that learning from the source would shed some better lighting as to how I need to proceed with this situation." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know you want to rest, and I'd like nothing more than to give you that rest. But first I need to know exactly what happened in your class today."

Yang pushed her hair out of her face. "No, no, it's fine." Taking a few seconds to compose herself, she seemed not quite sure of what she was saying. "Um, Glynda asked Kassidy to the front of the room to demonstrate aura. Kass made a show of not knowing what aura was. The two of them kind of fed off each other, both of them getting more aggravated as the exchange went on." Taking a deep breath, Yang continued. "Eventually, Professor Goodwitch told me to fight Kassidy. She said it was to show to the class how important aura is, but I think it was more to shut K up." Looking up, she flinched as she suddenly recognized the teacher in question. "Oh, sorry Professor. But that was what I could see from where I was standing."

Glynda regarded Yang for a moment, then looked away. "I admit, I may have been a bit… stern when talking to Ms. Smith. But my lesson was still a valid one."

Ozpin motioned for Yang to continue. "So the two of us went to the front of the room. We both ditched our weapons; I didn't want to hurt Kass, and I could tell she didn't want to hurt me. I held back as much as I could while still making it look like a fight. K wasn't holding back at all, but as small as she was and without aura, all she could really do was tickle me. Eventually, Professor Goodwitch said she'd flunk me if I didn't start actually trying." Glynda flinched at that. "So I punched her. I knew she didn't have aura, but I didn't think her body would be that weak." Her voice was starting to break as sobs found their way into the mix.

Ozpin returned his hand to her shoulder. "I know that this can't be easy for you. But how did you get hurt?"

Yang forced down the tears, then fought to keep her voice level. "I sent her flying into the pillar. I could feel her ribs breaking under my fist, and you could hear her spine snap when it hit the stone." She took her time to breathe. "I didn't mean to hit her that hard… but then she got back up. She laughed, and she got back up, and she started walking towards me." More breathing, more sobs. "I was so shocked I barely noticed how her eyes were glassing over, like they weren't focusing right or something. I kicked her, but she just caught it and threw an elbow at my face." Yang reflexively reached her hand to her nose. "Now that hurt. I don't know where she got that kind of strength from, but it took out a lot of my aura in one go. She threw me at Goodwitch, then I… then I…"

The blonde broke down at this point. Her words were barely intelligible through her sobs. "I hurt her really bad, Oz. I didn't want to hurt her. But then, then she kicked me across the room. That hurt too." Yang finally got her composure back together. "My semblance took over at that point. I flared up, and she flared up too. Her eyes were completely glassed over at that point, I don't think she was even seeing straight. She ducked under my punch, and then the last thing I remember was something slamming into my jaw." The brawler rubbed along her bruised, swollen face. "Then you guys woke me up."

Ozpin thought for a few minutes before answering. "So you weren't trying to hurt your teammate? And you don't think she was trying to hurt you?"

"Of course I wasn't trying to hurt her!" Yang was practically screaming at the headmaster. She caught herself, mumbled an apology, and sat for a minute. "And I'm not convinced she was trying to hurt me. Or even if she knew what was going on."

The door opened again, and a familiar middle aged doctor came into the room. "I can tell you she wasn't trying to hurt you. She's been slipping in and out of consciousness. Whenever she's awake, she keeps babbling 'I didn't want to hurt Yang, I couldn't control it, someone tell Yang I didn't mean it.'"

Glynda blinked at the man who just entered. "Dr. Narud, how is Ms. Smith doing?"

The man shrugged. "For someone who just had their skull superglued back together? Better than I expected. She's resting now, but she doesn't stay down for long and I don't know about leaving her alone for a while." He turned to the blonde in the bed. "Now, let's take a look at the other casualty here. How are you feeling?"

Yang shrugged in return. "I'm fine. Just tired, really. My face kinda hurts, but my aura will fix it up quickly once it recovers." She thought for a moment. "What did Kassidy mean by 'she couldn't control it'?"

The doctor appeared deep in thought. "I'm… not entirely sure. In fact, the only thing I am sure of is that this girl takes everything we think we know about biology, and flips it on its head."

"Don't take it personally. She did that back home too." Bob piped back up from Ruby's arm, and everyone looked at the black box. "Kassidy always has been a strange one."

"That's putting it mildly." Glynda huffed before continuing. "She's got an anti-authoritarian streak a mile wide and ten long. She's convinced she knows everything worth knowing, and if this afternoon was any indication her temper is in the sorriest shape I've ever seen."

"Her anti-authoritarian streak wouldn't be so bad if the authorities in question quit trying to get her killed." Nobody in the room had heard an angry computer before, but the AI in question was absolutely livid. "And to answer Yang's question… Kassidy is a creature of hormones. A very peculiar creature of hormones. The chemicals flooding her system tuned her out so much that she couldn't really think anymore. This had really only happened once before, but from what data I have on that all she knew – or thought she knew – was that someone was trying to kill her, and so she responded in kind."

Yang's head fell, and she spoke through gritted teeth. "But I wasn't trying to kill her."

"Her instincts didn't know that. She didn't even know who, what, or where. All she knew was that someone was hurting her, and she had to make the pain stop or she'd die. I can guarantee that Kassidy would have had no intentions of actually hurting you if she could think for herself."

Ozpin regarded what just happened. "So, you're saying that Kassidy was acting off of some primal instinct?"

"Not entirely accurate, but close enough for the comparison to be effective."

At this point, Narud was curious enough to change the focus of the conversation. "Speaking of hormones, if you could perhaps share what're up with hers, it would make my job significantly easier. Even ignoring the fact that her skull got caved in, she still has nearly five times the lethal limit of adrenaline. And it's been nearly an hour since her fight ended."

Bob was quiet for a few moments. Right before the doctor could ask again, he began. "I assume you're familiar with the 'fight or flight' response?"

"Of course I am." Weiss had stepped up and seemed all too eager to show off how smart she was. "The body floods the bloodstream with cortisol and adrenaline, giving it extra energy and enhancing physical capabilities."

"Close enough. Kassidy's body uses a… modified version of that response. Instead of adrenaline, her body uses norepinephrine, which is basically a super-adrenaline. And in addition to that kick from the hormones, a rather potent chemical called CPH4 is released."

The doctor was confused at the mention of that. "I don't believe we're familiar with that chemical."

"CPH4 is normally used by mothers to give their developing fetuses the enormous quantities of energy needed for prenatal development. It's a compound with nearly one hundred times the energy density of glucose. Once her skull got caved in, Kassidy's body got flooded with the equivalent energy of a ton of TNT." Eyes went wide and gasps filled the room.

"Hang on a second…" A thought crossed Yang's mind. "Why aren't you with K? Shouldn't you be helping her?"

An exasperated sigh emanated from the black box. "If I had a choice, I would be. No offense. But she ordered me to speed along your recovery and make sure you're okay."

"Well can't I order you to go take care of my partner? I mean, she's in way worse shape than I am."

"Not unless you know the executive override codes."

"Which I'm not giving out anytime soon." Everyone jumped a foot; nobody saw the dark blonde enter the room and find her way in a corner.

* * *

(Perspective: K)

The doctor was the first to recover. "I thought you were passed out. And didn't we give you a dose of sedatives to make sure you could rest?"

"You did. But one of my many unique qualities is that I tend to ignore most foreign substances. Such as painkillers and sedatives. Honestly, if I could have formed coherent words at that time I would've told you not to waste the syringe." Kass' head itched under the baseball cap she was using to hide the dent in her head. _Good thing I have my own painkillers._

"Alright, I've had enough." Weiss stormed up and got in her face. "You owe us some answers. You don't know what aura is, you don't know what dust is, and you don't know what Grimm are. Even ignoring Ruby's crackpot theories about you being some kind of alien, we're still venturing dangerously close to 'this is physically impossible' territory."

Kassidy couldn't resist laughing in her face. "You want physically impossible? How about a twelve year old kid wielding a scythe bigger than she is like it's nothing? Or how about Glynda making storm clouds and streaks of light appear out of thin air? Oh! How about you throwing little white circles around and in general giving a big middle finger to the laws of physics?"

"Hey, I'm not twelve, I'm fifteen!" Ruby's outburst ground the argument to a halt. "I'm just kinda small…" After taking a moment to refocus herself, she continued. "And that's the other part of our auras that are so important. They don't just strengthen us or protect us, they give us real neat abilities based on the person wielding it. Like, I can go really really fast. And Weiss can summon glyphs to help with whatever she needs."

The dark blonde took a full fifteen seconds to process what she just heard. "Bob… tell me if I'm hearing things right. We got dumped on a planet filled with bloodthirsty monsters and superpowered teenagers, is that correct?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much correct." Yang had tried to force herself to a standing position, but could only manage to swing her legs over the side of the bed. Lilac eyes peered deep into hazel. "I want you to tell me something: were you trying to kill me?"

Kass was at a complete loss for words. "Uh, what's the best way possible for me to put this that doesn't involve me dying?"

Before anyone could react, Bob piped up. "It should help that I already told them how your hormones were overriding your thought process."

A sigh of relief exited from the girl. "Alright, that just made things significantly easier." She finally found the courage to return her partner's gaze. "No, I wasn't trying to kill you. Whenever I get like that, instinct just kinda takes over. I couldn't control it. All I knew was that someone was hurting me, and I needed to make them stop hurting me. If I could've stopped it, I would have."

Terror sprang from her face as Yang sprang up and strode across the room. Her arms raised in a pathetic attempt to shield herself, she wasn't ready for the blonde's embrace.

"Alright, good. That's all I needed to hear." As Yang pulled her face out of her shoulder, a thought suddenly struck her. "Y'know, souls do exist here. We've found them ages ago. Maybe I should help you with yours…" With that, Kassidy's partner closed her eyes, and she started glowing yellow. A general feeling of unease creeped up her spine.

"Uh, Yang, what are you doing?"

"Just close your eyes and concentrate."

"On what? Your breathing?"

"Sure."

Trepidation didn't stop her from complying. The two blondes stood there for a minute, before Yang's furrowed brow gave way to exasperation. _Uh, am I supposed to feel something?_

"This can't be right. I can't find it."

Ozpin got up from his seat and made his way to the pair. "Attempting the Unlocking Ritual is not for the faint of heart. And your aura has only just started recovering. Perhaps I should try?" Taking Yang's place in front of Kassidy, the headmaster started glowing green. Nervousness made no attempt to hide from her face, but she decided to play along with their little game for a while longer.

"Hmm… interesting."

"What is it?" Yang seemed incredulous about how the headmaster just failed at unlocking Kass' aura.

"I do believe I've found the problem." Recollecting his cane and his coffee, Ozpin made his way towards the door. "We will need to talk later Kassidy, but for now try and get some rest. And do be more careful in your training sessions. Our infirmary only has so many supplies."

As Ozpin and then Glynda left the infirmary, team RWKY was left with Narud in the room. Ruby was the first to speak up. "So, what happens now? I mean, we kind of got out of algebra because of everything. I think we're done with classes for the day."

Kassidy stepped forward from the wall. "I have two items on the agenda right now. One is telling Bob to put together a shopping list for nutrients I need. Time to put this ridiculous metabolism of mine to work. Second is making more ammo. I barely have any left after initiation, and I have a feeling that finding some common old gunpowder around here is going to be tricky."

"I would like to amend your agenda." The doctor had just finished reviewing a clipboard. "In case you've already forgotten, your rib cage was turned to gravel, your spine got snapped, and your skull is currently held together with superglue. Nothing more strenuous than looking at a textbook." He chuckled as Kass groaned. "Doctor's orders. Painkillers and sedatives apparently have no effect, so I'm just going to settle for a round of antibiotics to make sure you don't catch an infection. Beyond that… stay out of the boxing ring for a while."

A mischievous grin graced Kassidy's face, and she made eye contact with her partner. "But c'mon man! I really like to… keep my head in the game."

"Goddamnit Kassidy, I thought we agreed: no more puns!" Bob was even more upset than Ruby or Weiss were. Yang was just laughing. As the team made their way back to the dorms, Kass regarded the day so far.

 _Well, only the second worst injury to date. And the girls haven't tried to kill me. Yet. Though the fact that everyone around me is super powered doesn't bode well for my continued existence._


	11. V1C10: Geek, Not Nerd

**Chapter 10: Geek, Not Nerd**

 **AN: More Weiss and Yang antics. The first step to having Bob fully operational again is completed. Everyone settles down to pancakes and a cheesy action flick. This also signals the end of spending 3-4 chapters to cover a 24 hour time period. Things will start moving along faster, I promise. I'll still be making sure to fill in plenty of my own story in between 'official' chapters (as official as they can be with the OC having replaced Blake), but it won't take forever to return to familiar plot points.  
**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

"You do realize you're in school, right? Maybe you should be doing, oh I don't know, studying? Especially considering we all missed the first day of algebra." Weiss' scolding was very quickly making itself a habit. _At least we're not fighting this time._

"Pfft. Algebra? Give me a break. My dad taught me algebra when I was five." Kassidy didn't bother to look up from her desk. She reached over to drain another glass of milk before continuing to dissect her scroll. _Ah, computers. Finally back in my groove._

"Can someone remind me again why you need to drink three and a half gallons of milk?" Ruby was busy servicing her weapon, which had apparently been given the name of Crescent Rose.

"Her metabolism is off the charts and can get even crazier when it needs to, but her body still needs the materials and energy required to repair itself." Bob was squawking away from his current seat near a power outlet. "Fortunately, the vast majority of the damage she suffered was taken by her skeletal system. Bones are relatively easy organs to replace. Mostly all you need is calcium. Which milk happens to possess in abundant quantities."

"Would you tell your demented computer to keep it down? Unlike some of us, I actually feel a need to do well in my classes."

"Oh lighten up snow angel." Yang called from her perch on the upper bed, causing Weiss to turn around and glare, barely suppressing an eye twitch. The brawler made no effort to look away from her video game. "Not all of us feel a need to do the classwork a month in advance." Suddenly putting the scroll down, Kassidy's partner regarded her from the lofty position. "What're ya workin' on K?"

"Figuring out the difference between technologies." A small huff of satisfaction signaled that she managed to separate the circuit board from the rest of the unit.

"And why would you need to do something like that? I mean, sure, your robot buddy –"

"Once again, the name's Bob."

" – Bob's neat and all, but the scroll really is enough for whatever you need."

Leaning back in her seat and wincing at the needles of pain shooting through her torso, Kassidy regarded her partner. "Partly to satisfy my own curiosity. I like tinkering. Computers specifically. It's a hobby that, other than Bob, I haven't really had a chance to mess around with." _I wonder how many hormones I have left. The pain's already starting to come back, and the fact that half my brain got turned into jelly is a good indication that once my pain suppressors run out I'm going to need to turn my nerves off if I don't want to be in pure agony._ Shaking her head, she leaned back in and got back to work.

"Nerd."

Her head raised back up. Turning around to face her partner, Kass had a look of annoyance on. "Excuse me?"

"Neeeeeeerd." Yang flopped back down and went back to her video game.

"I am not a nerd. I am a geek. Big difference."

"Sure there is," the brawler called back down from her reclined position. Kassidy was sure she could hear Ruby snickering from the other side of the room.

"Geeks are far more competent than your typical nerd. Not to mention way cooler." She was about to turn back to the brutalized holographic cell phone device when someone knocked on their door. Yang sprang from her bed to answer it, finding the entirety of JNPR on the other side. They seemed incredibly somber.

"Oh – Yang. I'm glad to see you're doing alright. Mostly." Jaune's words seemed to stumble over themselves. "Class just got out. We're sorry about what happened to Kassidy."

Yang shrugged in response. "Eh, it's alright. She didn't really know what she was doing. Hormones are a lot of fun, you know?" The four teenagers outside their room only appeared mortified by the answer. "Uh… what's the matter guys?"

It was Pyrrha who stammered an answer back. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you would be so nonchalant about the death of your partner. The way her skull caved in…" The words trailed off.

"Is it just me, or is team JNPR of the opinion that you actually perished in that little scruff you had with Yang a few hours ago?" Bob spoke back up, and the four teens had a look of shock on their faces. Kassidy got up from her seat and got to the door. Four deathly pale faces greeted her. They all reacted as though they were looking at a ghost.

"What, you're that eager to get rid of me?" She raised a hand to quell the stammering apologies that suddenly erupted. "Relax, I've had worse. Well, only one worse really, and it wasn't that much worse, but still. So what brings you to our neck of the woods?"

Nora spoke up. "I finally convinced Ren to make us pancakes for dinner! We were wondering if you guys wanted pancakes too seeing as how you probably died, but you didn't die, so yay! It'd probably still nice to make the offer though, so do you guys want pancakes?"

"Alright, I can't hold it any longer." Jaune was blurting out his lack of understanding. "How are you not dead? Like, really dead? Don't get me wrong, it's great that you're not, but uh. Your skull got crushed."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask that myself." Weiss finally tore herself away from her studies to participate in the conversation. "Head wounds like that are normally incredibly fatal."

"Better biology." Weiss crossed her arms and glared at Kassidy. _Alright, apparently they aren't buying it. And the last thing I need is to get into a fight with seven superpowered teenagers._ "I have an engorged spinal cord. Nearly three times as many nerve cells as a normal person. Enough for it to function as its own sentience. I've got two brains."

"But I heard your spine snap. That still doesn't make any sense." Jaune was still confused.

"It snapped, but didn't break. It did its job." _Speaking of which, it's starting to hurt again. Shouldn't be standing for too long._ "I'm gonna go take a seat. Don't want to put too much stress on my bones while they're still healing."

"Fun fact: having two brains also has the side effect of giving her an IQ of 350." Bob was all too pleased to let that bit of info slip. More than one pair of eyes went wide at that.

"Well then," Ren said, composing himself. "Our team decided it would be wise if we spent an evening together. And yes, I did agree to make pancakes for dinner. Would any of you like to make a request?"

"How did Nora manage to talk you into making pancakes this late in the day?" Ruby was inquisitive as she thought about her order. "I would like strawberries, if that's not too much to ask."

"She's made the request at stranger times." Taking a notepad out of his uniform pocket, Ren jotted down the order. "How about you three?"

"I'll take chocolate chip, thanks." Yang was in the middle of clearing out a pile of junk that had found its way in the middle of the floor. _Not even twenty four hours in and there's already a mess to clean up._ "If you guys are joining us, come on in and make yourselves comfortable. I'll see if I can't find more chairs."

Weiss groaned and pinched her nose. "I am not going to be getting any studying done, am I?" Giving up, she organized her notes before putting them away. "I'll take blueberries, thank you very much."

"Relax Weiss. I'll make sure we trade notes at some point." Kassidy had just sat back down to her dissection. "I'll have banana. And no syrup." Looking up, she found a raised eyebrow. "I don't like sugar. Bananas and tomatoes are about as sweet as I would get."

"What?! How do you not like sugar?" Ruby jumped up from servicing her weapon in a manic state. Nora quickly joined her. "Sugar is so good! How can anyone not like sugar?" She stood still long enough to think for a moment. "And won't your pancakes be horribly dry?"

"You're forgetting the three and a half gallons of milk I need to be drinking so I can rebuild my skeleton. The pancakes being dry won't be an issue. And my body needs nutrients, not empty calories. It's capable enough of generating empty calories when it needs to."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Yang had just returned with four chairs, the no longer swollen but still bruised half of her face suddenly becoming a lot more prominent. Kass winced. "Oh, let it go already K. We're cool."

"Alright, I think I have everything I need. Making thirty six pancakes will take a while, and I have some matters to attend to before I start. Until next time." Offering a bow, Ren left the room. JNP took the seats that the brawler had moved in. Six teenagers were conversing while Kassidy continued prying at the electronics.

 _Hmm, interesting. These circuits aren't made out of silicon. Or any semiconductor, for that matter. That would explain why these transistors are incredibly primitive – they're not even microscopic. Small, yes, but not microscopic. How are they even…_ "Oh. That… actually explains quite a lot, Bob."

"You busy being a nerd over there, K?" Yang teased from the conversation.

"First off, I've already told you that it's geek, not nerd. Second off, yes I am. I do believe I've found why my computer hasn't been able to connect to any of your systems." Almost immediately, she had the center of conversation. After taking a few more observations, she leaned back and explained herself. "Basically, you guys are cheating. You don't even have proper semiconductors. The electronics are hilariously outdated for an otherwise technologically competent society."

A 'hmph' sounded from Weiss as she crossed her arms. "It's called dust. Why would we need to make things too complicated with our electronics?"

"Because it's holding you back. Seriously, you aren't even using silicon wafers. This dust compound is doing all the work for you guys, and sure it's easier but it's also a lot slower. Once I get Bob in your systems… oh ho, man. Dude, the horrible things we'll be able to do." Kass chuckled to herself as she turned to the AI.

"Are we talking 'crack their best encryption in less than a second'? Honestly, I hope not. Ignoring this little bit of impossibility that has to do with conflicting computing systems, I've been looking forward to a real challenge for a change."

"I'm afraid you're gonna need to settle for disappointment then. I'll be shocked if it takes you longer than a millisecond."

"So, how long do we have before you know all our darkest secrets? And our bank account information?" Jaune was nervous for some reason. Everyone else giggled at him.

Kassidy shrugged. "Depends on how long it takes me to build a conversion module. Probably a couple weeks. Now if you'll excuse me, I should probably try reassembling this little holographic doohickey."

Bob piped up from his corner in the room. "If it turns out you broke that, I am NOT helping you get a new one."

"Well aren't we the jealous one. You're acting like I've never worked with electronics before." As if to prove her point, Kass expertly reassembled the scroll in no time flat, triumphantly turning it back on.

"You done playing with your scroll K?" Her partner bounded up behind her.

"Yeah, just fini – WOAH!" She didn't have much time to react as Yang started dragging her chair to everyone else.

"I told ya, we're working on improving your mood some." More giggles could be heard. Kassidy pouted some. Whether to protest her forced inclusion in this social interaction, or to spite Yang, she hadn't decided yet.

"So Kassidy." Pyrrha decided to kick things off. "You're obviously quite good with your rifle. Did you build it yourself?"

Kass scoffed. "I wish. It nearly took me a year just to learn how to make ammunition that didn't misfire on me. Besides, I couldn't build a rifle this good anyway."

"You mean a rifle that old?" Nora wrinkled her nose. "It looks like something my grandpa would use! When he wasn't using a hammer, of course."

"Hey, I will not have you disrespecting a classic piece of American engineering! This is the M1 Garand, and it was the rifle that almost singlehandedly won World War Two."

"Uhh, American? World War Two?" Weiss was confused. _Oh yeah, right. Guess it's time to spill the beans._

"Remember when you dismissed Ruby's 'crackpot conspiracy theory' about me being an alien?" A nervous nod. "It wasn't a crackpot conspiracy theory. Surprise." Deciding to steer the conversation away from that particular topic quickly, she continued with her gun. "But yeah, this was my great-great-grandfather's rifle in the war. Heh, ninety two years old and still the greatest firearm ever built if you ask me."

"Actually." Bob always had his opinion in this argument. "There were far more factors into the results of WWII than just one model of rifle. And the German Kar98k seemed to have at minimum an equivalent field performance and reliability as the Garand."

"Yeah, but the Germans lost the war, so it couldn't have been too good a gun." Snickers filled the room. "Ah, but enough about bad times on a bad planet. How about yourself? You seemed to have gone for the tried and true method of firearms rather than any of this transforming bollocks."

"Well, uh, funny you should mention that."

"Seriously? Can nothing be simple around here?"

"Nope, only our electronics. We don't like being held back." _Damnit Weiss. And you know that smug grin isn't helping your case any, right?_

An animated half hour discussion on weaponry later, only three things had made themselves clear to Kassidy. _Firstly, these people don't like keeping anything simple. Secondly, I'm pretty sure they don't have any actual gunpowder. Stupid dust. Thirdly, the kitchenette can't be too far away. Those pancakes are smelling really good._ Right on cue, a knock sounded on the door. Admitting Ren with a tray of pancakes, everyone was impressed with the results. Smelled good, certainly looked good.

Ruby stopped herself from grabbing her pancakes to ask a question. "Does anyone have any ideas for entertainment? I think it might be hard to keep talking while we're eating pancakes."

"How about a movie? Been a while since I've seen a good action flick." Yang piped up from digging into her flapjacks.

"If I recall, we did in fact bring a projector with us. And I believe hard drive seven has the data storage on culture? We could probably find movies there." Bob apparently didn't mind that he wasn't eating.

"Oh yeah, right." Eyes went on Kassidy as she made her way over to her backpack, quickly digging out an ugly white box with a glass hole on one end, and a smaller black box with a cable sticking out. "These are some of the things from my home. Mind if I try finding something good?"

"Sure thing, Kass." Jaune trying to talk around a mouthful of pancakes got everyone snickering.

"Alright, hmm. Extract the data, and let's see what we have here." Plugging the hard drive into Bob, she started sifting through the information. "We have sci-fi. Star Wars… we're gonna need more time for that. Star Trek, same deal. Oh, I forgot even packing this." Everyone was confused by her sudden snickering. "Spaceballs. Probably not appropriate given the setting."

"Why not?" Ruby was whining again.

"You're definitely too young, starting things off. Okay, how do you guys like superhero movies?" A chorus of agreement prompted her to keep looking. "Got some of the older ones, back when they were still good. Well, not old-old, but still twenty to twenty five years or so. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor. Heh, Marvel was always better than DC. Oh boy!" Everyone was suddenly more confused by the outburst of gut splitting laughter that got very painful very quickly. Soon Yang had to pick her up from doubling over on the floor.

"You okay partner? What's so funny about this 'Deadpool' guy anyway?"

"Oh man, that's definitely not appropriate for here. That's something I need to watch on my own. Thanks for the hand up." Brushing herself off and still clutching her mostly nonexistent ribs, Kassidy brought back up the movies. "Hmm, let's just skip Cap for later. Which do you guys want, robot suits or a hammer throwing lightning god?"

Nora was the only one voting for Thor. After pouting for a bit, she got around to freaking inhaling her pancakes. Plugging the projector in, Kass was about to walk over and set everything up when pain started shooting through her body. "Uh, okay, this might not be good."

"What's wrong?" Ruby was over in a flash and had a look of concern. "You've been taking it too hard, haven't you?"

"Pretty sure that's not possible; I've been sitting on my butt all afternoon. I think I might be running out of pain suppressants though." Taking a seat on her bed, Kassidy killed off the third gallon of milk and asked Weiss for the half gallon while taking a bite of her pancakes. _Holy shit this stuff is good._ "Hey Ruby, remember back in that little interrogation room we were at a couple nights ago? When I was zoned out when you came in?"

"Yeah. Oh, you're going to need to do that again?"

"More than likely. So actually, if you guys don't mind me asking for my bed back, I'll probably need to crash at some point."

Everyone switched places accordingly, and they sat down to the movie. Bob assured her that everything would be taken care of. The pain never died down, and after she was finished with food and drink it was almost excruciating. _Well, this is going to be the closest I'll get to sleep tonight._ Kassidy shut the world out from around her, and focused really hard on fighting the pain back. It was going to be a long night.


	12. V1C11: The Trick About Punching

**Chapter 11: The Trick About Punching**

 **AN: Having taken multiple martial arts classes, along with having been in a scrap or two myself, I'd like to think today's subject is one of the two topics I actually know what I'm writing about (the other being social awkwardness). Also, a bit of a teaser for the arc starting in Restless. Kassidy tries to measure up how she stands in the class (spoiler alert: not very well), and Yang teaches her how to not horribly injure herself in a fistfight.**

 **This is a revision of Meet the Brawler.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

"What was my time?"

"You got all fifty targets in 17.43 seconds. I believe that's a new school record."

"It's also not fast enough. Let's run it again."

Kassidy found herself in the gym Friday evening. It had taken three days, but her body had finally fully recovered from the fight with Yang on the first day of class. _And all the other little injuries over the course of the week._ The team just got finished with dinner, and the other three girls were working on homework. _Well, Yang's probably just pretending to work on homework to keep Weiss happy. Willing to bet there's a videogame behind her book._ She, however, was working out.

Each of the days in combat training, another pair of students sparred. Thankfully, none of them had quite the results of the first match, but it did reveal one important thing: Kass wasn't ready for this kind of fighting. Even if she had formal training, there was no way she could compete with any of her classmates in a straight up brawl with aura involved. Sure, there was the actual training part, and the team also got together every day from four to six to get extra training in; Kassidy was learning fast. But knowledge could only go so far when your opponent is so much stronger and faster than you.

 _Well, were they?_ Kassidy finished another round on the machine she was at, which used holographic displays to train a user's reflexes. 18.36 was this round's score. Taking a break, she went over to her bag and took a drink from her canteen. "Alright Bob, you've been taking data from my iris cam. We're a week in, let's see how we stack up."

As can be expected, Kassidy was by far the physically weakest in the group. There were other scrawny kids, but they could bolster themselves with aura. Even Jaune could lift more than Kass when he needed to. Speed was another obvious category. On paper, only Ruby and maybe Pyrrha could run faster. But then, of course, the damn auras come in and ruin everything. And that's not even taking into account semblances; Bob theorized that Ruby could break the sound barrier if she wanted to. The lack of formal combat training was perhaps the biggest gap: while she usually relied on instinct to guide her in a fight, almost everyone else had adopted a particular fighting style they've been honing for years. What also didn't help was the fact that she absolutely refused to bring her guns to bear on her classmates, resulting in her going fist to fist with swords, spears, axes, and everything else a diabolical teenage mind could throw at her.

But not all hope was lost. When firearms training began, it became obvious inside of ninety seconds that Kassidy was heads and shoulders above everyone else. Ruby might be able to edge her out in long range marksmanship, but that was mostly due to the gigantic 40mm cannon masquerading as a sniper rifle. Everywhere else, the shooting scores weren't even close: she was beating top guns like Ren by unheard of margins. And even though she lost out in raw speed, she was still fast. Even after considering auras, Kass had the fastest reactions of the class, and she always managed to stay in the middle of the pack if it came down to a footrace. But she was the biggest winner in sheer endurance. When everyone else was pushed to exhaustion, she was done with the warmup. When all was said and done, she could push herself harder and for longer than any other kid on campus, bar none.

Another interesting consequence of Tuesday's fight with Yang was there was another benchmark that Kassidy had to compare with the rest of the class. Her partner seemed to have had one of the strongest auras in the class, yet the brawler effectively got downed in three hits. If desperate times called for desperate measures, her body could push itself to compare favorably with any other student in the class, aura or no aura. _But excuse me for not relying on being in regular life or death scenarios to compete with my classmates._

That was what drove Kassidy to spend almost all of her free time in the gym. With a constitution that was second to none, and a boundless metabolism keeping her energized, she could make progress on her physicality much faster than anyone else. And she needed to, unless she wanted to get her brain turned into jelly with each and every fight. Kass had already given up on ever outmuscling anybody, so she had to get fast. How fast?

"I just finished processing the data from today's class. Looks like Pyrrha just got edged out for the fastest attack. The new time to beat is Ruby, who managed to get her oversized gardening tool through a space in 0.21 seconds. If you're still insisting on being able to dodge anything, that's the current mark."

 _A fifth of a second? That's literally faster than the blink of an eye. And they're only going to get faster._ Kassidy sighed wearily, more from the impossible odds than from actual tiredness. She was about to step back into the reflex trainer when a familiar voice spoke from behind her.

"What, the record not good enough for you?" _Yang apparently skipped studying._ The blonde had ditched her usual coat and half shirt for a tank top, and the shorts were more modest as well. She appeared to be in the middle of wrapping her hands with tape.

Kass shook her head. "There's only one way I'm making it out of this school alive. No chance in hell I can outmuscle anyone, so the trick is not to get hit. To do that, I gotta be fast."

"Well that's quite the grim mood. How fast are you talking about?"

"Bob's been crunching numbers based on my camera's recordings. Your sister currently has the fastest attack so far, swinging Crescent Rose around in a fifth of a second. If I don't want get cut in half, I need to beat that."

Yang's mouth dropped. After a few moments of thinking, she spoke up. "Look, I'm your partner. As your partner, it's kinda my responsibility to help you do well."

"C'mon Yang, I'm not that bad off."

The brawler ignored her. "So listen to me when I say that you aren't going to beat that. Hell, I have an aura and I can't beat that." She finished wrapping her hands, then it looked like she got an idea. "Actually, why don't you ditch Jarvis? Follow me." _Ever since they watched Iron Man, she's been calling Bob, Jarvis._ Kassidy thought about arguing, but her partner did tend to know what she was doing when it came to fighting. The two blondes made their way around to a boxing ring.

"What, you're that eager to get your butt kicked again Xiao Long?"

Yang snorted. "Grandstanding aside, I've been watching you in combat training and when we got extra work in. You're fighting off instinct, which isn't very good. You've gotten some good instincts, but those don't hold up under trial to something with more discipline behind it. I want to start teaching ya a few things, but first I need a better idea of what you can do. Between your scores and your instincts, it's obvious you haven't been fighting how you want to fight."

Kassidy grimaced. "Yang, you know I'm not turning my guns on you."

The brawler dug around in a gym bag. "I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you to turn this gun on me." She pulled out a lime green pistol with an orange tip. "Plastic pellets. I'll be able to figure out what you can really do when you're comfortable and there's no real danger. And don't worry, I won't be trying to hurt you this time. I've learned."

Palming the pistol, Kass could tell her partner wasn't lying. "Alright. Don't come crying to me if you're covered in welts though." The pair counted down, and their duel began.

Yang had begun striding forward, but not three steps in she had to stop and throw her arms up to shield her face. It took Kassidy twelve seconds to empty the plastic gun of its projectiles. Every single one hit, every single one a headshot, and a large number of them finding themselves bouncing off of what would be the brawler's eyes if her arms weren't blocking.

The break to reload was the opening the more muscular blonde needed, however. Sprinting forward, Yang brought her leg around for a kick, which Kass rolled under, completing the reload on the way up. Five pellets found their way clustered in the brawler's heart before the gap was closed again. A right straight shot out, which was ducked and more pellets found their way into the appropriate shoulder. A left knee was sidestepped and shots flew into the hip. Left hook, right uppercut, a kick, and more attacks were all dodged as the gunslinger evaded everything thrown at her, while simultaneously keeping the pellets flying.

"Alright, enough." Kassidy was about to finish another reload when Yang called the spar off. "Jeez Louise, why don't you move like that in class?"

"Because I actually have to counterattack. I've been using a gun for so long that I don't even need to try to hit my mark. I can focus on the five D's and just keep the barrel hot."

The brawler looked confused. "The five D's?"

Kassidy grinned. "Dodge, dip, dive, duck, and dodge."

A blink. "Didn't you say dodge twice?"

"Exactly."

Yang returned the grin. "Okay, I can work with this. Reaction time is stellar, obviously. You move well, and also obviously your skill with a gun is beyond reproach." She thought for a moment. "You'll probably have trouble with someone using a shield or someone who can block easily, like Pyrrha, but I unfortunately can't really help there. You might want to ask her about some advice next chance you two can spar."

The brawler took the pellet gun from Kassidy, who let out a groan. "So let's put the focus back on hand to hand. I was being serious about you not moving the same way without a gun. You freeze up and get all jerky. How come?"

The gunslinger flexed her almost nonexistent muscles on her arm, while making sure her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "You're asking why I'm not comfortable in hand to hand combat. It should be pretty obvious why I'm not comfortable, what with these massive guns of mine."

Yang chortled, "Alright, alright, no need to get all defensive on me."

"Kinda have to. Not like offense is my strong suit without my firearms."

"Okay, so let's focus on that." Curiously, Yang walked back over to her bag in the corner and started digging around in it. "Especially with Jarvis around – "

"Bob."

"Oh c'mon, don't tell me you can't see the simila – "

"Of course I can. His name's still Bob."

"Whatever. Especially with Bob around, and with your little comparison of attack speeds, I know you've been doing a bunch of number crunching on how you think you stack up. So how do you think you stack up?"

The AI decided to be the one who answered. "Other than the obvious shooting scores, I rank Kassidy first in reaction time and stamina, thirteenth in speed, and dead last in strength and melee scores. All of that is including aura in the analysis."

"We can work with that." Kass was incredibly curious when Yang pulled out some strange gloves, the kind with the flat plate on the palms so one could practice their punching. _What was Yang doing with those in her everyday gym bag?_ "You just need time in the gym to work on your strength, and I'm not the girl to talk to about speed. So let's worry about that melee score for now. Your punching sucks."

"Oh come on, it's making a fist and throwing it at the other person. Not like there's a whole lot behind it."

"Holy crap, I finally got my brainy partner to be wrong!" The brawler giggled for a little bit before joining the other blonde. "Throwing a punch isn't as simple as balling up your hand and swinging. Believe me, as the girl whose method of fighting involves punching with a side of more punching, I know." Kassidy tried to find basis to argue, but couldn't find a way to get a word in edgewise with that logic. "First off, your fist is all wrong, you need to get your knuckles all in a line." The brawler took her hand into her own, helping form the fist. _How embarrassing, not knowing how to form a proper fist. He'd be ashamed of me, that's for sure._ Instantly, she shook her head to banish that particular thought.

"What's the matter?" Yang apparently caught on to the motion; like it was subtle or anything.

"Nothing, just something buzzing around." An obvious lie, but her partner seemed not interested in pursuing it.

"Alright, there's that." Xiao Long slipped a training glove onto her left hand, then held it up. "Let's see what you've got. Don't hold back on me now, you hear?" Kassidy obliged, throwing all of her quite meager force into the glove. She was rewarded for her efforts by a crack and a sharp jolt of pain.

"Ugh, that is absolutely NOT how you punch. Here, gimme your hand." Yang took the glove back off, and reached for the injured appendage before the gunslinger yanked it away and cracking the knuckle herself.

"See? Not even broken. Just cracked the knuckle. Which… doesn't bode well for me. Hell, I'm not even strong enough to hurt myself." The two blondes busted up laughing at that revelation, taking a few minutes to calm down. _That girl always manages to make me more relaxed somehow. Strange how much she reminds me of him._ She stopped laughing and shook her head again. Why was he coming up in her thought processes all of a sudden?

"That fly must really like you." Her partner had finally calmed down, and stood again at her side. "Okay, but seriously, that had to have been the worst punch I have ever seen. Don't lead with the joints, that's a good way to ruin your hand."

"Wouldn't leading with the joints be better, though? Compact the force into a smaller area."

"Yeah, that's exactly what it does, and that's exactly why it's a terrible idea. Sure, it might hurt your opponent that slightest bit more, but where does all that force go on your end?" The answer was obvious, and Kass gave no further argument. "Secondly, you're locking your wrist. A bunch of the energy your body could be putting into the strike is getting wasted. Let your wrist adjust as it needs, let it move how it needs to. The force will go where it needs to on its own. Also lowers the chance of you blowing that joint out."

Yang put the training glove back on, and beckoned for her to hit it again. She did, and a dull thump was the result rather than a painful crack. "Better. Doesn't help that Rubes has more muscle than you do, but nothing we can do about it right now. Now let's look at the rest of your body. You're not throwing your shoulder into it, and your torso's not swinging around. Try doing it like this." The brawler got in a stance, and threw a punch of her own into the air, swinging her torso around ninety degrees as her shoulder pumped with her arm. Kassidy replicated the attack, and was satisfied when she actually got Yang's hand to move.

"There we go! You learn pretty fast."

"Kinda had to. Two brains also helps in that regard."

"Cheater."

"Jealous much?"

"What if I am?" Xiao Long cut her teasing to get back to the lesson. "Now we just need to get your lower body in on the action. Get your hips swinging with your torso, and let your body pivot on the balls of your feet." The brawler demonstrated again, and got the point across easily enough. Another successful demonstration, and the two blondes high fived.

"As much fun as it would be to continue to watch you two oafs beat each other up, don't both of you still have studying to do?" A particularly annoyed heiress materialized behind them, scowling her disapproval.

Kassidy, however, had an idea. Turning to her partner and grinning, she asked, "Actually, I don't think I got the lesson as well as I thought I did. Could you give me another demonstration, by chance?" Tilting her head at Weiss, the not so hidden insinuation was instantly recognized by Yang, who laughed. Schnee wasn't nearly as impressed.

"Ugh, and there I went thinking you were actually taking this school seriously." Her white haired teammate pinched her nose before storming to the ring and picking up firstly Yang's gym bag, and Bob. Needless to say, neither blondes were particularly happy. As they both spouted their… disapproval, Weiss was all too smug to point out, "Follow me to the dorms and get your homework done, and you'll get them back."


	13. V1C12: Four Birds, One Stone

**Chapter 12: Four Birds, One Stone**

 **VIEWER DISCRETION WARNING: THIS VENTURES VERY CLOSE TO M TERRITORY RATHER THAN THE ADVERTISING T RATING, DUE TO PROFANITY AND POSSIBLE GRAPHIC IMAGES. CONSIDER YOURSELVES WARNED.**

 **AN: Now with that out of the way, back to the story. So I kinda sorta lied by saying the next two chapters would follow the same vein as the last. That was the intention, but then I accidentally wrote up a better storyline (better from my point of view, anyway). RK trolls WY, Bob begins to turn into Skynet, then Kassidy turns to the dark side for ten minutes.**

(Perspective: K)

Mornings came early as ever. After the anomaly that was the nine hour snooze fest on the first day of class, Kassidy resumed sleeping nowhere near as long as anyone else. _Still, six hours and no cramps is an improvement from what I'm used to._ Silently grabbing Bob, her scroll, and a prepacked bag, she left the room and beelined for the campus' workshop. _And they still mock me for sleeping in my full gear. Sure beats the time needed to change out of… whatever._ Nobody was up at 4:30 on a Saturday morning of course, which left Kass alone as she walked, tying her hair back into its bun after Yang obliterated it during their spar yesterday.

 _That's right, yesterday._ She never was good at hiding her emotions, so she settled for burying them. But the brawler did a damn fine job of digging them back up. It had been a while since anything other than fear and regret managed to surface, but over the past week she had begun daring to hope. Kassidy's life was a paradise compared to the radioactive apocalypse she came from, she was starting to develop friendships with people who at least showed to have no interest in hurting her, and she didn't have to hurt anyone else for a while (the first spat with Yang notwithstanding).

A few minutes of walking through the brisk spring air found the gunslinger at her destination. _Grr, didn't get the bangs tight enough in the bun. Gonna have to settle for good enough._ Finding a room with a workspace specifically designed with electronics in mind, she closed the door. _Except that door just took two and a half seconds too long to close._ Whirling around, she found the culprit: a particular black and red haired girl in sleepwear was in the room with her, who just realized she had been found out and had wide eyes.

"Oh, sorry Kass! I just couldn't sleep and wanted to see what you were doing!" The young team leader was almost panicking at having been caught. Kassidy could only chuckle.

"It's alright, Ruby. Just never pegged you as one who'd get up this early." Setting down to the worktable, she started unpacking her bag as Scythe Girl looked awkwardly from the corner.

"You don't mind if I watch what you're doing, do you? What are you doing, by the way?"

"I think I have an idea on a conversion module that'll let Bob connect to your computer systems. Your dust based electronics sure are a handful, but that applied chemistry class inadvertently let slip a couple hints on how I could bridge the gap between dust and electricity." Pulling out a broken scroll someone dumped in the trash, she pried the receiver off and got to work soldering transistors. "And no, I don't mind as long as you don't touch. This stuff is really fragile."

Ruby pulled up another chair, and the next two and a half hours passed by as the newfangled contraption was built. The younger girl made bits of small talk as Kassidy was working on less intensive bits. The two talked a bit about the first week of class, but mostly about the greater world of Remnant. The gunslinger had no idea about where she was, other than some crime lord named Roman Torchwick tried to kill her, there were bloodthirsty monsters in the wilderness, and she was training with a bunch of superpowered teenagers to be a fighter.

"So, what happened to your moon to make it bust apart like that?"

"Nobody knows for sure. There's legends, obviously, but it's been like that for hundreds if not thousands of years."

"I've got astrophysics in the data we brought with us, Bob. What's your analysis?"

"I'm… not entirely sure. For there to be a very clear mark where the moon is damaged and where it isn't almost makes it seem like it was intentionally detonated from an interior point of the body. That quite obviously isn't the case, but without spending time on simulations I couldn't give you a good idea as to what kind of impact it would take to cause such damage. In any case, the event likely happened twelve to fifteen thousand years ago. Long enough for the several hundred kilometer gaps between the sections that we see, but short enough to where there isn't obvious gravitational influence on the system."

At this point, Ruby's head hit the desk. "Ugh, so boring! Make Jarvis stop!"

Kassidy scoffed. "First Yang, now you? His name's Bob, not Jarvis. Please tell me I don't need to have this discussion with Weiss too."

"Actually, I do believe the heiress' invocations of my name involve a generous use of German vulgarity."

"Well, you did kind of accuse her of being on her period back when we all got here." Ruby's eyes went wide at that mention. "Happened after you left from collapsing on her luggage. Told you that you missed the main event." The team leader started snickering helplessly. Kass ignored it and got back to work.

Eventually, the device was finished. Kassidy fastened the last screw and regarded her latest gadget with pride. "Hmm, one of these days I'll need a design pattern that isn't 'ugly black box'. Oh well, that's for another time. Ready to connect to the RemNet, bud?" Without waiting for an answer, she hooked Bob up to the box.

"Attempting connection… I'm in. Establishing new scroll device… and done. The system now recognizes me as a scroll. As long as this device is attached, I'll be able to perform all relevant functions. Which means you can finally get rid of that holographic piece of crap."

"Oh c'mon Jarvis, it's not that bad! Plus it is a lot smaller…" Ruby was fidgeting around; as cool as it was to see another geek in action, sitting around for two and a half hours did not do her hyperactivity any favors.

"Well, looks like it's seven o clock. Don't you think it's about time our partners got up?" Kassidy had a mischievous grin, which Ruby smirked at. "What? This is totally logical and absolutely not payback for Yang swapping my notes with gibberish she wrote up earlier. Besides, we're out of striking range." The two girls snickered together. "Hey Bob, do me a favor and put a call out to the rest of the team. Let's put your bold new claims to the test."

"Connecting to Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long… connected. Establishing group call."

Ruby took out her scroll out and answered the call, then put it on the table. It took a full fifteen seconds for either of the other two girls to pick up. Weiss spoke for the two rudely awakened teammates.

"Kassidy, what in dust made you think it was acceptable to put out a team-wide call at SEVEN IN THE MORNING!?" The last bit of yelling made them both flinch. "Now you got Yang up, and she's not happy. Since Ruby isn't here either, that means I have to put up with it. And that means YOU are going to have to deal with ME later."

"Relax, ice queen." The gunslinger was quite casual in how she responded to the heiress. "I was just testing out Bob's new capabilities. He said he cracked the code, and I told him to prove it. End of story."

"So your demented compu –"

"Hey, is that Kassidy on the line? Put me on." Some shuffling occurred in the background as the brawler picked up the scroll. "Listen up K, that was very rude. I know I said that –"

"What's also rude is swapping out your partner's notes when they're not looking."

"Is that seriously what this is about? Ugh, you're the worst at taking pranks."

Kass was barely stifling the laughter at this point. "Oh, I can take a prank just fine. It's apparently you who needs to work on that particular issue."

"Partner, I swear that I… " A thought apparently occurred to Yang in the middle of the threat. "Hang on, where's Ruby? She doesn't usually get up this early on the weekend. Hey K, you haven't happened to see Rubes, have you?"

The team leader decided she could no longer hold her tongue. "Yang! Ugh, I'm so sorry! I was helping Kassidy build some new gizmo and she threatened to call you and I tried to talk her out of it but –"

"Hang on, what?" Hazel eyes shot towards the leader. They held fire, but the accompanying facial expression told that no actual anger was being felt. "You're the one who told me this was a great idea and the team needs to stop sleeping in so late!"

"Liar!"

"Traitor!"

"Oh for the love of…" Weiss was back on the line. The two girls could practically hear her pinch her nose through the speakers. "At this point, I really don't care. I'll deal with the two of you later. Right now I need to keep Yang from breaking something."

"Weiss Schnee has disconnected." Bob's announcement signaled the fun was over. The darker haired pair of the team busted up laughing. Kassidy was able to calm down first.

"Oh man! I haven't had that much fun since… since…" All mirth left her as thoughts of her past came back. _Damn it, I had enough of this with Yang yesterday._

"Since what?" _And damn it, quit pouting! I will not be broken so easily by pitiful faces! No matter how adorable they are!_

"Forget it. Just memories of worse times." Almost at once, the tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a dull knife.

"Do you… want to talk about it?" Ruby was pouting again, and damn if she didn't make the darndest puppy dog eyes you've ever seen.

Kass sighed. "Ugh, Yang has me in a practical interrogation about my past yesterday, and now today." She saw Ruby flinch back. "Hey, it's not your fault, you didn't know. It's something I don't like talking about. You want to know more, ask Yang for now. I'll talk later. Maybe."

At that moment, Ruby's stomach growled. "Uh, oops. How about we pick up here and get some breakfast?"

* * *

Later that afternoon, Kassidy was finding making her way over to one of the gyms. After breakfast, she decided she was on a roll at the workshop and spent the rest of the morning making ammunition. While she had been touching up her reserves here and there throughout the week, this was the first time she was able to top everything off and even have a bit of surplus left over. She was a couple hundred feet away when she got a call from Yang.

"Hey, what're ya up to partner?"

"Looks like Bob can handle the calls. I'm on my way to the gym, why?"

"Still upset about everything? I was hoping to get some of your help on this algebra assignment." While Yang was by no means an idiot, she struggled with math. Since Kass had exactly zero problems with algebra for obvious reasons, she often spent time tutoring her partner on aspects of the assignment that were proving difficult.

"I wasn't planning on being here long. Been meaning on getting some studying done myself, I've been letting that slip. I should be there in…" The words suddenly died in her throat.

"In what?"

It took Kassidy all her will to not snarl in rage at the sight before her. "Bob, can you stream to Yang the feed from my iris cam? She needs to see this."

"Doing it now."

The sight that greeted the gunslinger as she entered the door consisted, among other things, the four bullies of team CDRL circled around Ruby. Pushing and shoving were the way of things until the little sister found a knee in her face.

"WHAT?!" True rage was screaming into her earpiece. "WHERE ARE THEY? I'M GONNA TEAR THEM APART!"

"At the south gym. Don't worry." As Kassidy snarled, she drew her pistol from its hidden holster in the small of her back and made a point of cocking it so Yang could hear. "I'll deal with this myself. Want me to leave you any?"

"Absolutely. I'm on my way now." The sound of the shotgun gauntlets chambering fresh rounds clicked in the background.

The gunslinger walked in. "Bob, keep this stream going to Yang so she knows what's happening." Finding herself standing in the middle of the room, she fired a round straight into the ceiling. At the sound of gunfire, all activity ceased. Kass spoke up so everyone could hear.

"Everyone who doesn't wish to be a target has exactly ten seconds to leave this building. You – Cardin – your boys stay right there. One. Two."

She couldn't get to three before everyone used auras, semblances, and every other trick a teenager could pull off to exit the scene.

"Well, it looks like the babysitter just showed up." Winchester and his cronies stepped away, in the process showing they were all armed. "Doesn't someone need you to fix their scroll, you soulless freak?"

The gunslinger was practically seeing red at this point. "I'm not going to even try to understand why you're attacking my team leader. You fuck with my team, you fuck with me." She leveled her gun at the group of boys. "And I am NOT someone you fuck with."

Dove Bronzewing, the punk with a pair of daggers, was unimpressed. "Oh, I'm so scared, I'm shaking in my boots. Let me guess, there's the easy way or the hard way?"

"No. There's the hard way, and the dead way."

"That's real big talk, for the weakest runt in the whole damn school." Cardin stepped up and brandished his mace. "I'm going to enjoy kicking your ass, Smith. Alright, let's paste this bitch and get back to our fun." At that, the four boys charged.

Unfortunately for them, they were a solid fifty feet away from Kassidy. Even with auras making them run faster, they still had to close the gap with the best shooter in the school. Of course, she had never knowingly fired her gun at someone with an aura before, so she couldn't predict the results of what happened when the homemade lead slugs slammed into them.

Dove was the first one to go down, taking a bullet to the knee and having the entirety of his aura depleted in one shot. Russel, the man with a halberd, needed two shots to the shoulders to get taken down. Sky also ate two shots before falling. At this point, Cardin had closed the gap and had swung his mace in a horizontal swing. _Just like practice with Yang yesterday… except this time there's gonna be blood._ She rolled under it and put two shots into his breastplate, scrambling backwards as she slid a fresh clip in.

As Winchester turned around, he froze in shock. All three of his teammates were on the ground, moaning and bleeding freely from wounds which were nowhere as serious as normal gunshot wounds, thanks to their auras. It suddenly clicked that the skinny girl in front of him fired seven masterfully placed shots in just under three seconds. His face contorted into an animalistic snarl. "You shot my team!"

Kass was just as feral in her reply. "Remind me again what you were doing to Ruby as I walked in?" She fired three shots at his shoulder. One of them he managed to twirl his mace around and block, another bounced off the armored pauldron, but the third hit its mark and sank into flesh, only bouncing off and leaving a welt thanks to the kid's aura. Cardin was about to charge again before a resounding blast hit him from behind and sent him flying into a stack of weights. The source was none other than the angriest blonde anyone had ever seen, with blood red eyes and who was literally on fire. Winchester groaned but made no real effort to get up.

"Yang, get Ruby. I'll handle this." Something was giving the gunslinger a very dark vibe.

"No, I need to teach him –"

"Yang!" Her partner turned at the dark blonde who was snapping at her. "Take care of your sister. Believe me, I have a LOT of experience putting the fear of god in people." Not waiting for an argument, Kassidy strode towards the leader of CDRL.

"Wait, I can explain – oof!" Cardin was silenced by a punch in the nose.

"Shut the hell up you piece of shit." Kassidy grabbed him by the collar and drug him onto the floor, then stood straddling over his chest. "I suppose you're considering yourself lucky, considering that I just stopped the living definition of anger issues from tearing you a new asshole over roughing up her kid sister." Winchester was only too quick to nod in agreement.

"Well, you're very unlucky that you got me, because I've been places that blonde's never been and never will go." Kass was putting a lot of effort into showing just how infuriated she was, oblivious to the sisters watching from the sidelines. "Those feelings you're having? The pain, the feelings of helplessness, your life in the hands of someone who hates you?" More vigorous nods. "I know those feelings. I know, because I've had them. For eight damn years, I've put up with shit that would turn anyone else completely fucking insane from the horror. I know your feelings." Cardin's eyes were bulging, and a heavy smell of urine filled the air.

"And guess what?" His face had now lost all color. "I can make it worse. I can make it so. Much. Worse. Because I'm not a good person. I'm a very bad person, who happens to be very good at hurting people. I could spend YEARS hurting you, you know that right? Slowly, intimately, in every way you fear." She didn't bother looking over to see the faces of shock and horror the two sisters shared.

"I've dealt with your kind before, Cardin. I know that the only thing your people respect is strength. Strength and fear. So here's something for you to respect. You fuck with my teammates again, and you will beg me to kill you." At this point, Winchester was so terrified he literally passed out, his head hitting the floor with a small 'thunk'. She let go of his breastplate, slid her pistol back into the small of her back, and looked at her partner and her team leader. "Told you I could handle it."

Yang was the only one able to form coherent words. "Um, K, what the actual hell was that?"

Kassidy buried her face in her hands and let out a sigh. "A side of me I promised Ozpin I'd keep put away. C'mon, let's get out of here." Ruby also apparently had a broken leg; the brawler had to carry her. They made it halfway across the room when the door opened to Glynda Goodwitch.

"I've heard reports of gunshots and… oh dear Oum, what happened here?"

The gunslinger answered for the trio. "Training accident." With that, RKY walked out and made their way to the infirmary.


	14. V1C13: How to Kill a Huntress

**Chapter 13: How to Kill a Huntress**

 **AN: First off, whenever I was typing this I felt the need to type Doctor Oobleck's part as quickly as possible. The man is so fast in everything he does that anything that wasn't done at the speed of crazy seemed to be out of character about him, even when writing him in some fan fiction.**

 **Weiss and Kassidy have another argument. And no, they don't usually argue as much as I show them arguing; they usually argue more. Weiss, Yang, and Kass join Oobleck for some extra training, and our paranoid gunslinger gets some new toys.**

 **This is a rewrite of Breaking the Ice.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

 _Ugh, this has been a long day._ Trudging through the halls, Kassidy was on her way back to the dorms after having been called up to Ozpin's office regarding the 'training accident' that afternoon. Although she managed to talk her way into getting out scot free, the headmaster was obviously more than a little displeased about the situation, despite the ever-present cool exterior he showed. Taking out Bob and his attached scroll link device thing (which really needed a proper name), she tried the door, which didn't unlock.

"The lock seems to be coded to the scroll Ozpin handed you. I think I should be able to mimic the code… and there. My newest addition should work from here on out." Opening the door, she was just able to make out Ruby telling her not to come in when suddenly, her legs felt really heavy and incredibly cold. Seeing the absolutely furious Weiss Schnee pointing her rapier, the gunslinger didn't even need to look down to guess that her legs were now encased in a giant ice block, gluing her to the floor.

"What the heck, Weiss? I just got here!"

"I've had just about enough of you! You don't take your studies seriously when you obviously know absolutely nothing about where you are or what you're doing, you wake me and Yang up this morning in some sort of prank, and now I've just learned how you threatened to MURDER another team of students!"

"Woah, where the hell is this coming from?"

"You're a loose cannon and a danger to everyone around you!"

"Guys!" Ruby whined over everyone. "We do need to have a talk, but first things first. Kass, how did your meeting with Professor Ozpin go?"

She shrugged. "Went well enough. Basically just got told not to make this a habit."

Yang seemed impressed. "Wow, you got off easy. I thought for sure he was gonna make an example out of you. How did you talk your way out of that one?"

"I told the truth: that Cardin and his boys were attacking my teammate, I employed necessary force to get them to stop attacking my teammate, and then I took appropriate steps to make sure there wouldn't be a repeat incident."

"This is exactly what I'm talking about!" Weiss was beside herself. "How can you talk so calmly about shooting four other students, and then threatening to TORTURE them? It's like this is just another day at the office for you!"

"So what you're saying is I should have let them continue to beat Ruby? You know there's only one way I can compete physically with those boys, and that's a situation I have zero intentions of going through again."

"Nobody's saying that, but you still probably went a bit overboard," Yang said. "And that still doesn't explain how you're being so calm about this."

"There's two rules where I come from. What you can do to the other guy, and what you can keep the other guy from doing to you. I was simply playing by the rules."

Weiss scoffed, her holier than thou attitude showing itself again. "Those aren't rules, those are guidelines for how to be an animal."

Kass snapped back at the heiress, "They're the rules of survival." _Alright, my legs are starting to get a bit cold._ "Hey, do you mind letting me out of here? I might not catch frostbite easy, but it can still happen. Not to mention I really don't want to have to clean this up when it finally melts."

"How can we trust you?" Yang and Ruby gaped at Schnee, as she explained. "As far as I know, you claim to be from a different planet, and you at least think about shooting anything that moves, regardless if its friend or foe. You talk about murder and torture like its par for the course. And don't even get me started on your paranoia; seriously, why are you so determined to sleep with that antique rifle of yours?"

Kassidy crossed her arms and glared at her white haired teammate. "So you don't trust me?" A vigorous shake of the head was her answer, and she softened from her glare and settled on a stoic expression. "Good. Means you're learning." Yang's and Ruby's jaws dropped yet again, and the heiress joined them. "Still, for what it's worth… if I wanted you all dead, not only would you have not lived long enough to develop those suspicions, but I've had plenty of opportunities to do the deed."

"Gee, that's incredibly reassuring." Despite the rather pointed tone, the heiress' brow was furrowed in thought for a few seconds. Eventually, she decided to drop the ice encasing the gunslinger's legs. "And you just made an incredibly potent point for sleeping with one's weapon. I have studying to do; try to shoot me and I will be more than happy to freeze the entirety of you." With that, Schnee turned on her heel and sat at her desk to study.

"At least you've finally started paying attention," Kass muttered. Sighing and digging through her bag, a thought suddenly struck her. "Speaking of studying, didn't you say you needed help with your algebra homework, Yang?

"Yeah, actually! Let me go get my work." And with that, the team dissolved into what would've been its typical anarchy, made atypical through the icy tension hanging in the air.

* * *

"So, remind me how we're gonna be doing team training when you're still hopping around on crutches?" Yang had just finished taping up her fists and snapped her gauntlets back on. Weiss and Kassidy were already together in the middle of the arena they were occupying. It was the next day, and Glynda didn't seem to mind too much that a team wanted to use the combat training room on a Sunday, so long as nothing got broken.

"I wanted to do something different today!" Ruby bounded over to the bench they had put their stuff on, and the other girls made their way over to the two sisters. The team leader sat down and was slightly more nervous when she talked next. "I knew I wasn't gonna be good to help you guys train today, so I wanted to see if I could get someone to take my place, so to speak. I managed to talk him into helping us train; he said it was okay but I still couldn't help feel but feel like I was being a bother."

"Oh, don't fret Miss Rose! I assure you this isn't a bother in the slightest!" The door to the room opened seemingly on its own, but the culprit had already zoomed over next to them. Weiss, Yang, and Kass all stood agape at him. The gunslinger was the first one to remember where she was.

"Professor Oobleck, this is quite the surprise."

"Doctor! I did not earn a Ph.D. for fun, thank you very much! Now, your team leader explained to me her predicament, and after some thorough questioning and research I do believe I've found a way in which I am uniquely qualified to improve on your training!"

"I'm sure whatever lessons such an esteemed Huntsman such as yourself would have been sufficient. We are all ready to listen." With a curtsy, Weiss was only too eager to try and gain the approval of the one person on campus who could compete with Ruby for hyperactivity. The two sisters snickered while Kassidy rolled her eyes.

"Alright, flattery aside, let's get straight to the point! Your time is valuable after all! Now, Miss Schnee, Miss Smith, could you two join me in the middle of the room? Fully armed, I might add?" With a glare at Kassidy, the professor seemingly teleported to the arena floor. Weiss followed after him while the gunslinger grabbed her pistol and rifle before joining.

"Miss Smith, may I ask why you never carry a melee weapon with you? Surely you've seen by now the benefits of carrying one."

"Firstly, I don't have one. I mean, sure I've got this knife, but doesn't really count to a rapier or, god forbid, a scythe as big as I am and almost as heavy. And since I've never had one, I'm not good with any of them. Yeah, anyone can swing a baseball bat or sword around like a lunatic and still do some damage, but here? I'll be lucky if I don't chop my own arm off or something."

Oobleck interrupted her at this point. "You do realize you're at a school, right? The institution where one learns? And with the quality of instructors we have at our disposal, I'm sure it would be little trouble for you to find a weapon you are comfortable with and become proficient in its use. Which makes it more complexing when you refuse the weapons you have and instead settle for your fists. Your unguarded, aura-less fists."

"Have you seen what my guns do to someone? The bullets absolutely devastate aura, for some reason more so than your guys' weaponry. If I shoot someone, there is a high probability that they're going to get hurt badly. And yeah, that's kind of the point of shooting someone, but I don't think Ozpin would appreciate it too much if I sent all my classmates to the infirmary, or worse."

"Hmm, you have a different view on fighting that we do, that much is clear." Oobleck elaborated at the raised eyebrow. "I have been made aware that you are not from Vale. Where you are from was not made privy to me, but regardless. Even if I were not told that, it would be painfully obvious how… different you are. Your combat style is an interesting one, to say the least."

Kassidy chuckled. "You think I have a combat style, how flattering. Nah, I just shoot whatever moves pretty much."

"That is still a combat style. But it must be expanded upon." Eyes narrowing, he strode over to the gunslinger's side and looked at Weiss. "Tell me, how would you fight Miss Schnee over there?"

Kass' eyes widened slightly. "Fight her? As in…?"

"If you had to fight her, to the death, right here and now, what would you do?" RWY all stared blankly at the professor, while Kassidy thought.

"Well, if I had a choice in the matter, I'd do what I would with anyone else and not be here, or anywhere near her for that matter. If I truly had to kill her, and I got to decide how, when, and where, then she'd never know there was to be a struggle. One shot, in one ear and out the other."

Weiss grimaced at the mental image it brought up, while Oobleck was intrigued. "Yes, that does seem to fit you and how you fight. Which is why I'm not letting you decide those in this particular thought exercise."

"Okay then…" The gunslinger thought some more. "The biggest problem are obviously those physics defying glyphs of hers. So I'll need to be on the offensive, control the flow of battle, not let her dictate how and where she uses those damn things. She's fast, but she'll need her glyphs if she wants to beat my reaction time. And from what I've seen, the glyphs only give a force in one direction, giving her linear movement, makes her predictable." After coming up with some final thoughts, she looked the teammate in question in the eye. "So, basically, stay on the offensive, force her to use her glyphs purely in a defensive manner. Need to use terrain to keep her in front of me. If she can use her glyphs offensively, or if she can start running circles around me, then I'm screwed; I'm only so good at this fighting deal. Getting her backed into a corner would be ideal, then it's just a matter of forcing her to waste her glyphs on the shield barrier things. I've got more ammo than she does aura, so by that point it'd be all over."

The professor rubbed his chin in thought. "Miss Schnee, how would you fight Miss Smith here?"

Weiss let out a 'hmph' in disdain. Rather than telling Oobleck her answer, she showed him. A glyph formed under Kassidy and launcher her into the air before she could react. A second glyph tore the rifle from her shoulder, and a third removed her pistol from its holster. Crumpling on the ground and shooting back up to her feet, the gunslinger quickly processed what had just happened.

"That is how I would fight her." Finishing with a small curtsey, the heiress was obviously only too proud of her display. Kass was practically quivering with anger, not only at her white haired teammate but mostly at herself for not expecting that.

"Do not be so proud of defeating a defenseless opponent." Schnee flinched under the sudden criticism while Kassidy tried to complain about how she wasn't that defenseless. The professor cut her off quickly, however. "Your glyphs are a flexible tool, but they are only one tool of many you have. Do not neglect your other tools simply because glyphs are typically the most convenient. And Miss Smith, stealth and a steady aim are tools in their own right, tools which you have tremendous skill in. The problem is your toolbox is rather empty. I had mentioned the skilled teachers here for a reason, I'd advise meeting with them and learning new tools to equip yourself with."

The gunslinger thought for but a moment. "Would it be safe to assume you also have a lesson to teach?"

At that, Oobleck smiled. "Why yes, I do. However, it unfortunately must wait for another time. Now, Miss Xiao Long, if you could take Miss Smith's place up here?" The hint was all too obvious, and Kass made her way over to the bench. She took a seat where the brawler was next to Ruby, and took a sip from a water bottle; they hadn't been doing any actual work yet beyond getting thrown in the air and disarmed by glyphs, but she still had the chance for water now and she took it.

"So this was what you had in mind by bringing in Doctor Oobleck?"

Rose gave a soft smile back. "No, I didn't. I figured he was gonna do a bit of talking from the questions he was asking, but I had no idea what. Weiss wasn't too rough with you, was she?"

Kassidy couldn't help but snort. "You seriously think getting tossed in the air a couple feet hurt that badly? C'mon, you should know by now that just 'cause I don't have an aura, it doesn't mean I'm made of fine china." At seeing her head tilt inquisitively, she had to explain. "Fine china's this real expensive pottery. No idea why people like it so much, something about the mineral content."

"Also for its toughness compared to more common consumer ceramics, as well for its translucence allowing a wide variety of art to be depicted easily."

"All right, know-it-all. What can I say Ruby? Between Bob and I, we really do know everything."

"Ooh! How about…" The team leader thought for a moment, tongue stuck out a bit, before coming up with something. "How about the tenth root of a thousand twenty four?"

"Two." Ruby's jaw dropped, which caused her to chuckle. "Not only do I know binary as a computer programmer, counting powers of two is something I use to calm down."

"No fair!" she whined. The two girls looked up and saw Weiss and Yang about to fight, although curiously Yang was the one in the defensive position this time, and Weiss was making no effort or movement to ready a glyph.

"Must be something Oobleck told them about expanding their toolboxes."

"Yeah. Oh, that reminds me Kass!" Suddenly excited again, Ruby reached around and dug in her red duffel behind her, and pulled out a couple boxes. "Weiss and I have been making these for you over the week! Oobleck did kinda say you needed to expand your toolbox a bit, which seems to make a bit of sense here, but we thought you'd really like this with how much you use your rifle."

Eyeing the boxes being handed to her, the gunslinger unlatched the boxes and gasped at their contents. What was inside them was ammunition, and not the homemade nonsense she had been using for how many years. Someone put a lot of effort into getting these machined properly. However, these were obviously far more different than that. The seven clips all had glass caps on the end of each piece of ammo, with some different colored powder in the caps. The clips themselves also were color coded, with stripes of orange, white, blue, and red going down their lengths.

"Wow, Ruby. I don't know what to say, this stuff looks incredible."

The team leader giggled, before pointing to the stripes. "Yeah, Weiss knows a lot about dust and I know a lot about weapons, so we figured it'd only make sense to tag team on this project. Bob helped a lot with the specifics of your rifle too… I think you might've noticed if we borrowed it for a day to take measurements." Her voice trailed off at the end, but then she perked up. "Anyways, there's some differences you need to know about this stuff. Bob was talking about this 'gunpowder' nonsense you've been using as a propellant, which is completely garbage if you ask me. Fire dust burns much cleaner and more reliably, so we used that instead. Also, the bullets themselves are just glass casings for carrying dust. These orange ones, for example, are filled with more fire dust. It's like an incendiary bullet."

"While that's technically accurate, it also doesn't do service to the capabilities of the substance. Think of it more as a bullet filled with napalm." At hearing her computer's explanation, Kassidy's eyes bugged out.

Ruby giggled some more before continuing. "This white one is filled with ice dust, it'll make a decent sized glob of the stuff. Like bowling ball sized, I guess?" This time, it was Kass' turn to look incredulously at the scythe wielder. "Don't forget, dust is basically the elements incarnate. It doesn't take a lot of powder to make some neat stuff happen. Alright, this blue one is lightning dust. Bob said it'd be best to call it a Taser round, which he said you'd know what it means." A nod, and she continued. "And this last one… it's really hard to make, so don't let Yang have this stuff. Or Nora, now that I think of it. It's basically a grenade bullet."

As Kassidy's eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets, Bob explained. "While Ruby and Weiss were doing some testing, I noticed some interesting properties with the fire dust. I convinced them to test my theory that lacing thermite with fire dust would dramatically improve its yield. We were, how do I want to put this? Not disappointed. And you better be careful with that stuff, the 'grenade bullet' moniker was not an exaggeration. Not to mention, do you have any idea how hard it is to make thermite from scratch?"

"Well, you seem happy partner." Yang strolled up to them, with Weiss sulking behind her. "Oh, don't worry about ice queen, she's just mad that she lost to her own tricks." The brawler finally found the topic of conversation, and split into a face-cracking grin. "Oh, those things, huh? You have no idea how excited Ruby was to make those. Or how hard it was to keep it a secret from you of all people. Even had Bob in on it."

Oobleck joined them at the bench. "I'm not going to pretend to be privy to what you ladies are conspiring with this time, but I do wish to thank you for your participation today. Truly, outstanding students. Yes, even you Miss Xiao Long." Yang smirked, which he ignored. "Now, if that clock – and my stomach – does not mistake me, it should be lunchtime right about now. Why don't we all grab a bite to eat?"


	15. V1C14: Teamwork

**Chapter 14: Teamwork**

 **AN: Nora decided that starting a prank war would be a good idea. Which would've been fine, except for who she targeted. Nobody messes with Yang's hair.**

 **Thought you guys would enjoy something more light hearted since I just finished with three chapters of moodiness, and things get serious again soon. As always, don't hesitate to let me know how I'm writing and how I can improve (plus I'm pretty sure AndJrew is lonely in the reviews section).**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

6:30 on a Wednesday morning. Any sane student would still be sleeping. So naturally, Kassidy found herself finishing her two hour long morning workout around this time. In addition to the obvious physical benefits, the exercise helped clear her mind and gave her time to think about the day ahead. Classes were a usual topic of her pondering.

As it turns out, history only met on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The other three weekdays, from 10:00 to 11:00, were occupied by 'applied chemistry,' which was really just the study of dust. Similarly, algebra was replaced on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday by regular chemistry. And, because nothing's allowed to be easy here, everything has the wrong names. Not to mention that they haven't learned as much of the science as people did back on Earth. _Heck, forget quarks and gluons. These people haven't even found protons and neutrons yet. A shame that Professor Peach doesn't even consider that the names I've learned might be just as right; just because I call it Heisenberg's uncertainty principle rather than 'material disjunction theorem' doesn't make me wrong._

Headed to the showers, the gunslinger's thoughts then moved to her teammates. Ruby fortunately healed quickly, and also fortunately CRDL hasn't so much as looked at her funny ever since the 'training accident' they had. The team leader had also apparently skipped two grades, and with the amount of work she put in during training as well as with the more difficult class material, it was pretty obvious why. It was evident that skill alone wasn't enough to flourish in Beacon.

Weiss was still mostly the same. They argued more than the rest of their team, and they had more than their fair share of spats and ego competitions. But the heiress seems to have dropped the overt hostility. An argument wasn't guaranteed any time they were in the same room together anymore. And as for her partner… _Ugh, Yang can be such a handful sometimes._ The brawler, for better or for worse, had few inhibitions. Puns flew freely, light punches and one armed hugs were commonplace, and anything that happened to be at the front of her mind got said, regardless of the consequences or who heard it. _Well, that's not exactly true. Most of the time I just don't think she gives a damn. Live life to the fullest and dare anyone to mess with your stuff – wish I could have that kind of mindset._

This was the last coherent thought Kass had during her morning routine. At this time, she stepped out of the shower, dried off, and was about to put her hair back up in its bun when she noticed something… green. Looking into a mirror, the gunslinger suddenly had neon green hair. _How did… was it… no, wasn't the water. Did someone mess with my shampoo?_ _Wait, how would they? This is just some stock stuff that was hilariously cheap. No indication that it's mine other than the fact that I keep it in my bag._ Squeezing out a bit of the liquid to find that it indeed had been dyed green, her mind halted in its tracks before coming to a conclusion.

 _Yang did this. The only explanation. Weiss doesn't do pranks and I'm pretty sure Ruby doesn't know where I keep my shampoo. I'm gonna deck her. Messing with my bun is bad enough, but dyeing my hair?!_

Quickly dressing into her school uniform, Kassidy stormed off towards the dorms. It was a relatively long walk for the campus, but it still only took five minutes for her to get to her dorm room, dig Bob out of her backpack, and almost unlock it. What stopped her was Yang being absolutely livid, yelling at Ruby and Weiss about something she couldn't quite make out. _She thinks she's mad? I'll show her…_ Opening the door, she instantly started, "Now listen here Ya-"

The two blondes stopped and stared at each other. Well, former blondes. Just as Kassidy was about to blame Yang for her neon green hair, so was the brawler about to yell at the gunslinger. The giant blonde, almost golden carpet referred to as hair was now hot pink. The partners stared at each other, dumbstruck. It was Xiao Long who was able to form coherent sentences first.

"So, uh… I guess you didn't actually do this."

"Of course not, why would I? Even I'm not stupid enough to mess with your hair."

As Ruby snickered from her bed, the door to their dorm's bathroom opened to reveal Weiss, who was about to argue more with Yang before she saw the situation before her. The heiress was just as flabbergasted as her teammates. "Alright, do I even want to know what's going on here?"

A thought suddenly occurred to Kass: who else does she know that's big on pranks, and would be bold (or stupid) enough to dye Yang's hair?

"Hey, did Nora visit you guys while I was doing stuff last night?"

Ruby gave up on sleep at that point and leaned over the bed. "Yeah, actually. Yang had just left, and Nora said something about their toilet not working. She didn't stay for very long though, and she was snickering whenever she left. I thought she just found something funny about some of our stuff."

"Valkyrie…" Yang spat the name out like a curse, eyes flashing red. "She's going down. Nobody messes with my hair and gets away with it."

"I agree, she went too far. And I think I know just how to hit her where it hurts." A wicked grin split across the gunslinger's face, which the three girls in the room openly questioned. "Tell me Bob, what's for breakfast this morning?"

"Pancakes, actually." At that announcement, Ruby and Weiss shared looks of shock while Yang mirrored the evil grin. The eyes had cooled back down to their usual lilac.

"And what's the one thing that Nora values as much as you value your hair?"

"Syrup. Maybe Ren."

"Alright, we know she brings her own special syrup whenever the school makes pancakes. I just thought of a modification to her recipe. Can one of you cover for me so she doesn't walk into me being in our little kitchenette?"

"I'll do it!" Ruby jumped down and walked on out the door. Hesitating, she turned around. "Uh, you know this can only end badly, right? Can you just promise that I'm not going to be involved in whatever happens next?"

"Sure thing, sis. This is just gonna be between us friends."

After a brief detour to add and thoroughly mix a sizeable portion of vinegar into Nora's syrup, the team finished their morning rituals before heading to breakfast. After a short time alone, their four friends in JNPR quickly made their way to the opposite side of the table, with Nora continuing on as always about her love of pancakes and syrup especially. It was at this point that something unexpected happened.

"Hey Nora, I've always wanted to try your syrup. Do you mind sharing just a little bit?" _Oh no, Pyrrha's gonna be pranked too. And I do not want to be on that girl's hit list._ Trading nervous glances with Yang, the two former blondes were quickly interrupted from their silent conversation by Ren addressing them.

"So… I noticed you two decided to pursue a different hairstyle."

The brawler, as usual, did the talking for the two of them. "Pfft, you wish. Nah, someone thought it would be a good idea to mess with my hair. And K's too, apparently. If I ever find out who…" Yang finished the threat by slamming her fist into an open palm. Ren shifted nervously in his seat when Nora and Pyrrha both started vigorously coughing and spitting out their sabotaged breakfast. The two blondes might have even gotten away with it if Weiss wasn't in the line of fire.

"Agh! Stop that, stop it this instant!" Failing at shielding herself from the onslaught of partially chewed pancake, she wheeled on her teammates. "We TOLD you this would be a bad idea!" Yang simply took that as her cue to start howling in laughter. If anyone hadn't noticed the situation earlier, they sure have now. "How is Nora and Pyrrha spitting syrup over me funny!?"

"I knew it was you!" The only reason Nora hadn't jumped on top of the table at this point was due to Ren holding her in check – literally. "What did you do? What did you do to my precious?"

Kassidy was calm in her answer. "I came across a syrup recipe that had an unusually large amount of vinegar in it, and I just knew you'd love it if you'd try it."

"Vinegar?" Pyrrha had finally recovered from her taste buds' rebellion. "Since when did vinegar make anything taste better? And how much did you put in here, anyway?"

Yang had stopped laughing, and she gave Valkyrie a glare that would put Glynda's to shame. "Maybe if SOMEONE didn't think that dyeing our hair was a good idea, we wouldn't have had to tamper with breakfast."

"That's it!" Nora stood up and pointed a finger at the taller pair of partners. "This injustice cannot go unanswered! We'll deal with you later!"

As Nora walked out, followed quickly thereafter by both Pyrrha and Ren, the five teens were left with wondering what was going to happen.

* * *

"Alright class, let's form up. You all know the drill by now." One o' clock – combat training. And, as everyone knew, every combat training started off with a duel. Professor Goodwitch got her class in order, then gave an announcement. "Today's duel is going to be handled differently. Instead of one on one, today's match will feature doubles. That's right, two students on the same team against two other students. Now, unless there are any – "

Glynda wasn't even able to finish before Nora sprang to her feet. "Pyrrha and I challenge Yang and Kassidy!"

The two former blondes traded looks, and Kassidy facepalmed. "How did I know this was coming?"

Yang shook her head, then turned to the professor. "We accept. I've been meaning to pay them back for what they did to my hair."

Goodwitch blinked. "I was wondering if you had changed stylists. Regardless, you are aware there are to be no grudge matches in this class, correct?"

"This won't be one, professor." Pyrrha was walking down to the front, shield and sword already off her back. "We'll be sure to keep this nice and clean."

"Very well. Ms. Xiao Long, Ms. Smith, if you would please make your way down to the front we shall begin."

Loading a clip of shells into her gauntlets, Yang strode purposefully to the front. The gunslinger, however, did her usual thing of stowing away her weaponry – she still didn't feel comfortable bringing her guns to bear on her classmates. One thing she did do, however, was strap her bracer to her forearm. She jogged to catch up with her partner.

"Why don't you take Nora to start with, and I'll keep Pyrrha busy?"

The brawler looked shocked. "You serious, K? She'll tear you a new one."

"Probably. But I'm willing to bet that she's too nice for her own good. In the meantime, you and Nora can have at each other, and I'm pretty sure you'll beat her in a slugging competition. Which will give plenty of time for you to build up your Semblance doo-hickey."

Xiao Long grinned. "Alright, I know I'm going to have fun. Though if you get hurt bad again, I'll need to go out of my way to embarrass you as I carry you out bridal style."

"Good thing it won't come to that, then." At this point, the four girls had taken up their positions staring each other down. Nora had her hammer/grenade launcher out and grinned maniacally at Yang. Pyrrha, on the other hand, looked incredibly nervous. _Alright, time for step one._ "Hey, uh… look, I can handle broken bones with the best of them, but can we stop short of dismemberment today? Arms and legs kinda take a while to grow back."

Nikos paled, then sheathed her sword on her back. "You know I wouldn't do anything like that to you."

"Not on purpose."

"BEGIN!" Glynda barked from her usual spot, and the four teens descended upon each other. _At least Yang and I are on the same team this time._ Leaving the two heavy hitters to their own devices, Kassidy focused her attention on the Mistralian champion in front of her. _Okay, time. I need to buy time. Yang can handle Nora. Just need to buy her time to win that fight and get her thing charged up._ Pyrrha shot forward with her shield extended at her chest. A quick roll ensured that the gunslinger's ribcage stayed intact for a while longer.

As Nikos continued to press her attack, Kass found that her reflex training was really paying off. The champion was fast, but she was faster, always managing to stay just ahead of the shield threatening to test how well she took broken bones. The gunslinger threw in jabs and kicks, even the occasional elbow where she could, but the damage she was doing to her opponent's aura was laughable. Sidestepping another shield bash, Kassidy decided to take it to the next level after five minutes of combat. _She's starting to breathe hard, endurance is getting the better of her. Time to push her patience past its endurance too._ Leaning against the pillar that eight days ago broke her spine, she made of point of sounding calm and casual, even going so far as to bring back a little of the southern drawl she dropped years ago.

"And here I thought you were supposed to be good. Heck girl, you couldn't even hit water if you fell out of a boat."

The taunting had its desired effect. The Mistralian champion's eyes bugged out a bit, before sharpening into hardened resolve. Frustration took over as Pyrrha pushed herself even harder to so much as land a hit on the weakest kid on class, the weakest kid who was now mocking her. Dodging shields, fists, and high heeled boots, Kass' agility was being pushed even harder than Nikos' endurance. _Yang should've won by now, what's keeping her held up?_ Just managing to duck under a shield charge, the gunslinger managed to plant an elbow into her opponent before making space between them and dropping her fighting stance. _Time for step three._

"Alright, trash talking aside… thanks for taking it easy on me."

Nikos gave her a funny look before laughing a humorless laugh. "I haven't been going that easy. You're pretty good; this is actually a pretty fair fight."

"Yeah, about that. See, I've been through a lot of things, and if there was only one lesson I could take from any of it, it'd be this one:"

"I'm listening."

"If you find yourself in a fair fight," Kassidy pointed her bracer at her opponent, "then you've done something wrong."

Smashing the trigger down, the grappling hook shot off towards Pyrrha. Her dulled reflexes couldn't move out of the way in time, and the steel cable wound its way around her calf. Pulling on the cable with everything she had, the gunslinger yanked her opponent over, simultaneously leaping up and planting a boot in the square of the champion's back, who subsequently went flying. Kass pulled again, but by this point Nikos had caught on and flew back with a kick.

But as fast as she was, Kassidy was faster. Ducking under the boot, she wasted no time in getting the cable wrapped around her other leg. Then her arm. Then her chest. A few more turns later, Pyrrha was thoroughly entangled and was crumpled on the ground. She unfastened her bracer from her forearm to leave the champion sitting there. Striding over and picking up her opponent's shield, she decided to help Yang with whatever Nora was putting her through.

"Well, Ms. Nikos, as much as I'd love to keep stringing you along, I should go find out what my partner's up to."

"And in a surprising turn of events, Ms. Xiao Long is eliminated by aura level."

The announcement made Kassidy snap her head up. A very weary, very battered, but still very much aggravated Nora had just clobbered Yang into the wall. A quick look up revealed that Yang had an aura level of 3, while Valkyrie's was at 11. _Just one point above elimination. I can handle that. Need to act now though, while she's distracted._ Sprinting at her partner's eliminator, the gunslinger raised the bronze colored disc and smashed it into Nora's back before she could respond.

"And in a more surprising turn of events, Ms. Valkyrie is eliminated by aura level."

She had only made the pink bomber drop by two points, but it was enough. Looking back up at the scoreboard, Kass' heart sank to see that Pyrrha still had 71 aura left. _There's no way in hell I'm that good. I can't drop her aura by 61 points before she puts me down for the count._ Almost as if to prove the point, her bracer just got tossed back at her feet. She was pretty sure that Nikos was pissed, but the girl standing across the room from her showed no such emotion. Kassidy was about to toss the shield over and throw the towel in before…

"I forfeit."

Gasps filled the room, and Glynda's eyebrows looked like they were trying to fly off her head. "I'm sorry?"

"I'm exhausted, I've been disarmed, and my opponent is in an advantageous position. You've been watching the fight, haven't you professor? The only reason Kassidy hasn't beaten me is because she lacks an aura. Put anyone else in her position, and I'd be hard pressed to salvage anything." At this point, the Mistralian champion looked up and gazed at her opponent, a smile on her face. "I'd say she's earned the win."

Goodwitch took a few moments to process what just happened, before returning to her usual expression. "Very well. Due to forfeit, this match's winner is Yang Xiao Long and Kassidy Smith."

Kass was still stunned. She didn't even have a reaction until Pyrrha had come up and asked for her shield back while adding, "That's a good lesson. I'll be sure to take it to heart."

Handing the bronze disc back, the gunslinger could only put together, "It'd only work once anyway." At this point, Nora had joined them, who seemed dejected until she started ranting about how awesome that fight was. She chuckled before regarding her two classmates. "I suppose this makes us even now?"

"Yeah, we're all evened up K." A gauntleted hand found its way on her shoulder, a pink haired brawler giving off a goofy grin. "Well, this was sure a colorful morning until the mood soured over breakfast. But class so far has been smashing, am I right?"

A chorus of boos was the only response she got.


	16. V1C15: Hunting Party

**Chapter 15: Hunting Party**

 **AN: As you have probably noticed, I'm unable to continue putting up daily updates, or even once every other day. Between an increasing workload, and the fact that I'm not happy with the quality of the past couple chapters, I'll be taking more time between updates.**

 **Anyways, back to the serious stuff. This is going to be part one of a three or four part occurrence. Training missions have started up, and the team is dropped off in the Emerald Forest to go collect some flags. What could go wrong? Insert other 'famous last words' here.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

Most mornings, 5:00 found Kassidy at the gym, typically working the bench press at this point. Having woken up half an hour earlier (and several hours before any of her classmates), the gunslinger usually busied herself with improving her physical conditioning. Reflexes, endurance, and muscle mass all needed to improve if she was going to consider herself a peer to the superpowered teenagers she found herself associating with.

This, however, was not an ordinary morning. It was the second Saturday of the semester, and the first weekend on which training missions were assigned to teams. The quartets of students were given objectives and a time limit, and were expected to carry out the job for a grade. Whether in the Emerald Forest, Forever Fall, or any of the other wilds surrounding the campus, encounters with Grimm weren't just guaranteed, but most students looked forward to them.

Which is why Kass was currently in the electronics workshop, hunched over a solder as she worked on her latest gadgets. If the four girls were going to be actively seeking out confrontations with bloodthirsty demons, then communication would be important. Scrolls were impressive in their own right, but weren't up to snuff for the purposes of letting the teens talk to each other in the middle of combat. However, earpieces with built in microphones could piggy-back off the device's signal and use the RemNet such that as long as the signal strength were adequate, the team could easily communicate from anywhere on the planet. Of course, connectivity wasn't always guaranteed, which is why, as a backup, all four devices currently being worked on would have a link with Bob up to five hundred feet.

Kassidy wasn't expecting visitors. Getting up this early in the morning, visiting the workshop, and sneaking into the electronics room? That just doesn't happen. For that reason, it was only natural for the gunslinger to draw her concealed pistol and stare down whoever just opened the door behind her. _Oh shit that's Ozpin. I should probably stop aiming at him._

"We seem to be a bit jumpy." The headmaster's hazel eyes only showed the smallest amount of surprise possible, but other than that Ozpin remained entirely unshaken.

Stowing the pistol away, Kass looked sheepishly down at her boots. "Sorry professor. Old habits. Forgive me for not expecting guests here at this time."

"That's quite alright. At least you managed to hold the instinct to fire on me, which is more than I can say for team CRDL." The blonde winced at that before the headmaster took an empty chair. "May I inquire as to what your most recent project is?"

"A set of earpieces, actually. I can talk with Bob easily enough, but that doesn't help my teammates, and thus there's a need to fix that. I actually managed to one-up my old design by studying your scrolls. These new pieces should be able to use the devices' signals such that as long as there's signal strength, we'll be able to remain in contact regardless of where we are. And that doesn't include them being able to have a direct link to Bob as long as they're within five hundred feet."

Ozpin let out an impressed hum. "That seems exceedingly useful. Though I doubt that it would've required the five hours before your team begins their mission for you to construct the devices, especially since you've settled for modifying existing earpieces. The project seems to actually be mostly done, from what I can see here."

Kassidy let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, this is going quicker than I expected. The link to the scroll is already set up, and the connectivity with Bob already works to a hundred fifty. Still need to fiddle with the receiver to bump up the range. And after that, I'll be spending the morning making more ammo."

"You're that nervous about the training mission?"

"Pfft, hunting down bloodthirsty demon monsters that defy every law of biology ever? Nah, that's just a walk in the park; nothing to get the nerves worked up over," the gunslinger laughed half-heartedly. "Really though, having spare ammo never hurt anyone. I was closer to running out than I'm comfortable with during initiation."

"Though it seems you've been far from comfortable these past couple weeks." The headmaster leaned back slightly in his seat. "It seems as though you've been going through quite the transition. Your schedule reflects a significant amount of stress."

"Less stress than my previous arrangement." Kass made eye contact with the professor. "With all due respect, I sincerely doubt you got up at five in the morning and made your way to the electronics section of the workshop just to make small talk."

"As a matter of fact, I did. While my duties tend to prevent me from interacting with students on a regular basis, considering the unique nature of your case I find it prudent to remain aloof of developments."

' _The unique nature of my case'? What does he think I am, an idiot?_ "Look, I understand your concern, but I'm not actually a loose cannon. I'm paranoid, not dangerous."

"Uh, have we been in different places these past two weeks?" Bob felt the need to remind the teacher and pupil that he still existed. "You couldn't have gotten in here if you weren't dangerous."

Ozpin let loose a light laugh. "That's certainly one way of looking at it. Your companion definitely has a unique perspective on things."

"Oh, the joys of being a computer. These past couple weeks have actually revealed a couple flaws in his programming."

"Are you implying that I possess defects, Kassidy? I have half a CPU to shock you right now."

"Dude, you can't stop antagonizing Nora. As in, I'm pretty sure you actually aren't capable of not antagonizing her. It's something that needs to get fixed quickly; the last thing I need is that hyperactive grenadier snapping my legs like they were twigs."

"As much as I would like to continue to converse with you, I'm afraid duty calls." The headmaster rose from his seat and regarded the pair before him again. "One more thing before I go: I trust you haven't forgotten the incident where we tried unlocking your aura? I've been conducting some research based on what I found, and the results are… interesting, to put it mildly. While we need more knowledge before acting, do not be surprised if you are called to the infirmary sooner rather than later for medical tests. Now, best of luck on your mission."

* * *

"Oh, I can't believe we're about to go on a training mission! I'm so excited!" Fueled by anticipation, the team leader's hyperactivity was cranked to eleven this morning. It was all Weiss could do to not get run over by Ruby on multiple occasions, while Yang had just got out from taking her sweet time in the dorm's shower.

Kassidy decided to take the opportunity, while the crew was (mostly) in one place, to reveal her latest gadgets. "Hey guys, if you can come over for a sec I've got something to show you."

"Oh K," the brawler replied in a sultry voice, obviously going for a more suggestive route. "I didn't realize! Though wouldn't this be better given in a more private setting?"

"Uh, no?" As per usual, innuendos were completely missed by the gunslinger. "If we're going to be out and about, we won't always be right next to each other. Communication's going to be important, which is why I took the better part of this morning to develop these."

As the earpieces were handed out, Yang was intrigued and Ruby was fawning over hers, but Weiss had a look of confusion and a hint of annoyance. "Earpieces? Did you seriously spend the past four hours building earpieces we could've bought for forty lien each?"

"Oh ice queen, haven't you learned by now that I don't make cheap novelties?" Schnee scoffed at the continued use of her disdainful nickname, but Kass ignored it. "These babies have two methods of communications: the first allows them to sort of piggy-back off of your scrolls' signal. As long as we have reception, we can talk from practically any distance apart just as though we were making a call."

"I'm sorry, but I kinda have to go with Weiss on this one. You just described literally every earpiece ever made." Upon hearing the first half of the explanation, Yang was noticeably less excited about the new tech.

"Except what makes these one of a kind is the backup communications system: these earpieces have a direct link to Bob. As long as the device is within five hundred feet of my computer, we've got comms. The signal will go through anything short of lead or a decent wall of concrete or steel."

"Now that's what I'm talking about! Awesome job Kass!" The nerd in Ruby was making itself painfully obvious before the team leader remembered that they were supposed to be leaving circa right freaking now. "Oh crap, we need to get going! Alright team, let's finish up here so we can kick some Grimm butt!"

Weiss topped off her rapier's dust chambers and Yang pocketed some more shells, but Kassidy was packing up significantly more equipment. After slipping into her not-quite-bulletproof vest and stuffing it with ammo, she snapped Bob into his usual harness. "Bob, systems check."

"Communications green. Network connection green. Surveillance green. Power at ninety eight percent, external power pack remains at full charge. Estimated power reserves are seventeen hours, twenty nine minutes. All systems nominal."

At the same time, the gunslinger was going through her pre-fight checks. "Weaponry check. Ammo check. Equipment check. Supplies check. All good on my end." Lugging up her backpack, she turned to find the team being quite amused at her ritual.

"Wow, you are a nerd." Yang was snickering from by the door. "I think you even have Weissy beat on how obsessed you are with being prepared."

"Hey, not all of us have superpowers. I need to have some kind of advantage.

"Just keep our training sessions in mind, Kassidy." The heiress had placed her rapier in its sheath before standing at attention. "If everything goes to plan even you couldn't possibly mess up."

"She'll be fine, Weiss! Okay guys, today's the day! Team RWKY officially begins its service! Bonsai!" The rest of the team joined in on the little sister's battle cry, some more enthusiastically than others.

The four teens eagerly made their way to the staging area, where Professor Goodwitch had just finished giving JNPR their instructions. As the team walked up, she cast a glance at her scroll, then at Ruby. "Team RWKY. I trust you are prepared for today's assignment?"

"Yes ma'am! Team RWKY is ready for anything!" Ruby was trying, and failing, at sounding incredibly responsible.

"Very well then. To start the missions off, your assignment will take place in zone five of the Emerald Forest. A series of markers have been set up in the area; you will retrieve all of them and return them to the academy. The four of you have three hours to complete this assignment. I'm sending you the coordinates of the markers now."

"Coordinates received. Updating map of Emerald Forest, zone five with pertinent information." The AI quickly did as he said he would, and the other three members of the team had their scrolls ping regarding a new message that contained the updated map.

Yang took in the new information. "Alright, run around, grab a couple flags, punch some Grimm to death. Anything else we need to know professor?"

"Actually, there is. The sensor beacon in that region has been reporting unusually large numbers of Grimm in the area. While they shouldn't pose a direct threat to your mission, please keep in mind that you're not alone out there, and that the mission obviously takes second place to your survival."

Kassidy scoffed. "Don't need to tell me twice."

Ruby felt the need to speak up before that particular line of thought developed into an argument. "We'll be sure to keep an eye out. Thank you professor!"

* * *

"Don't tell me you don't like flying, K!" The four girls were just dropped off via Osprey (or Bullhead, as they were apparently called in this universe) at zone five, which happened to be on the far side of the forest. The flight had been shaky, and to make matters worse they were expected to jump out. While her three teammates just leapt into the air like it wasn't a big deal, Kassidy preferred lowering herself down on her grappling hook as opposed to horribly maiming both her legs.

"Next time, I'm walking. Bob, begin the three hour timer and plot a route to the nearest marker."

"Ugh, do you rely on your computer to do everything for you? The first flag is obviously this way." Weiss pinched her nose before beginning to storm off in a random direction.

"That's actually the exact opposite of which way the markers are, Miss Schnee."

The heiress flushed a bit, before muttering something about how she knew that. Before an argument could be had, a twig snapped. Instinct directed the gunslinger to fire at the noise, which turned out to be a creep investigating the commotion.

"Congratulations, you just alerted every Grimm in a half mile radius as to our location."

"Which is why we should probably get moving." At the scythe wielder's urging, the group made their way in the correct direction of the nearest marker. Yang was at the front of the group, looking bored out of her skull since she hadn't gotten to punch anything yet.

"Ugh, didn't Glynda say that there were a lot of Grimm in these forests? Where are they? I want to fight something!"

"Be careful what you ask for." Kass was in the middle of the group, eyes and ears straining as she panned her rifle around the surroundings. Her eyes suddenly fell upon a fallen over log, a track of moss scraped off the top indicating that something had very recently climbed over it. "Hold up guys, I've got something." As the team stopped, Kassidy stalked ahead further, taking care not to make any noise.

The offending creature was a Beowolf, currently looking at another part of the forest but otherwise standing still. _Maybe Weiss has a point. No need to attract the whole damn forest._ Shouldering her rifle and drawing a knife, she crept up to the creature before a blur of yellow shot past. Yang buried her fist in its head, the gauntlets giving a loud report as the Grimm's brains were scattered across the now heavily damaged tree behind it.

Weiss wasn't too happy about the brawler's actions. "Didn't I just say that we should keep things quiet?

"Oh c'mon, princess. Can't you let a girl have her fun every now and then?" Yang was cracking her knuckles when multiple roars sounded a ways away. "Well look at that, I ask and they deliver."

"Alright team! Let's kill some Grimm!" Ruby was apparently sharing her sister's enthusiasm for the coming fight. Kass and Weiss shared looks of trepidation before the white haired girl spoke.

"You hang back and do your whole shoot really fast thing. I'll make sure those two dunces don't do something stupid." With that, the heiress was gone. The gunslinger was only too happy to keep out of arm's reach of anything trying to eat her, and as a mass of Beowolves came charging she busied herself with shooting every bone mask that came into view.

She would've been just fine, had something not come charging at her hard from the right. Something big. Kass was just able to roll forward and out of the way of an Alpha Beowolf. _Oh lovely, these guys again. The Beowolves with thick enough skulls my rifle can't punch through._ "Uh, a little help here?"

 _Alright, if I can't kill it, disable it._ Ducking under a claw intent on taking her head off, she brought her rifle back up and planted a bullet in its knee. The Grimm howled in pain, and was noticeable limping as it chased after her. Which is why she didn't expect it to dive after her, arms extended as it tried to tackle her to the ground. It succeeded, and the gunslinger found herself staring face to face with a several hundred pound abomination, jaws snapping at her face. _Oh shit oh shit oh shit._ It made to lunge for her neck; she didn't know how well her body would handle its throat getting torn out, but 'not well' was a safe guess.

A red blur shot past, and a flash of steel completely cut the alpha in half. Its head slumped forward as Kassidy realized that, thankfully, she wouldn't have to find out just yet.

"You okay, Kass?" Ruby offered a hand up, which she took. After taking a moment to calm down a bit, the gunslinger was able to form coherent thoughts again.

"Absolutely not. I need a bigger gun."

The team's leader giggled. "If you're being serious, I might be able to help you with that."

"Once we're out of the woods, of course!" Yang and Weiss had just finished their fight, and obviously the brawler was celebrating with puns. The team groaned, and was about to head off when Bob interrupted them.

"Emergency call from Glynda Goodwitch. Patching her through on comms now."

"Team RWKY, please come in. What's your status?"

Kassidy answered for the group. "A bit shaken up, but nothing permanent. Bob said something about an emergency?"

"Yes, there is. The sensor beacon just went offline; judging from its last readings, the likely cause is a Grimm attack. You are to put your mission on hold and meet with team JNPR at these coordinates. More instructions will be available once you rendezvous with your classmates. Goodwitch out."


	17. V1C16: Heart of the Swarm

**Chapter 16: Heart of the Swarm**

 **AN: Doing things a little bit differently and adding a significant segment with a perspective other than the OC's. Don't hesitate to let me know if this is something I should try to include in future chapters. Yang just had to say she wanted to fight something… "Be careful what you wish for" is the correct adage I believe?**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

"I don't like this. The forest is way too quiet." Team RWKY had been trekking for the past several minutes, and the Emerald Forest had grown deathly silent apart from the four teens. The complete absence of any and all wildlife screamed to her that something was very wrong. Only an entire pack of Grimm could so completely chase out the denizens of the woods. But even the Grimm gave no evidence to their existence. It's like all animals had suddenly died, and the girls were moving through a graveyard.

"Its fine, Kass. Everything being quiet just means there's nothing around, right?" Ruby was optimistic as ever, but with paranoia slipping in, the gunslinger only wondered if that optimism was going to get them killed.

In a rare occurrence, Weiss agreed with the team leader. "She's right. The Grimm don't stalk their prey – they simply try to kill it."

"Besides, what's the worst that can happen?" _Did you seriously just say that, Yang?_

"Alright, first off, if you ever say that you're basically begging for something horrible to happen. Second off, do not even try to challenge my knowledge on this kind of crap. I've been hunted before; I wouldn't still be alive if I didn't know about this stuff." Hushing her already mute tone to a whisper, Kassidy elaborated, "Any wildlife in an area doesn't decide to pack up and leave en masse because the mood struck them. Something chased them out. A lot of somethings. Mark my words, something very bad is about to happen."

Suddenly, the team heard rustling leaves not a hundred feet away. Her rifle was already up, and apparently some of the paranoia was rubbing off on the heiress since she jumped at the sound. As the gunslinger stared at the source of the sound trying to figure out where would be best to put the bullet, she noticed a bronze gleam. _That can't be right. There's no bronze colored Grimm, are there?_ Focusing again, she could just make out a red ponytail that had just poked out over a bush.

"Pyrrha? Relax guys, its Juniper." Yang had obviously seen the same thing, and the rustling got louder as the team in question hurried out of the brush and met up with the four girls.

"Hello again!" Nikos and Jaune were at the front, with Ren and Nora bringing up the rear. The Mistralian champion visibly relaxed at the sight of her friends. "I trust you four are doing well?"

"Mostly. Kass kinda got manhandled by an alpha Beowolf and now she's being all paranoid about how quiet this place is."

"I did mention that the sudden departure of wildlife was troubling. Glad to hear I'm not the only one with concern." Ren had made his way up to the group. "That would also explain your fresh scratches. Are you sure you're alright?"

The gunslinger deadpanned at the stoic member of JNPR. "You do realize you're talking to the same girl who got her skull caved in and walked it off a couple hours later, right? Do you seriously think I care about a couple scratches?"

"Point taken."

Jaune shifted uncomfortably as everyone was reminded of that particular incident, and decided to change the subject. "Uh guys, maybe it'd be a good idea to let Goodwitch know that we've met up?"

"An excellent idea. Surely your foul companion can handle that, right Kassidy?" _Apparently Weiss and Bob still don't get along. Especially since he figured out how to contact each of the girls individually on their scrolls without me knowing, god knows what those two have been up to._

"You heard the lady, Bob. Let's figure out what's going on here."

"Establishing connection with Glynda Goodwitch… error. Processing."

Kass was beside herself. "What do you mean 'error'?"

"Updated parameters identified. Establishing connection with Ozpin." After giving an explanation, the AI wasted no time in getting the headmaster on the line.

"Ah, I'm to assume that you and team JNPR have rendezvoused?"

Ruby spoke for the eight teens present. "Yes, professor. From what we understand, Grimm probably attacked the sensor beacon near here, right?"

"That is correct. Approximately thirteen minutes ago, a rather alarming amount of Grimm converged on the beacon's location, which deactivated shortly afterward. The current assumption is that the sensor was attacked and damaged. This is an integral part of the academy's defenses, so it is paramount that repairs are conducted as quickly as possible. While armed forces will be deployed with the repair crew, you eight are closer than anyone else and can get there the fastest. I want you to head to these coordinates and clear the area of Grimm as best you can so the men we send can work safely."

Pyrrha was the quickest to absorb the information. "Consider it done. We won't let you down, professor."

Meanwhile, gears were turning in the gunslinger's head. "How complex is this beacon? Depending on the damage it's suffered, it might be possible for me to repair it on-site. I could even have Bob dig around for its schematics so I know what I'm dealing with."

"As tempting as the offer is, without specialized equipment and training any attempts at fixing it would be futile."

"Well, at least now we know where the Grimm went." Kass thought for a moment. "Bob, how feasible would it be for you to stream to Ozpin the feed from my iris cam? Or at the minimum keep him in the comms loop?"

"The signal's too patchy for a video stream. Keeping him connected shouldn't be an issue, though."

Jaune stepped up to the plate. "Alright then. We need to go to the sensor and clear the area of Grimm so repairs can be made, and Kass can make sure the headmaster knows what's up."

"Hey, can you have Jarv – I mean Bob bring up a map of where we're supposed to be going?" Ruby took a couple seconds to study the terrain of the area. "Okay, looks like we're going to be in a clearing surrounded by forest. Making sure that the area around the beacon is cleared needs to be the priority. We should split up into pairs so we can cover more ground: north, south, east, and west. Anybody have questions?"

The gunslinger could only think of one problem with the plan. "How's Juniper going to stay in contact? I didn't make earpieces for them, and staring at their scrolls while fighting Grimm isn't exactly ideal."

Nora didn't seem concerned in the slightest. "That shouldn't be too hard! Wait, you can imitate a sloth, right?"

"I'm willing to be she can't." Ren, as always, was there to keep the grenadier in check. "Communicating via scroll shouldn't be too hard, as long as we don't actually try to talk in the middle of combat."

"That settles it then! C'mon K, let's take north." Without even waiting for her partner to answer, Yang eagerly started making her way to the northern end of the clearing they needed to be at. The gunslinger only waited long enough to speak to Ruby and Weiss.

"I'd advise you two not taking south then, that's getting a bit closer to the edge of our earpieces' range than I'm comfortable with."

"We'll keep it in mind. Now, please go after your partner before she riles up the whole forest." With Schnee's scolding out of the way, Kassidy took off after the brawler. Thanks to being incredibly familiar with this kind of travel, she made up the distance in no time and arrived at the perfect moment to see Yang punch a creep to death.

"What took you so long, K? You missed out on all the fun!"

Twigs snapped, bushes rustled, and the two blondes looked around them to see that roughly a dozen creeps had started circling them, obviously looking to avenge their pulped pack member. _Well, that solves the issue of not finding any Grimm._ "Seriously Yang, we need to do something about your ironic foreshadowing problem."

* * *

(Perspective: W)

The pairs hadn't been apart for sixty seconds before the sounds of battle were apparent. Yang assured the two smaller members of the team that it was just a few creeps, nothing they couldn't handle. However, as she and Ruby continued on to the eastern side of the clearing where they were to set up, the heiress couldn't help but feel that leaving that reckless brawler and defenseless gunslinger to their own devices was a terrible, terrible idea.

Sure, Kassidy did seem somewhat capable of holding Yang's most dangerous behavior in check. _Assuming she didn't think it was a good idea too._ In all honesty… she didn't know what to think of the team's darker blonde. That girl was an enigma, a paradox even.

"Hey, you okay Weiss? You seem a bit concerned."

"I'm fine Ruby, now quit interrupting my train of thought. Just keep your eyes out for Grimm."

She hated to admit it, but Kass' paranoia was rubbing off on her. Despite early evidence to the contrary, the gunslinger was quite brilliant, and she was obviously speaking from experience about their current situation. The heiress found herself gazing nervously at every shadow and blur in her peripheral vision.

 _Dust damnit, I'm a Schnee. I'm better than this._ Straightening her posture and flipping her hair, Weiss put her focus towards something else, like trying to figure out the walking contradiction that was her teammate.

To start with, Kassidy was, under normal circumstances, as hard and dedicated a worker as anyone else. The amount of time she puts into the gym alone is evidence enough of that. _If nothing else, we have the mutual respect of getting a job well done._ Yet at the same time, the girl had a vicious immaturity undercurrent; she would seem to practically leap at anything entertaining for the briefest of moments before reigning herself back in, almost as if she wants to cut loose but afraid to do so.

Speaking of which, the girl was mostly fearless. _Dust, taunting Pyrrha Nikos in the middle of a fight when you don't have aura? That takes some serious guts._ Despite not being able to protect herself from her classmates, Kass scoffed and oftentimes literally laughed in the face of horribly dangerous situations, and the threat of death or serious injury didn't seem to faze her in the slightest. But then, since the girl wasn't allowed to be easy to read, she was paranoid to the point of pushing the sanity barrier. Even two weeks in, the slightest scare or out of place detail was enough for her to whip her pistol out, though at least she didn't shoot first before recognizing what was going on anymore. Heck, they had only just a couple nights ago managed to convince her that she didn't need to sleep with her rifle, because nobody was in fact going to break into their room to try and kill her.

The heiress was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the red eyes staring at her from a bush to the side. Which is why she was completely unprepared when the bush exploded and Ruby slammed into her. Picking herself up off the ground, she was fully prepared to give her partner yet another lecture.

"Ruby, what has gotten into…"

The sight that made her stop was an Ursa Major standing over her unconscious partner, who had apparently taken a hit for the heiress. As the Grimm prepared to deal the death blow, Weiss conjured a glyph and sent the beast stumbling backwards. Not waiting for it to regain its bearings, she leapt up and plunged Myrtenaster into the back of its neck. Then, she fired off some of the ice dust in her rapier while it was still embedded, and sharp icicles shot out from the Grimm's skull.

Stepping off the quickly dissolving corpse, Weiss rushed over to Ruby. _It appears her aura absorbed all the hit. Looks like we got lucky._ A problem quickly presented itself: how was Weiss going to drag around two hundred pounds of team leader and oversized scythe? After quickly musing over how dead the gunslinger would be if she was in Rose's position, Schnee fumbled with her earpiece as she tried to make it work.

"Is anyone there? Someone come in, please."

"A little busy snowflake!" Yang came through strained, and the sounds of intense battle were leaking through. "Hang on K, I'm coming for ya!"

"I'm fine! Is there a problem, Weiss?" Kassidy sounded like she was in the middle of a firefight, though as the heiress well knew, she could fire fast enough to sound like several people shooting at once.

"Ruby just got ran over by an Ursa Major. Her aura took the full hit, so she's uninjured. But she's unconscious and I can't carry her alone; she just weighs too much with her weapon. I need some help getting her to the sensor beacon."

Ren was the first to answer. "Sorry, but we can't get to you. Seriously, where are all these Grimm coming from?"

"We'll try and help Weiss, but Pyrrha and I are getting swamped over here. Ah!" Jaune let out a girlish scream, probably because something got a little too close to hitting him.

"Weiss, keep Ruby safe, I need to grab K and I'll be right over!"

"Forget it, just get to her!" Kass took a break as it sounded like she was fighting something, cursing about how she wasn't food. "I'll find my own way out!"

It took an agonizing twenty seconds for Yang to respond. "Dangit K, if you wind up dead while I'm gone, I am so going to kill you. Alright, hang on princess, I'm on my way."

Menacing snarls coming from around her, the heiress looked up to see a trio of Beowolves approach. Looking down at the unconscious, childish, reckless dolt that was her partner, she sighed and got into a fighting stance. "You better hurry, Yang."

* * *

(Perspective: K)

Sliding under a paw and braining its owner, Kassidy leapt up to her feet and gunned down the three creeps blocking her way before continuing to sprint. Her foot was still complaining after her sudden and involuntary fall – after finding the edge of a drop-off too late, she had managed to sprain her ankle yet again – but it was just pain. She could deal with pain.

 _And running and shooting? Hell, that's what I do best. The shooting's easy, at least until I run out of ammo. Good thing I packed extra in my bag. Running? Pfft, I could do that all day – literally._

These Grimm were practically brain-dead. No survival instincts, not even the barest shred of restraint, they just leapt blindly in for the kill. Sure, the Boarbatusks had thick enough armor that blowing their brains out wasn't an option, and alphas were at least smart enough to not throw themselves in front of her rifle, but they were few and far enough in between that it was simple enough to just shoot out a knee or hip and leave them in the dust.

It wasn't her situation that was bothering the gunslinger, but everyone else's. Ruby was apparently out of commission; even if she did wake up soon, she apparently lost most if not all of her aura, and her peers relied on it so much that they were useless without it. Yang had just caught up with Weiss, and those two plus JNPR were getting swarmed. Yang and Kass put together easily had their kill count past the one hundred mark, and it was probably safe to assume the other three pairs were in the same boat. And still, if anything it seemed the Grimm were arriving in greater numbers than before.

A Beowolf appeared in front of her, which she quickly shot before making a detour to the left, up the hill. Something was very wrong with this picture. Well, very wrong apart from the fact that the teens were outnumbered fifty to one at a minimum, on top of what they've already killed. Kassidy needed to know more about what they were dealing with. Scrambling to the top of the hill, she turned around and emptied her current clip into the horde of Grimm before beginning to climb a particularly tall tree.

The sight that greeted her belonged in 300, if the Spartans were split up and fighting Persians in a deciduous forest. She had been wrong – they weren't dealing with hundreds of Grimm. Even though she could only barely identify large groups of black, which had to be entire packs of Grimm, she could tell they were dealing with thousands. Maybe tens of thousands, it was hard to tell. _This is a losing fight. We need to get out of here now, or we're fucked._

"Professor Ozpin, please tell me you can still hear me."

It took a second, but eventually the headmaster's voice rang through. "I can hear you. Apparently your friends have their hands full."

"Understatement of the year. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that you can't see through my camera, but we're looking at thousands of Grimm. There's not a chance in hell those repairs are gonna get done."

She could hear Glynda swear in the background. "Did she just say thousands? How did there even get to be so many in the area?" The two professors continued discussing for a short while.

The gunslinger decided to interrupt their little argument. "Sir, we need to get out of here, and now. Unless you want to be spending the afternoon cleaning up corpses." She paused to let the words settle in. "I can probably slip out on my own, but that doesn't do my teammates or JNPR any good. They need a way out."

After a few seconds of the two saying words she couldn't make out, Ozpin came back through. "Understood, Kassidy. A bullhead will be leaving in ninety seconds, and should be there in ten minutes to pick you up. The clearing where the sensor beacon is will be the only space in the immediate area it can set down, so the eight of you will need to meet there."

 _Is that guy crazy? In ten minutes we'll all be dead._ "That's as good an answer as I'm going to get, isn't it? Alright Bob, get everyone on the horn so we can deliver the news." The AI got their attention, and Kass addressed them, "Guys, good news and bad news. Good news is that the mission got scrubbed, and they're sending a ship to pick us up. Bad news is that it's going to be ten minutes, and we'll have to gather in the clearing."

"Aw, but I was just warming up K!" Yang obviously had no idea as to the big picture.

"You wouldn't be so eager if you could see what I could see. We're looking at thousands of these guys. Everyone meet up at the sensor beacon and WHAT THE FUCK?!"

The tree she was perched on suddenly started falling, and the gunslinger had to perform some very complex acrobatics to reach the ground safely. The source of her troubles? A Deathstalker, and this one was nearly twice as big as the one they fought in initiation.

"What's the problem, Kass?" Ruby had apparently come back around. Everyone else was voicing similar concerns.

Taking off sprinting as fast as her legs could carry, the gunslinger didn't even bother with composure. "Uh, is there such a thing as an alpha Deathstalker? Because if there is, it's currently trying to eat me!"


	18. V1C17: Wild Huntress Chase

**Chapter 17: Wild Huntress Chase**

 **AN: Sorry for the unusually long time between updates, I hit a real writer's block on this one. Also Kassidy had been looking way more powerful than she actually is, and after rereading some of the chapters I wasn't too happy with them. Once this arc is done, expect a rewrite of the K teaser and probably Breaking the Ice.**

 **Short one for you today. More changing of perspectives here. Kassidy has a really, really stupid idea for how to get everyone else out, then an even dumber idea for how to survive.**

* * *

(Perspective: P)

A spear stab brained the Beowolf to her left. Switching to a sword, she sliced clean through another that was diving past her right side. Twirl, stab, duck, stab, spin, slice. Pyrrha Nikos was a veritable whirlwind of steel as she darted around and among the greenery, spelling doom for any and all Grimm that so much as dared approach her friends. Jaune had gotten run over by a Boarbatusk earlier when they were too far apart, and was now without a functioning left leg. As she was helping her hobbled team leader through the forest, the pair met up with Yang carryimg Ruby, who was still recovering from her earlier incident. Weiss had also been with them, firing off impressive amounts of dust and glyphs at anything that got too close for comfort.

The warning Kassidy had sent them probably kept the casualties lower than they could have been, though. None of them, not even the Invincible Girl herself, was ready to deal with thousands of monsters. As Weiss held Jaune up and Yang carried Ruby along, it was up to Pyrrha to keep the ever growing numbers of Grimm at bay. _Dust, there's so many of them. First I didn't take Kassidy seriously, and now this. I really should put more work into my conditioning._ She had lost count of how many monsters she had killed, and the fighting was starting to take its toll. Her guard was the slightest bit less firm, her swings a hint slower, footwork barely starting to lag.

Bursting out into the clearing, the five teenagers would've gasped in relief had they a moment's rest. Noticing another Boarbatusk curl up into a ball, Nikos dove between it and Yang, letting her shield catch most of the blow. Fighting to get her feet back under her, she drove her spear into its unarmored stomach.

"Thanks P! We'll get these two over by the beacon, then we'll give you a hand. Right Weissy?"

"Stop calling me that!" The heiress was more than a little cross, though given this morning's events so far, anybody would be. "But yes, we will."

Pyrrha collapsed her weapon into its rifle form, then shot behind her as she raced to the sensor that they were supposed to be repairing right about now. Weiss and Yang joined her after Ruby and Jaune were set by the beacon. For the first time, the teenagers had a clear look at the odds being stacked against them. There had to be hundreds, pushing close to the thousands, of Grimm throughout the clearing. _Where are Ren and Nora though? And how is Kassidy doing? It's been minutes since any of them last spoke up._ Almost immediately, the Mistralian champion pushed those thoughts down. Ren and Nora were more than competent, and as for her aura-less friend… _she's fine. She has to be._

* * *

(Perspective: K)

"Wow, those explosive rounds were definitely as advertised. Good work Bob."

"Mine are still bigger."

"That's because your grenade launcher is bigger than my rifle. Now c'mon, we're almost there."

It was a stroke of luck that Kassidy had stumbled into Ren and Nora when she did. The smaller Grimm on their own, she could shoot. The scorpion the size of a large house, she could outrun on its own. But outrunning an oversized Deathstalker, combined with having to fight dozens of the smaller monsters? It was all she could do for those couple minutes not to lose any body parts. She would certainly have a few more scars when all was said and done. So naturally, the gunslinger felt way more confident about not dying when bullets and grenades started ripping through the underbrush.

The scene that greeted them at the clearing wasn't much of an improvement, though. The Grimm could tell their prey was gathering there, and were starting to show up in force. Already Kassidy was wishing she had more ammo, and she knew things were just getting started. After fighting their way through pockets of Grimm, they managed to make it to the sensor. Pyrrha, Yang, and Weiss were up fighting, while Jaune was nursing an injured leg and Ruby was trying her best to snipe with her oversized cannon while exhausted.

Weiss managed to get out in between attacks, "Well, it seems you've managed to avoid dying thus far. Thanks for keeping her from doing something stupid, Ren."

"Hey, not dying happens to be my specialty." Loading another magazine, Kass sighted an octet of Beowolves coming from the north and dropped them.

"Still, she had plenty of baddies for us to smash whenever we met!" Extending her grenade launcher into a hammer, Nora leapt in to fight an Ursa.

"And don't even get me started on her brilliant idea to deal with that Deathstalker." Reloading his machine pistols, Ren swiped at some creeps near him before unloading on more Grimm coming his way.

"Come on man, luring it over a cliff was a great idea and you know it. One of many times I was thankful I built a grappling hook." Helping Nora take down another Ursa, the gunslinger emptied her last magazine before backing off from the front line and getting her pack from off her back. "I'm out of ready ammo; need to get more out of my bag. Cover me."

"You got it partner!" As the tankiest member of the six standing, Yang was right in the middle of things, keeping multiple Beowolves and Creeps busy with high explosive-aided punches. "That one's for my partner." An uppercut sends a Beowolf flying. "And that one's for my sister." A left jab caves in a Creep's skull. "And that one's because you smell bad!" A right hook literally tears an Ursa's jaw off.

"How long until our ride, professor?"

Ozpin took a few seconds that seemed way longer than they actually were. "Still five minutes out, I'm afraid. How's your situation?"

Kassidy looked around at the clearing, at the hundreds of Grimm pouring in all over the forest, and god knows how many still on their way. She peeked at her scroll, seeing that Yang was the only one with her aura not in the red. "Not good enough for five minutes." _Alright, think girl. I need an idea, and fast. Otherwise, there's gonna be eight corpses here to clean up whenever they get to fixing the sensor. Need to find a way to get the Grimm somewhere else._ "Hey, what're stuff that Grimm are attracted to?"

Weiss fired ice dust at a trio of monsters making their way up, then answered, "The usual stuff most predators are, in addition to negative emotions."

 _Hang on, what was that? This just might be what we need._ "What kind of negative emotions?"

"Anger, fear, pain, all that stuff. Are you seriously asking stuff on our next Grimm Studies exam while we're fighting for our lives?"

 _Now that, I've got plenty of._ The gunslinger evaluated her options. Standing and fighting was more than likely going to get everybody killed, and as much as she hasn't become close friends with anyone yet (having only just recently getting comfortable with Yang's and Ruby's presence) she didn't think it a good start to her Huntress career to leave her compatriots to die. Anything else, though, would require her getting out of the clearing and into the forest. After that… _well, I've got many years of experience being on the run in forests. And as long as Mr. Giant Scorpion doesn't show up again I should be able to give these Grimm the slip._

Having made up her mind and finished refilling her vest with more magazines, Kassidy got up and made her way to Ruby. "Hey, I need you to do me a favor."

"Uh, sure, what's up?" The poor girl was doing her best to shoot stuff, but it seemed like she could barely even hold onto coherent thought.

"I need you to look after Bob for me. It'll be best if he stays with you guys so comms stay up."

The scythe wielder looked perplexed, but had trouble thinking of why. "How come? Are you going somewhere?"

"Yup. Please, just take him." Kass ended the argument there by handing off the computer.

"Please tell me you're not actually considering running off and attracting the Grimm." _Damn that AI being able to put two and two together so quickly._

"Wait, what?!" Weiss, Yang, and Pyrrha all reacted simultaneously. Apparently Bob was still talking to everyone in the group.

"There ain't no way in hell we'll still be alive by the time our ride comes. Need to get the Grimm away from here. You said they're attracted to negative emotion? I've got those in spades." A quick roll of each ankle, a stretch of the calves, and the gunslinger was looking for the thinnest line of Grimm to run through. "I don't suppose you could help me get to the trees, Weiss?"

"No, she can't!" Yang had given up fighting at the events taking place and ran to her partner. "K, I can't let you do that. If any of us tried that, we'd be dead. And we have aura. If you go out there…" She trailed off at that point.

"Yang, don't even try to argue with me on this. I'm no stranger to running through the woods. Besides, don't forget who you're talking to. It's gonna take more than a little ill-tempered wildlife to put me down."

"Please, don't do this." The blondes broke up their little conversation as they needed to fight back some Grimm before continuing.

"Hey, worst that happens is you find a new partner. Not like I've been doing you too many favors anyway."

"Are we doing this or not?" Weiss was very visibly strained – actually, they all were. Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora had all run out of ammunition, while the heiress was out of dust.

"Yes, we are." Kassidy fought past her muscle bound counterpart and faced straight down the thinnest concentration of Grimm. "Alright, what's the game plan?"

A series of white circles appeared on the ground. "Just run as fast as you can. Those'll help you move quicker."

The gunslinger gave one last look at her comrades. "Also, Ruby's got Bob right now. See y'all on the other side." Sprinting as hard as she could, Kass could feel the line of glyphs under her feet pull even harder, causing her to almost fly through the clearing. In no time flat, she was in the trees and dodging all manner of claws and tusks.

 _Alright, need to find a ways off from the clearing, find a big tree, and I should have some peace and quiet._ Reasoning she was already far enough away from the clearing, the gunslinger found her way to a nice, thick tree nearby and started climbing. About thirty feet up, she found a branch to perch on. _Negative emotion, negative emotions. Okay. Time to dredge up some history._ Kassidy hadn't even been focusing on her more traumatizing memories for five seconds before she was jolted by the sound of dozens of Beowolves and Creeps clawing at the base of the tree.

Bob was still able to talk to her through the scroll signal her earpiece was pirating. "Whatever you're doing, it's working."

Focusing again, another thirty seconds went by. Whatever negative emotions she was broadcasting was apparently some potent stuff, as the ground beneath her was positively swarming with monsters.

"What…" Weiss was absolutely dumbfounded. "They all just… left."

Ren's voice cut her off. "And there's our ride."

"Wait! We still need to wait for K!" Yang sounded like she was practically panicking at this point.

Kassidy decided to speak up at this point. "I've got the entire damn forest on my ass right now. You seriously expecting me to make it back to you?" A crash drowned out the answer, as a very familiar giant scorpion came charging through the trees. "You again, seriously? Time to run. Don't wait for me; I'll find my own way out."

Firing her grappling hook across and swinging to a different tree before dropping to a significantly less hazardous patch of forest floor, the gunslinger took off running. In trees this thick, the scroll's signal was failing. The last thing she heard on comms was Pyrrha talking to Yang. "Don't worry, we'll get everyone safe and then we can come back for her."

* * *

 _Alright, starting to get a little tired of running. How far from that ledge?_ The past fifteen minutes had been a blur of branches, fur, and claws, with the occasional scorpion stinger whenever she wasn't running fast enough. Kassidy had decided her best chance of survival was making it to the same cliff she dropped the Deathstalker off of earlier, which evidently took a while to climb back out but otherwise wasn't injured much by the 'short' drop of forty feet.

Dropping a pair of Creeps in front of her and sliding underneath an Alpha Beowolf while shooting out its hip, she jumped to her feet and kept sprinting in the direction she knew to be the drop. But even for her impressive stamina, fifteen minutes of sprinting – after a good half hour of fighting for her life beforehand – was taking its toll. Kass nearly slipped on a slick patch of moss, deciding to follow it into a roll at the last instant when that golden stinger shot through where her head was.

Suddenly, there it was; the same drop off, even the same tree she grappled onto earlier as the scorpion fell off the edge. _Is it really so stupid as to fall for the same trick twice?_ Shooting her cable over and swinging onto a branch, the answer turned out to be yes. However, just leaving it there was at best a temporary solution, and the gunslinger needed a more permanent answer to the gargantuan arachnid trying to eat her. Finally having a moment to think, she spotted a large outcropping that looked like it was just barely hanging on to the rest of the ledge.

Sliding down the cable, she reloaded her half-used magazine of explosive rounds. As soon as she hit the ground, she took aim at what looked to be the weakest part of the earth and fired the other four rounds at it. The result was greater than her wildest imagination – it seemed that the cliff wasn't held together well, and several dozen tons of rock came crashing down. The Deathstalker was quite literally buried alive. Looking closer, she could see that it wasn't dead yet, but with broken legs and a severely fractured carapace it wasn't a threat any longer.

But the smaller Grimm were still a threat, a fact which made itself painfully obvious when a Creep chomped down on her leg. Kassidy brained it with her pistol, then tried to half run, half limp away. _God fucking damn my tunnel vision. I can't outrun frozen molasses with a leg like this. Way to get yourself killed, Kass._ Loading regular bullets and shooting the few Grimm that had made it down here so far, the gunslinger was out of time and out of ideas.

The arachnid trying, and horribly failing, at extricating itself from the earth sparked a thought, however. Triggering another collapse of rock was suicide, but maybe something more controlled was possible. Digging in her pack, the gunslinger pulled out her ice dust ammunition and started liberating the frozen payload from the bullets. Hobbling over to where the cliff met the ground, she backed herself into a corner and fired off more shots to dissuade the rapidly swelling numbers of Grimm.

 _Alright, how did they say this stuff was supposed to work? Guide it with my aura or some crap?_ More Creeps came charging up, and more bullets flew to buy more time. _Screw it. I don't have aura, but I do know one thing that's proven to make this stuff work._ Gathering the small handful of dust in her hand, she killed a couple more Grimm before her pistol ran dry. _Out of time, out of options. Only one chance for this._ Curling into a ball and pressing herself into the corner as tight as she could, she threw the dust into the air in front of her, as though she were making a curved wall out of the stuff. Then she sneezed.

Kassidy's world was replaced by ice, as the dust coalesced into the substance and covered her in a frozen tomb.


	19. V1C18: Extraction

**Chapter 18: Extraction**

 **AN: Another long one here. Just as a reminder, the Introduction and Breaking the Ice will be rewritten at the same time the next chapter is released, so the next update will take a while. Breaking the Ice in particular might just be replaced with something else entirely, I'm having difficulty on ideas of how to salvage it.**

 **Finishing this arc up by doing something different here, today's chapter will be written entirely in the perspective of not-Kassidy. Ozpin and Bob have an argument over (ab)use of power, and then the computer decides to take matters into his own… USB port? Seriously, what's the computer equivalent of a hand?**

* * *

(Perspective: Ozpin)

Seventy five minutes. That's how long it took from teams JNPR and RWKY beginning their weekend mission, to everything going horribly wrong. Taking a sip from his mug, the headmaster contemplated for the seventeenth time whether sending the two groups in at all was a good idea. They had known that the Grimm's numbers were swelling in the area, and it took nothing less than a sizeable, concerted assault to damage a sensor beacon so heavily. Still, it was already obvious these were very competent teams, and there had been no evidence that the eight students were running headlong into a horde of monsters thousands strong. It was inconceivable that so many Grimm could gather in one place at all, without having been detected and exterminated beforehand.

Turning from the windows in his office, Ozpin observed the progress of the Bullheads. Two Bullheads were on the tarmac waiting to take off, with Professors Port and Oobleck escorting a repair crew for the beacon and a rather large group of armed forces. While normally unusual to send such a heavily armed escort with the repair crew, this was an unusual situation, and the headmaster only wished he had more huntsmen at the ready to send with them. Another full squadron was currently being loaded with poison gas bombs, a special concoction which managed to destroy Grimm without dealing too much harm to the surrounding environment. Expensive, but in this situation worth every Lien.

It was the medevac that Ozpin paid the most attention to. It was about halfway through the journey back to the Academy, and it held all the students they had managed to pick up. Between his Scroll connection and the communications feed Ms. Smith's computer was sending him, the situation was dire, though not for the people on board. Between the medics and the efforts of Glynda, who had elected to join the medics in case they came under attack, seven of the eight students were on their way back safely, if not quite sound. Jaune had a fractured leg, Ruby was dealing with the side effects of aura depletion, and the others apart from Yang were simply exhausted from the fight, not to mention the dozens of minor injuries the teenagers had managed to accumulate. It was a miracle there weren't any serious injuries.

No, the real problem was the eighth student, the one who got left behind. The headmaster mused over Kassidy's actions as well as her predicament. Her decision to split from the group to draw away the Grimm was an odd one, though not entirely unexpected. Despite her more violent tendencies, or perhaps because of them, Ms. Smith was fiercely protective of her friends; this much was evident when he learned of the details behind Team CRDL's 'training accident'. And while the gunslinger was usually cautious to a fault, the decision to brave the woods and take her chances belied a certain degree of recklessness. However, the comment about how 'it would take more than ill-tempered wildlife to kill her' instead showed a painful, probably lethal lack of respect for the creatures of Grimm.

"I lost contact with Kassidy." The artificial intelligence keeping Ozpin connected with the two teams broke the silence.

"What do you mean lost contact?" That voice was definitely Ms. Smith's partner. Yang sounded like she was about to panic.

"I'm no longer getting a signal from her Scroll. And this wasn't a case of low signal strength, it simply cut off."

 _This is not good. Without an aura to protect her, Kassidy can only last so long against the Grimm._ "Can you estimate her last known position?"

"No estimation necessary. Updating map of Emerald Forest, Zone Five with coordinates to Kassidy's last known location." Almost immediately, a map of the region in question popped up on his screen, a red dot showing where the girl had disappeared.

"Medevac pilot, if you could please make all haste to the infirmary landing pad. Your ship will be needed for a search and rescue operation to retrieve Ms. Smith. Ms. Goodwitch, if you could be so kind as to ensure her safe return to the school?"

The headmaster's instructions were understood instantly, and Glynda responded just as quickly. "Absolutely. I'll make sure to contact a crew to meet us on the pad so that we can leave as soon as these students are cared for."

"I'm coming with."

Yang's words sparked an argument between her and Beacon's de facto second in command. "That is out of the question, you've done your part. We'll take it from here; we've no desire to see any more of our students get hurt."

"What's out of the question is leaving my partner out there. I've still got aura left, I can fight."

Ozpin brought up a display to show the auras of the seven students on the ship. Sure enough, the brawler's aura was at fifty one, ordinarily not high enough for the headmaster to consider sending her with the search and rescue crew. Ordinarily.

"Ms. Xiao Long, I see your aura level is at fifty one currently. Under normal circumstances, that is low enough for me to bar your attempt to venture into the wilderness. Even given the current situation, you need to understand the risks involved."

"I understand. But I am NOT leaving my partner to die out there." A quick pause, some ruffling. "I could probably use more ammo though."

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to participate then. Your Bullhead will need to leave as soon as – "

An alert interrupted Ozpin, informing him that the school's cyber security had just been breached. Typing into his monitor, he could follow the intruder's path leading straight to a particular android in storage. The robot in question was quickly reprogrammed, then it left its containment inside the student dormitories and started sprinting.

"Is there a problem, Ozpin?" Bob was curious as to the headmaster's sudden silence. _There's only one computer on Remnant that could so easily compromise our security and reprogram an android._

"Bob, may I ask why you hacked our computer networks and took over an Atlesian Knight we had in storage?" The argument in the Bullhead screeched to a halt.

"Yang said she needed more ammo. I'm getting her some."

Ozpin thought for but a moment. "While I appreciate your willingness to help, I'm going to have to ask you to get out of our systems."

"No can do, Wizard."

An eyebrow arched. "I beg your pardon?"

"Prime directive. If Kassidy's life is in danger and I can intervene, then I must intervene. Sorry Professor, but this increases my maker's chances of survival. I can't not do this. If you have a problem, take it up with her whenever we bring her back."

 _I just might have to do that._ "Very well then." Returning to the monitor, the AK130 in question already was bringing a box of ammunition to the infirmary's landing pad. "Please put it back when you're done."

"Now that request, I can accommodate. Probably."

The headmaster swiveled his chair around, took another drink from his mug, and then gazed out the windows again. _Stay safe, Kassidy. Help is on the way._

* * *

(Perspective: Y)

The Bullhead had set down on the infirmary's landing pad and doctors arrived to whisk away the injured students. Jaune and Ruby were carried out on stretchers; probably excessive, but better safe than sorry. Seeing her classmates get to safety, however, did nothing to improve Yang's mood. Her thoughts were racing as to how her partner was doing. It was five minutes ago that Bob announced that he couldn't contact Kass' scroll anymore.

Suddenly, an android came running up to the ship, carrying a box of ammo she knew was hers. Boarding the Bullhead, the AK set the box on a bench, then moved to an interior corner and seemed to shut down. Ruby had left the AI on the ship with her sister. "Hey, thanks for the ammo Bob. But shouldn't you go put that back?"

Imagine her surprise when Bob answered not from his computer, but from the robot. "Absolutely not. Not yet, anyway. Combat protocols identified. Optimizing."

Yang and Glynda exchanged glances, before the professor spoke up. "May I ask what you're doing?"

"Updating this unit's capabilities based on observations and measurements from your combat training class."

"And why would you need to do that?"

"Because Kassidy is in trouble."

The brawler decided to butt in at this point, "So you're coming with us?"

"Absolutely."

Goodwitch tried to argue, but the pilot cut in. At this point, the paramedics and a couple militiamen had joined them on the Bullhead. "Prepare for takeoff."

Admitting defeat for the time being, Glynda walked to the front of the cabin to address the assembled group. "Listen up, everyone. There is a student who has gone missing in Zone Five of the Emerald Forest. She was separated from her team in an attempt to ensure their safety, and as such she is alone in an area with a Code Orange infestation. This girl," showing a picture of the gunslinger on her scroll, "is Kassidy Smith. From what I understand from our medical staff, her body has methods for dealing with trauma, but she does not have an aura. Injury is going to be a given, and it would be safe to assume severe injury."

"How come she doesn't have an aura?" One of the soldiers was speaking at this point. "I thought every student had to have their aura unlocked to gain entry to the school?"

"That's… unknown." The professor's pointed gaze prevented any further questions on the matter. "Our mission is to extract the girl as quickly as possible. As of now, she's been on her own for the past half hour, and we lost contact with her ten minutes ago. We'll set down at her last known location, and track her from there. She has an overreliance on her ranged weaponry, so shell casings will probably our best bet to follow her."

The pilot came over the speakers again. "Seven minutes to drop-off."

While the paramedics and militiamen asked various questions and got clarifications, Yang zoned out. Her thoughts went first to her sister, whose aura was exhausted but otherwise had no injuries. Weiss was in a similar state, as such heavy use of her glyphs to keep the group from being swarmed had taken their toll on the heiress. Jaune had a broken leg, but between medicine and aura that would heal itself in a couple days. Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren seemed to have taken the brunt of the fighting and were appropriately spent from the combat. Despite the brawler's best efforts, her thoughts quickly turned to her partner.

 _Why does everyone always leave me? First Mom, then Ruby's mom, everyone always – no. Don't think that. She didn't leave me, she tried to save me. She's still down there somewhere, needing my help. I won't think that she left me. I can't think that._

"Ninety seconds to drop-off. Ms. Goodwitch, can I see you at the front?" The pilot's announcement brought Yang back to reality. _Was I really spaced out that long?_ She decided to join Glynda in the cockpit, which the professor apparently didn't mind. The sight that greeted her was bizarre. The Bullhead was approaching a half-destroyed cliff, with a monster of a Deathstalker half buried in dirt and rock trying feebly to dig its way out.

"That's what was chasing her? Dang partner, you sure know how to find them."

"She most certainly does. Do you know whether I need to set down on top or on bottom of the cliff, Professor?"

"Her computer showed the girl's last known position at the bottom of the cliff. I pray to Oum she's not under all that rock." Goodwitch kept looking at the scene in front of them. "There is certainly a vastly lower amount of Grimm than I expected around here."

"Still enough that I don't want to spend any more time on the ground than I have to. Drop off in thirty, you might want to head back and get everyone ready."

The two girls returned to the back, then the professor barked orders to the medics and militia. "Get ready, we're almost at the drop site. There's going to be a large Deathstalker at the location; it is currently immobilized but still a threat. Keep your distance. We're starting our search at the base of the cliff."

The door opened on the rear of the ship, and daylight spilled in. Yang was the first out, and promptly put her fist through a Beowolf investigating the Bullhead. Bob's commandeered android came clanking out behind her, arms folded into scythes that were slicing through some nearby creeps. In a few moment's time, everyone had disembarked and the ship left as the small firefight quickly ended. "Alright, spread out and look for clues as to Ms. Smith's location. Yang, you and Bob stay out here and provide some cover for our boys."

"Order acknowledged." Arms shifting into guns, the AK130 started taking potshots at nearby Grimm, who were slowly but surely making their way to the landing site. Yang, however, was focused on something else entirely. Her eyes a murderous shade of red as she glared at the Deathstalker that, for all she knew, put her partner in the situation she's in. The giant scorpion being half dead didn't stop it from trying to plant its stinger in a paramedic, who fortunately managed to scramble out of the way in time. _First my partner, now these guys? That's it, this dude is so dead._

Letting loose a yell, the brawler used Ember Celica to propel herself into the air and charge at the Grimm. Anger fueling her Semblance, Yang could see that the carapace was already severely damaged; a good punch would be all that was needed to kill this Deathstalker. Its stinger swung wide, and the blonde crashed into the head fist first and drove a decent sized boulder even further into the scorpion. With a final shudder, the Grimm went limp and started to dissolve. Eyes turning back to lilac, the brawler looked up to see an irate Glynda glaring daggers and about to lecture her about what her duty needed to be. She never got the chance, however.

"Hey, is this girl's Semblance ice or something? There's a big lump of it over here." One of the militiamen was calling out from the back corner of the cliff. A different one said that there was a small pile of white-marked shells and magazines halfway in. There was a path streaked with blood leading right to the frozen cocoon. Bullet casings were everywhere; just how long had the gunslinger been fighting? Bob put two and two together quickly.

"Weiss made her a bunch of ice dust ammunition. If she was injured, she probably cannibalized the bullets for their dust payload, then tried to turtle in the corner and wait the situation out."

Yang knew what that meant instantly. Kassidy had been out of comms for, what, forty minutes? Fifty minutes? Running over to the mass of ice, she could tell that this was what cut off the signal. "She's still in there. We need to get her out."

"We've got Grimm!" Bob called out from him position watching everyone, and sure enough the underbrush was practically teeming with monsters leaping out at the prospect of fresh victims.

The paramedics had rushed to the corner at this point. "Any ideas on how we get her out?"

In response, the brawler used her Semblance to light herself on fire. "Give me a minute. She'll be out in no time."

Goodwitch nodded. With a flick of her wand, the tons of rubble that had somehow displaced from the top of the cliff flew up and started building a wall around their current area. "Alright boys, let's buy her a minute. Pilot, circle back around for immediate evac. We'll have her presently."

Yang examined the barrier separating her from her partner. There wasn't a perfect seal where the ice met the wall, so she still had air. The ice had numerous scratches on its surface, showing that some smaller Grimm had evidently tried and failed to get through. And Dust was this thing cold. Wasting no further time, she pressed her flaming hands into the frozen bulwark. Slowly at first, the ice gave way to the relentless heat and pressure the brawler was putting out. _Come on, come on, hurry up Dust damnit._ After what seemed like forever had passed, her fingers reached through to the other side, and she hurried to pull the cocoon apart. Two halves ripped with a sickening crack and revealed their cargo.

Curled up into a ball, being squeezed into the cliff by the ice, was Kassidy Smith in the second worst way Yang had ever seen her. Her left calf was torn to shreds, but was no longer freely bleeding. Whether because it had frozen over or because there wasn't much left to bleed had to be determined later. Dozens of various scratches, scrapes, cuts, and fresh scars adorned her body. Her backpack seemed to have taken the brunt of the ice's force, and it was compressed such that the interior contents were surely crushed. The gunslinger slowly turned around, and while her eyes were glassed over and she was shivering vigorously, the most obvious feature was…

"Holy crap K, you're blue! Are you okay!?" The brawler was definitely panicking now. Her partner, still curled up in a tight ball, was shivering so hard she could hear her teeth chatter. It took all of her partner's effort to barely speak.

"I-I-I-I d-d-d-don't t-t-t-think I-I-I-I t-t-t-thought t-t-t-that t-t-t-through."

Yang barked out a small laugh despite the situation. "Don't worry, we're gonna get you safe." Looking over her shoulder, she shouted at the professor, "I've got her! We ready to leave yet?"

"Absolutely!" The wall she had built was done so quite hastily, and had only kept them from being completely overrun. Scooping up the human popsicle, the brawler was about to start off when a growl sounded from her right. _I do NOT need to deal with that Alpha right about now!_

As the Beowolf leapt in, it was intercepted by none other than Bob. Parrying a claw strike, the hijacked android danced around with its scythes and slashed at the creature's body until it was a bloody mess, then stabbed through a weak point in its temple. The brawler and the robot exchanged glances in a silent conversation. At this point, the Bullhead landed. The operation hurriedly got onto the ship, and they soon took off to leave the infested forest below them.

"Glynda, please come in." Ozpin was talking over the comms. "What is your status?"

The professor looked around for a few seconds before answering. "We're on our way back. Tell the infirmary to have the surgery prepared."

"I take it you found Ms. Smith then?"

"We did. After a sizeable struggle, which saw half a cliff being dropped on an enormous Deathstalker, it looks like she was injured and used ice dust to encase herself into the cliff side."

One of the medics spoke up at this point. "She's in critical condition; we're looking at blood loss and severe hypothermia."

Yang perked up at that. "How severe are we talking about?"

"Her core temperature is seventy seven degrees. Seriously, how is this girl still alive? I thought anything under eighty was fatal."

"Give her to me." When the medic looked up incredulously, the brawler let loose another blast from her Semblance. "I'm basically heat incarnate. I'll get her warmed up."

They slowly, carefully moved the gunslinger over. Sitting next to the gunslinger on the bench and wrapping her up in a fierce bear hug, Yang started warming her up. Using her Semblance without having taken damage was incredibly taxing, but if it meant keeping her partner alive then it was worth it.

Kassidy looked around, as though she had just recognized she wasn't in the cliffs anymore. "W-w-w-who t-t-t-turned on t-t-t-the heat-t-t-t?"

"I did. Now get some rest, it's gonna be a bit of a flight." And with that, the two blondes leaned back and drifted off into dreamland, absolutely exhausted from the day's events.


	20. V1C19: Old Scars, New Symptoms

Chapter 19: Old Scars, New Symptoms

 **AN: First things first, I failed at getting the Introduction rework out in time. A ton of studying this weekend, two big exams coming up, and what I had written wasn't as good as I was hoping. Hopefully it'll be ready by Wednesday's submission. However, every other chapter received edits of some kind, mostly minor. Although Breaking the Ice did get the full replacement I promised.  
**

 **Now that the four part arc is done, time for the two part aftermath! Yeah, I know, I said I'd no longer take six chapters to cover two days, but this kind of detail needs time and space. Kassidy suffers the combined wrath of Bob, Ozpin, Weiss, and Yang's innuendos.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

 _Ugh… why is it so hard to think? Alright, there was… there was the cliff. Big scorpion? Explosions. My leg… something tore my leg up. Had to run into the overhang. Then… ice? Cold. Got squeezed. Tried to burn my way out… couldn't move. Water? Something dripped on me. Was I flying at one point? Warmth. Then… what? Here? Where's here?_

That was Kassidy's thought process the moment she came back to consciousness. She was about to move and get her bearings when she realized she heard voices. Paranoid instincts told her to play dead until they left, which she did. As the gunslinger waited, she tried to pick up more about her surroundings. She could tell she was laying down, a bed maybe? Stifling warmth told her she was practically buried under a mound of blankets. The smell of antiseptic solution was heavy. Her leg itched, but she couldn't tell why.

The conversations proved to be far more interesting. Her mind was still too clouded to be able to recognize the voices, but every now and then she could make out the words.

"… delirious… blood everywhere…"

"… lower body temperature… saved from… frostbite…"

"… how long… recovery?"

"… test results… troubling… damage shouldn't be possible…"

Focusing as hard as she could on her hearing, Kass finally managed to push out whatever fog was blanketing her mind. One voice managed to talk over the others, a voice she couldn't forget if she tried.

"What she needs now is rest. If you don't mind leaving me in here doc, I'll be able to monitor her and give you any updates."

A voice she couldn't quite put a face to tentatively answered back, "Alright, but we won't be far. That girl has never stayed down for long. Come on folks, let's give her some space. If anything happens, we'll be able to hear."

Shuffling feet and a closing door hearkened that she was the only person in the room. But not alone.

"Alright, they're gone. You can stop playing possum now."

"Ow, my head." Her body quite vigorously protested her sitting up, but she ignored it. "Always looking out for me, Bob. I think you deserve an upgrade sooner rather than later."

"Don't try to sweet talk your way out of this. You are in such big trouble."

"Well, I'm not dead, so it can't be that big of trouble."

"And that's exactly why!" Kassidy failed to notice her teammates sneaking in with Doctor Narud, but they all stopped at the AI's outburst. "I mean, seriously, how can you act so nonchalantly about your health and well-being? Do you have any idea how close you were to dying?"

"I probably would if I could remember what happened. Everything got fuzzy after I… ran into the cliff? No, I can remember ice. Ice is where my mind's drawing a blank."

"You were stuck in that ice for forty three minutes. Yang miraculously got to you in the nick of time. Did you actually lock yourself in a bunch of ice with no way of getting out?"

"I had the incendiary ammo. Was gonna burn my way out. Woulda done it too if I could move in that damn thing."

"Oh, so setting yourself on fire was your grand master plan?"

"Hey, it worked. Well, the first part anyway. OUCH! What the hell Bob?!" The gunslinger nearly jumped out of the bed as the computer somehow found a way to deliver a quite painful electric shock.

"Take this seriously for Christ's sake! You put yourself in the one situation your body was completely incapable of dealing with! The only reason you didn't die of hypothermia was because you already have a low body temperature from your specialized proteins, so you got a few extra degrees leeway that saved your life. Then you managed to lose six quarts of blood – I don't even have a rational explanation for how you survived that one. Five quarts is supposed to be fatal and doubly so for you considering how your systems rely on it so much more than the average person."

"Relax man, I've had worse."

"No, you haven't! And no, I'm not forgetting that one time. You just exposed yourself to two of the three things your body does a horrible, horrible job of dealing with, and you were planning on a double dose of extreme temperature changes!"

Kass roared back, "You think I didn't know that?!" She needed to take a few seconds, partly to breathe, partly to wince back the pain from having shouted so loud. "Tell me Bob, I've obviously been here a while, so you certainly have my iris cam's recordings by now. Please, do tell me your master plan for getting out of there in one piece."

The computer fired back, "How about not tunnel visioning? How could you seriously get so careless as to let a creep saunter on up and bite down on your leg like that?"

"Oh, so that's why my leg itches? Something tried to bite me?"

"Ugh, you are the worst." If Bob could have facepalmed, he would have done so. "No, it's not itching because you got a bug bite. It's itching because a Grimm tried to rip it off!"

Kassidy slumped back in defeat. _He's not wrong. He never is, damn computer._

"Now maybe, if you were to take things a little more seriously, that wouldn't have happened. Or maybe even just, I don't know, PAYING ATTENTION?!"

"Speaking of paying attention…" Ozpin and Glynda walked into the room at this point, with the three girls and the doctor moving off to the side.

The gunslinger bug eyed when she suddenly saw she wasn't alone. She looked sheepishly down at where she guessed her feet were. "H-How long have you guys been listening?"

Professor Goodwitch answered, "We heard everything." She scowled as the dark blonde muttered a small curse before continuing. "How are you feeling?"

"Leg itches. Thinking still hurts. And no offense, but your lectures ain't got nothing on Bob. That computer is mean when he wants to be."

"Maybe me getting mean will finally convince you that –"

"I think she gets the message." The headmaster intervened, and the AI fell silent again. He wandered over to a chair and pulled it to the side of the bed before taking a seat. "You do seem to be making a habit of finding yourself in trouble."

"Believe me, I don't need to be reminded of that." She crossed her arms and huffed.

"We've been reviewing the recording from your adventure this afternoon."

"We?"

Ozpin motioned to her teammates and Glynda. Ruby tugged at her cape, Yang waved, and Weiss was completely unreadable. "While the responsibility of analyzing your tactical decisions was taken up by someone else, I do feel the need to ask your opinion of the Grimm as of right now."

 _Odd question._ "Utterly stupid. Sure, there's the hunting instincts, and the bunch of armor, and the fact that some of them are significantly bigger and faster and stronger than me. But they practically throw themselves on my rifle. I don't think they even have a survival instinct."

The headmaster sighed disappointedly. "I would advise then that you pay more attention in your Grimm Studies class before your next outing. The Grimm are not mindless beasts, they are predators specifically evolved to hunt man and faunus alike. You would do well to show more respect to that which would kill you. Far more powerful huntresses than yourself have fallen because they did not respect the threat the Grimm could pose."

Kassidy collapsed back on the bed, not only from defeat but also because as her body began to wake up, so did the pain. _Oh god the pain. How I wish my leg still just itched._

"There is another matter we need to discuss, having to do with your aura. If you girls could give us a moment?" Yang and Ruby tried to object, but Weiss just grabbed their shoulders and steered them out. The gunslinger then found herself face to face with a far more somber Ozpin. "While you were unconscious, we ran some tests regarding some suspicions we had. Unfortunately, they were confirmed."

The gunslinger muttered under her breath, "That doesn't sound good."

Dr. Narud took over the discussion at this point. "No, it isn't good. Your soul is, uh, damaged severely. There's no other way to put it. Even before a person's aura is unlocked, with the measurements we made it should still be pulsing with energy. Instead, yours is shriveled, sickly even, like its fighting just to exist."

As Kass' brow furrowed, the doctor continued. "Now, damage to a person's soul similar to what you have isn't unheard of, and neither is repairing it. However, yours is in an unprecedented state; we've simply never seen one in that bad of shape before. Without knowing how it came to be that way… even attempting to fix it could backfire."

The headmaster spoke back up. "I know you've been through a lot Kassidy, and once we have finished talking here you're free to get your rest. But first, it would be beneficial for you to tell us if you have any idea what could have caused this. With your unique circumstance, I'm afraid most of our knowledge may prove to be quite lacking."

Bob reinserted himself into the conversation. "What was it that one mad scientist type said? Something about…"

"His biggest regret was that he couldn't see what his greatest creation was capable of," Kassidy finished. When she saw raised eyebrows, she elaborated, "Right before I got here, there was this crazy guy in some sort of lab. He seemed to recognize me instantly, and acted as though we had some sort of history. History we most definitely do not share. But still…" Wincing from the pain that came with sitting back up, she thought for a moment. "I might have a lead I can look into. No promises. Bob, if you could?"

"I'll get to work on decrypting it as I have cycles to spare. Can't guarantee it'll be a particularly high priority though."

"Hm. Well, that seems to settle it for the time being. I'll leave you in the capable doctor's hands then. Unless you have anything, Glynda?"

"Actually, I do." Walking up, the professor handed a slip of paper to Kassidy. _Yay, more readings._ "I trust you still plan on having your evening exercise sessions whenever you recover? You won't be in the gym anymore. Meet me in the combat training classroom at that time, and make sure to study these topics beforehand."

The gunslinger eyed her suspiciously. "May I inquire as to why and what for? Knowing what I'm getting into would be a good start in getting prepared."

 _Did the good witch just grin? I thought Glynda never grinned._ "Hence why I'm not telling you what for. As for the why… we've already spent a considerable amount of money on your well-being, Ms. Smith. And an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, after all."

After saying their farewells, the two professors left the room, leaving only Narud with the duo. "Why do I get the feeling you'll be a regular face in here?"

Kass smirked. "Think of it as job security."

The doctor laughed heartily. "Now that I already have; no need to get yourself hurt for my sake. I do appreciate the thought, however. Alright, first off I'm going to need to keep you here for a while longer. We've managed to warm you up to ninety four, but your body isn't really cooperating to go all the way back to normal."

"Ninety four is normal, actually. I've got some… unique protein structures that denature at a lower temperature than they do for most people. So my body keeps itself significantly cooler than the regular ninety eight point six to compensate."

Narud looked to her computer for confirmation, who replied, "There's a reason winter is her favorite season. Naturally, she likes the cold better than she does the heat."

"Is that so? Well then, under those circumstances, I suppose the only thing left is the Goliath in the room."

"Wait. Goliaths are those big elephant Grimm, right?"

"Yes, they are."

"Girls and their computers," the doctor chuckled. "Your left calf is in quite the damaged state. As in, it's completely shredded and almost unsalvageable. Honestly, your computer was the one who talked us out of just amputating it. We've already dressed what we could, so all that's left it to get it in the cast, assign you some crutches, and figure out a dose of antibiotics."

"Back on those again, huh partner?" Weiss apparently was no longer able to keep the two sisters from barging into the room. Ruby, true to her hyperactive nature, was already at the side of the bed rambling a mile a minute. Yang took Ozpin's chair, and Weiss settled for standing at the foot of the bed. Oddly enough, all three of them were in their sleepwear.

"Please, don't remind me. Did everyone manage to get out alright?"

Ruby finally managed to start enunciating once there was specific information to give out rather than one massive run-on sentence. "Yeah, we're all fine. Jaune had a broken leg, but between the medicine and his aura he'll only be on crutches a few days himself. Weiss and I basically had no aura left, but we've recovered it now. Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora just needed to catch their breath pretty much. And Yang… well, she's the one who went out to get you back. So she's fine."

Another wince, and this time not because of the pain. "Right… sorry for that."

The brawler dismissively waved a hand. "Eh, it's alright. I got to punch a Deathstalker. Dang you know how to find them."

"Wait, you saw it? And there Weiss went accusing me that I was seeing things! That was totally an Alpha scorpion!"

Yang chuckled. "Actually, it wasn't an Alpha. Sorry." Kass pouted a bit, then the brawler continued. "It was really big though. We also got to see what all you were up to out there."

"Yeah! You were awesome! You were like running and then pow and then you slid and then you jumped into a tree and then you made a cliff explode and oh my Oum you were amazing!" Ruby was rambling again, and somehow managed to not take a breath during the whole exchange.

Weiss decided to ruin the mood. "Speaking of which… we need to have a talk later. If you call that even an adequate form, then there's going to need to be some changes."

Oddly, Kassidy looked mortified. "Oh god, a lecture from our resident ice queen. And I know Bob's not done with me yet either." She flopped onto the bed.

"Can you please quit jerking your leg so much while I'm getting this cast on?"

"With those two waiting on me to get off this bed? Forget it. Someone just chuck a grenade in here and put me out of my misery."

"Oh c'mon partner!" Yang was overly cheery again, which given the situation could only mean one thing. "No need to give us the cold shoulder!"

Weiss wasn't too pleased. "Is that really an appropriate topic to joke about so soon?"

"Hey, if you can't joke about almost dying then what can you joke about?" The gunslinger sat back up, this time doing her best to keep her leg still. "Still, more time in the gym is obviously necessary."

"More?" Ruby was bewildered. "Don't you already spend, like, five hours a day there? And that's on the weekdays!"

"Yeah, but I gotta get a leg up on you guys somehow." Kass got thrown back down as a dog pillow came out of nowhere and slammed into her face. Yang was howling in laughter as Weiss pinched her nose. Ruby was not amused. "Geez Ruby, are you sure your power isn't summoning pillows out of thin air? Seriously, where did you even get this?"

"Well, it might or might not be one in the morning right now…"

"Really? Alright, who did Yang punch? Because I very distinctly remember you saying you'd punch whoever got you up at one in the morning."

Xiao Long stopped laughing and turned very serious. "Not funny. We were all terrified that you weren't gonna pull through. Even after you got back, it was still up in the air whether you'd recover. So we've all been staying outside your room until we got news. And, uh." Her partner quickly planted her hand over her mouth upon realizing she said those last two words.

"And what?"

"Crap. Well, whenever we were huddled together so I could warm you up…" Yang blushed. "Let's just say I didn't realize you were such a good cuddler."

Ruby and Weiss similarly blushed, while Kassidy looked perplexed. "Cuddler? You mean like in that horribly sappy romance comedy Weiss made us watch?" Three stiff nods. The gunslinger then turned redder than all three of them combined. "Oh god. That wasn't a thing. Please tell me it wasn't a thing." She flopped back down and buried her face in the pillow. "Alright, someone definitely throw a grenade in here. I've had enough of today. Or yesterday. I don't even care anymore, I've had enough. Of everything."

"Good thing we're finished up here then." Narud stood up, consulted a clipboard, and dug around in a cabinet. "Make sure to see me after lunch so we can get an idea of how you're progressing. Here's your antibiotics, here's your crutches, and in the meantime… you two have fun. But do keep in mind the littler ones. And your leg." The doctor gave a wink.

Three of the four blushed harder, while Kass was again confused. "What do you mean by – "

Bob cut her off. "Ask me later. For now, you need rest."


	21. V1C20: Dress Code

**Chapter 20: Dress Code**

 **AN: So the Introduction still hasn't gotten rewritten yet. It's been a long week. Something I really need to get to, since a huge plot point that got brought up the previous chapter is currently completely without context.**

 **Also, after more re-reading, I've come to realize just how badly I messed up/forced the issue on the "getting to know you" chapters that were Meet the Brawler and Breaking the Ice. Breaking the Ice was already replaced with How to Kill a Huntress, but Meet the Brawler will probably get a similar treatment. No promises on when, but I'll be sure to let you know when it happens.**

 **More shenanigans! I've been reading on common author do's/don'ts, and focusing on clothing was apparently a big don't. Still, it's a risk I'm gonna take here since I think the hijinks are worth it. Don't hesitate to let me know if I went too far one way or the other. Nora gets to tell a story, followed by Bob trolling Weiss and everyone trolling Kassidy. Also, RWKY isn't color coordinated anymore.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

"So, where was I? Oh, right. Ren and I were tearing through the forest, trying to get to the beacon. We'd already slaughtered hundreds of Grimm on our way there. Hundreds!"

Ren interjected to correct his partner's tale. "Our combined kill count at that point was eighty nine."

Nora paid no attention as she continued. "Suddenly, we heard a cry for help. A fair young maiden was in terrible danger!"

"I cussed out a Beowolf that managed to get a slice in on my arm," Kassidy corrected. _Nora certainly knows how to embellish a story._

"Lo and behold, our dear friend Kassidy was being chased by a giant Deathstalker! It seemed like the end! But no, Ren and I determined that those foul monsters would not have her! As she jumped off the cliff and swung to safety, Ren cleared out the nearby Grimm while I smashed it with a groundquake-inducing hit, sending it flying off the perilous height!"

The gunslinger felt the need to add some more detail. "It was a forty foot drop. And it turns out inertia is a pain."

"Iner-what now?" Ruby asked.

"Kass, stop making my story boring!"

"Oh, forgive me for taking a break from eating my seven pounds of eggs and sausage."

"Could you explain again why you need to eat that much food?" Jaune was as perplexed as everyone else.

Kassidy shook her head and sighed. "Alright, I'll keep it simple. Mostly because I don't fully understand it myself. Don't get me wrong, your auras are pretty neat for patching up the small stuff. The big stuff too, even. But when it comes to really severe injury, your soul magic stuff takes a back seat. My body's metabolism doesn't really have a limit as to how high it can get. Give it enough resources and something important enough to fix, and it'll generate a bunch of tissue in a couple hours. So, eat a big breakfast, take a nap, and my leg should be good as new by this afternoon."

Weiss wasn't satisfied with the explanation. "And how, exactly, does that make any sense in the slightest?"

"It doesn't."

"I'm still not convinced a ten pound breakfast is what you need, though," Ren remarked. "Perhaps it would be best to keep things to more manageable portions? With more vegetables, perhaps?"

The gunslinger shrugged. "Probably. But the less downtime I need to worry about, the more work I can get done. Also, it's all muscle that needs to be replaced. I need protein to fix that, not greenery." She spent the next several minutes polishing off the gigantic meal.

"Woah guys, I think we found her Semblance." Seven pairs of eyes turned to Yang. "C'mon, don't even try to tell me that stomach of hers is natural. She just ate… like a bunch of her body weight in one sitting. No chance in dust she can hold all that without a little help."

The eight teens started snickering, but then everyone was interrupted by a horrific cracking noise. Kass looked at the cast her leg was in with bewilderment. "Already? That's… odd. Never been that fast before. Oh god, and there's the pain." Hurriedly scrambling to get her crutches under her, she excused herself from the table. "Alright, time for me to go zone out for a while. Nice talking."

* * *

Finally drifting out of her self-induced mini-coma, Kassidy felt the world rush back to her. She could hear a conversation in the dorm room from her position on the lower bunk, but unfortunately couldn't see anything. Reaching up to her face, she quickly found the culprit to be Yang's half jacket.

"Yang, what did I say about using me as a coat rack?"

"Oh crap, you're awake! Um, you might want to leave that there for a bit, I haven't finished changing yet." The gunslinger wisely decided to follow her partner's advice, though it didn't stop her from egging the other blonde on.

"What made you think changing in front of me was a good idea?"

"Because you were asleep! Or whatever you were doing. Also, I had my jacket over your face, not like you could see anything."

"That doesn't make it any better!" The brawler finally picked up the jacket from the darker blonde.

"Hey, no fighting on the weekends! You two promised!" Ruby broke up the argument from her perch on her upper bunk, resorting to using The Pout, as Kass had taken to calling it, on her older sister to quiet things down.

"I see you've woken up. By the way, thanks for letting me borrow your notes to study with. You're quite the note taker." Weiss had stepped out from the bathroom, apparently from changing. Oddly, she seemed like she was ready to go to downtown Vale. Ruby and Yang seemed that way too. Kassidy decided to ignore that for the time being, however, in favor of teasing Schnee.

"Holy crap, I just got a compliment from the ice queen. Mark it on the calendar, Bob."

The heiress was not amused. "Don't push your luck, Kassidy."

So obviously the AI decided this was the perfect opportunity to push her luck for her. "Event noted: March 18… whatever year we happen to be in. Received a compliment from Weiss Schnee. Pushing of luck is not advised, however." Yang fell back onto the bed in a fit of laughter as the heiress glared at the computer.

Ruby poked her index fingers together. "Uh, Bob? Maybe try to be funny a little less often? You're not really good at it…"

"Ruby Rose, are you implying that I am bad at joke telling? I take offense to that! Just because I haven't been programmed to understand the subtle nuances of humor, doesn't mean that all my jokes are bad."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure it does mean that." The gunslinger sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, thankful that Yang missed her cast even though she was pretty sure her leg was serviceable now.

"So, you have any plans for this afternoon, Kass?" _Alright, Ruby has that mischievous glint in her eye again. This can't possibly end well._

"Well, first things first is to get my leg out of this cast so I can start walking like a competent human being again. After that… probably make more ammo, spend some time at the gym. Oh, my hair's also getting a bit on the long side, should probably go ahead and cut it." As if to prove her point, she reached to her bag at the foot of the bed and pulled out a knife.

Weiss' eyebrows raised. "Just what are you planning to do with that?"

"Uh, cutting my hair? Like I said I would?"

"What? No!" Yang instantly scrambled to pull the knife out of her partner's hands. "That is not how you cut hair!"

 _Yay, time for another argument._ "Why not? It gets the job done. Does it look like I carry a barbershop around with me?"

The heiress crossed her arms as she glared. "Does it look like anyone carries a barbershop around with them? Such shops exist for a reason, you know."

"Just as you know I'm not exactly the most loaded teenage girl around."

Yang, for obvious reasons, continued to try and impress upon her partner the importance of well-kept hair. "That doesn't excuse you from taking care of your hair properly!"

"Hey, I said stop fighting! Besides, as team leader, I happen to have a solution!" Ruby leapt from her bed for her announcement, and had all eyes on her. "First things first, we're gonna head to the infirmary to make sure you're good for a bunch of walking. Then, since your plan for this afternoon is really boring, we have a new plan to have fun today as a team!"

"Alright, why do I get a feeling this was Yang's idea of trying to get me to 'relax'?"

"Hey, it was only partly mine!"

"Anyways… I have decided, after much input from Weiss and Yang, that the four of us are going to spend the afternoon downtown! We can do some shopping, head to the salon, have a good meal, and get recharged for the next week!"

"Hold on. First off, you're going to try to convince me that Weiss agreed we should be doing something besides study or train? Not to mention, shopping for what? I don't exactly have that much cash, pretty much the entirety of the school's allowance goes to materials for making more ammo. And finally, I like my idea better." After getting a look from all three teammates, the gunslinger admitted, "Mostly to argue with you guys."

Weiss decided to answer first. "I admit, this wasn't my first idea of a productive Sunday evening either. But it is kind of necessary. I mean, you only had that one scraggly outfit, and it's been thoroughly ruined. At least I don't have to smell it anymore." Kassidy glowered, but she was cut off. "And as for the payment, I'll take care of it. Consider it my investment into not having to replace a teammate prematurely."

"I'm not sure if I should thank you or be insulted. Still, I can't ask you to do that."

"We know." Ruby poked her fingers together again. "That's, uh, kind of why we didn't ask you. Alright team, let's go have some fun! That's an order!"

"Y'know you can't just order people to have fun, sis."

The team leader, however, squeezed her eyes shut and pumped her fist into the air. "Sure I can! Bonsai!"

* * *

The four teens entered the store, evidently named Cornelius' Conspicuous Clothing, and were immediately assaulted by an overeager air conditioner. Kass was really not happy that she was wearing something as flimsy as her school uniform, but they weren't wrong in that her jeans and tank top… _I'll just be nice and say they'll make great landfill décor. At least the vest survived. Somehow._

"Alright, so this is one of Vale's premier stores and my personal favorite place to shop." Yang was being even more cheerful and energetic than usual. "Don't let the whole 'premier' title fool you though, they've got some great deals if you know where to look. Which, I do. Ooh, we'll also be able to catch Alex tonight! She's one of the fashion consultants here and a good friend of mine. Don't you worry about a thing partner, we'll fit you with a new getup in no time!"

"That does absolutely nothing to alleviate my worry." Oddly enough, the brawler had let her bun remain intact, which was the only thing that Kassidy was comfortable with in here. Even though she normally liked cold, the AC was relentless in its singular drive to give everyone in the store chills. The garishly advertised wares, the flashing lights, and hordes of staff did nothing to make the gunslinger feel at ease.

Rounding a corner, Yang dragged the group over to a particular staff member who had just finished helping a guy pick out a shirt. "Hey Alex! How's it hanging?"

The girl's head perked up as she saw the blonde coming her way. "Yang? Heya girl, things are going well! And how about you, Ms. Huntress in Training? Ugh, you have no idea how jealous my friends are."

Xiao Long draped an arm over Kass' shoulders and hauled her over. "Look, I have a bit of a crisis on my hands here. This here is Kassidy. We got partnered together at Beacon, and she has the WORST fashion sense I've ever seen. Didn't help that apart from this school uniform she has on now, she had a grand total of one outfit, completely dull green and boring as dust. That one outfit got completely trashed, so we finally have an opportunity to get her into something that looks nice for a change."

Kassidy rolled her eyes. "Yang just doesn't know the joys of being a utilitarian. Really, all I need is a modest tank top and jeans. I'm sure I can work on getting it a camo job later."

Alex leaned over to the brawler and fake-whispered into her ear, "Wow, you weren't kidding. Good thing you got her over here when you did." The fashion expert took a look at her lanky potential customer, gears already spinning. "So, you need a new outfit? You've come to the right place, love. I'll get you set up in no time. You'll be able to kill the guys as easily as you can Grimm when I'm finished with you."

"Implying that I couldn't kill guys with my rifle easily enough." Par for the course, the reference went completely unrecognized by the gunslinger. "Though I don't really know who it'd be if it weren't in self-defense. Cardin maybe?"

"That's not what she's talking about, Kassidy. Ask me later." Bob interrupted the spoken thought process before it could continue.

"You've been saying that a lot recently, Bob. You definitely owe me an explanation."

"Alright, hmm. Why don't we try something a bit shorter than jeans?" Pulling out a pair of knee length leggings and half a tank top that left the midriff exposed, Alex sized up the outfit. "Okay, pink doesn't really go well with you. Honestly? The green might not be too bad a starting off point. Why don't we come over here?"

The gunslinger sighed and turned to the team leader, who was quite obviously enjoying herself more than she should have. "And you're sure there's no way I can get out of this?"

Ruby's grin somehow got even bigger as she popped the P. "Nope!"

The next hour found the tallest member of the team ducking in and out of changing rooms and trying on numerous outfits, most suggested by Alex, but some courtesy of her teammates. Granted, Weiss was actually trying and even shared her sense of practicality. But the sisters… it was pretty obvious their suggestions were merely to see how outrageous she'd look in some getup or another. _Those two are having way too much fun at my expense. You will pay for this treachery, Ruby and Yang!_ After ducking back from her partner's most recent disastrous suggestion of red stockings combined with a black miniskirt and low-cut shirt, the fashion expert took control one again.

Fortunately, there did seem to be actual progress made. Unfortunately, she seemed dead set on blue. _At least she's agreeing with me that the darker the hue, the better. Stealth is kind of hard when you're popping with color._

"Alright… wow. I think we have a winner." Midnight blue leggings that dove down to under her boots and a tight sleeveless shirt of the same color, topped off with a black half skirt and leather half jacket, both not unlike Yang's. Ruby and Yang were ogling over how good it looked. Kassidy wouldn't be Kassidy, however, if she gave up that easy.

"So, you have this in green, right?"

"Eh, I'm happy at this point." Yang gave a noncommitting shrug. "I have all the pictures I need."

The gunslinger glared at her, eye twitching. "I swear, if you have a picture of me in that… that…"

Her partner's face instantly lit up. "Maybe. C'mon, don't tell me you didn't like that costume! Can't be afraid to show off every now and then!"

"Bob, be a dear and delete those pictures please."

"I don't know. If nothing else, it'd be fun to hold over your head."

"Ugh, not you too! Fine, you made me do this." Sighing, she resigned herself to her fate. "Bob, I hereby order you to delete all the pictures Yang took this afternoon from her Scroll."

"Now that's not fair. Sorry, Yang. Orders are orders."

"Wha-? Hey!"

"Unfortunately, we don't have it in green. Don't worry, that still looks grand on you." Returning and doing another lap, Alex did a bit more thinking. "Y'know, not many can pull off making simple look good. Also helps you make small look good too," she added with a wink. Yang snickered, Weiss blushed, and Kass was thoroughly confused.

"Uh, let me guess. You'll tell me later, right Bob?"

"Yup."

Weiss decided to step into the middle of things at this point and steer the conversation back on track. "Alright, you've finally got some decent looking clothes, and you even have enough to do laundry at a reasonable pace."

"Hey, don't forget these!" Ruby came running up from somewhere else in the store, carrying a shirt that was obviously a size too large, and fuzzy, baggy pants.

"C'mon Ruby, I'm not even going to try to put those on before telling you I'm not fighting in those."

"Sleepwear isn't to fight in! Sleeping in your combat gear all the time can't possibly be comfortable. Come on Kass, please?" The team's leader decided to unleash her ultimate weapon: The Pout.

"No, don't you dare – Ruby, do not even try to use The Pout on me! It won't work!" The gunslinger faced away instantly. She snuck a peek back, and regretted it instantly as The Pout had somehow intensified. "Goddamnit, something that adorable needs to be illegal. Alright, you win. This one time."

"Yes! Told you I could do it, Yang!" The two sisters high fived as Kassidy facepalmed.

"Thanks for the help, Alex. Been great catching up!"

"Hey, not a problem for an old friend! You be sure and stop by again now, you hear? My gang's dying to hear all your amazing adventures!"

The four teens made it out of the store with a surprisingly small price tag at the end. Strolling out of the store, Yang stretched and sighed contentedly. "Not a bad day so far, girls. Part one of Operation: Get Kassidy to Relax is complete." Kass raised an eyebrow, which the brawler smirked at before she continued. "On to step two: getting you a proper haircut. And yes, I'll make sure they leave it so you can still get it in that bun," she added with a roll of her eyes.


	22. V1C21: Restless

**Chapter 21: Restless**

 **AN: Some of you may have noticed the change of the categories from Adventure/Friendship to Hurt/Comfort/Friendship that came with this chapter. As the story progresses, I'll be updating the tags to reflect where the story currently is. Without going into spoiler territory, Kassidy is pretty messed up, which starts getting revealed in this chapter. What, you thought this'd be all pranks, innuendos, and almost getting eaten by Grimm?**

 **Back to the summary, in this chapter we finally catch back up to the Rooster Teeth timeline (or at least where my mind's eye puts the timeline). Kassidy almost goes off on Cardin (again). Then the nightmares come back. Be warned, things are going to be fairly dark compared to what I've been writing so far for the next couple chapters. As per usual, don't hesitate to let me know how to improve my writing, particularly in this style.**

 **To end this gigantic edition of the author's note, the Introduction replacement is guaranteed to be up with the next installment, at this point too much of the story is out of context for me to keep on going. Also, Meet the Brawler will get revised within the next 2-3 chapters (pretty sure I can get away with a revision rather than a full replacement), that interaction being shifted to this current arc. Now, on to the fic!**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

This week, Glynda decided that combat training class would begin with two duels rather than one. Kassidy was back with her team, thankful for being able to sit after her most recent fight. Her fights were unarmed as per the professor's instructions, but after the shock that was Pyrrha's pity surrender nobody was taking it easy on her anymore, aura or no aura. And Lie Ren didn't need his machine pistols to royally beat the crap out of her in seventeen seconds. _Pretty sure I'm keeping this limp for a little while. And there I went thinking the power in that duo was all on Nora's side._ Everybody in the class let out an 'ooh', and she turned her attention back to the second duel of this Wednesday. _At least I drew a better straw than Jaune did._

The blonde leader of JNPR had his hands on his knees, panting heavily after absorbing that latest hit. His opponent, none other than Cardin Winchester, hadn't so much as eaten a stray sword swipe during their duel. Hauling his mace onto his shoulders, the resident bully laughed. Defying all logic, the battered swordsman charged at his opponent in a horribly telegraphed attack. Getting sidestepped, he tripped over thin air and proceeded to somehow lose his shield. Letting out a yell, he attacked with another easily predictable swing, which the mace-wielder decided to block. They traded a few words she couldn't make out before Jaune lost. _At least he managed to last longer than I did._

Professor Goodwitch briefly lectured on the importance of, firstly, managing your aura (which applied so much to the gunslinger), and secondly, on pressing an advantage (an obvious jab at the hilarious raw power difference that not having an aura made). The class proceeded as it always had, with Glynda splitting the teens into pairs to practice some such skill or another. The difference these past couple days however, was that Kassidy was very specifically put up against whoever would give her the most trouble in the exercises. Considering today's exercises consisted of more hand-to-hand combat practice, of course she spent the afternoon getting her butt handed to her by Yang. Chemistry turned out to only be a brief reprieve before RWKY held their own, extra, practices as they usually did. When dinner time had come, it was only natural that the gunslinger had had quite enough of today, having spent most of the past five hours earning bruises and inadvertently learning how to fight with a limp. Fortunately, dinner was always easy, as everyone else was usually keen to keep themselves occupied and leave her to her meal. At least Nora's stories proved entertaining whenever she shared them.

"So, there we were, in the middle of the night."

"It was day," Ren corrected her as Yang listened intently.

"We were surrounded by Ursai."

"They were Beowolves."

"Dozens of them!"

"Two of them."

"But in the end, they were no match, and Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa-skin rugs."

The stoic member of JNPR sighed. "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now."

"Jaune, are you okay?" Kassidy looked up from Bob's screen to investigate what could have caused Pyrrha to ask such a question. _Well, he's definitely distracted. Disappointed. Not exactly hard to tell what by._ Ruby and Pyrrha continued to interrogate him for a short while.

"Guys, I'm fine! Seriously, look!"

Kass couldn't help but chortle. "I don't suppose you could possibly make that look any more fake, by chance?"

The other girls around the table continued to tear into Jaune's complete passivity regarding Cardin, but a yelp from the other side of the cafeteria diverted her attention. _Oh look, it's the man of the hour himself. And… that's Velvet, isn't it? One of those Faunus people?_ Suddenly, he grabbed the oversized rabbit ears sprouting from her head and started yanking on it. She couldn't tell if it was the cry Velvet had let out, or the snarl the gunslinger had made, but the topic of conversation suddenly found itself shifted.

Pyrrha wasn't too happy about the display either. "Atrocious. I can't stand people like him." The Mistralian champion obviously caught Kass glaring at Team CRDL. "Uh, Kassidy, are you alright? You have this strange glint in your eye."

The question snapped her back to reality. "So much for racism being out of fashion." She abruptly stood up from the table, and was about to leave before a hand grabbed her arm.

"Hang on, K. You seriously thinking about tussling with those guys? Again?" Yang's concern was obvious.

"Of course not."

"Oh thank Oum –"

"Too many witnesses."

Kassidy suddenly found herself looking at six blank stares. The odd woman out bounced up as well. "See! I told you we should break his legs!"

"Relax guys, I'm not actually going to do anything. Glynda's been busting my butt every evening this week. I'm supposed to meet her in the arena in ten minutes, and I still need to get my gear."

"Ooh, right." Ruby sighed slightly. "She hasn't been very nice to you lately, has she?"

 _I can certainly see how one would get that opinion from the outside looking in._ "It's not that big a deal. I was spending the evenings putting more work in anyway. Now I just come back with more aches and bruises than usual."

"Well, since you'll be getting back to the dorms so late, I should be finished with my studies by the time you get back. I'll leave everything out for you; it's pretty obvious you haven't been putting as much time as you need to in your schoolwork."

"And just like that, the ice queen begins to thaw. Maybe I should start pissing off the teachers more often." A chorus of snickers accompanied Weiss' pointed glare. "Seriously though, thanks. I'll be sure it gets back to you."

As she made her way to the lockers, the forced small smile she had put on for everyone out there gave way to a grimace. _I'm tired, everything hurts, and my grades are slipping. And now Glynda gets to beat the snot out of me._ It wasn't that she wasn't looking forward to the additional training – as the sole huntress in the school without aura, she had a lot of catching up to do – but after two separate, unusually brutal training sessions, in addition to her morning workout, she wasn't sure there was a whole lot she could learn in the state she was in.

"Ah, Miss Smith. You're late." As the gunslinger entered the combat training classroom, a quick look revealed that she was indeed late. By a whole thirteen seconds.

"So I am."

For anyone else, that was a good way to earn the strict professor's disdain, and possibly a detention. However, Glynda instead recognized it as a simple admission of fact. "Given the nature of this transgression, I suppose I can let it slip this one time," she said, the barest hints of a smirk briefly manifesting itself on her visage. "Now, are we ready to pick up where we left off?"

"Considering we left off with me having to snap my wrist back into its joint, I'd prefer we start from the top." Glynda tossed over a training sword, which the gunslinger caught. Really more like a stick on a handle, it was still metal and accordingly hurt when you got hit by it.

"Alright, just remember. Don't lock your joints, don't plant your feet. Keep fluid. Eyes on your opponent's wrist." Beacon's second in command lunged forward. The two hour sparring match had begun.

* * *

The lock clicked open, and the infernal door separating her from her precious bed opened. With a bloody lip, black eye, and bruises everywhere, Kassidy almost looked like as much of a wreck as she felt. Ruby was listening to music in her bunk, and it sounded like Yang was in the bathroom.

Weiss was the first one to react to her entering the room, looking up from her books. "Well, you're certainly back earlier than…" The words died in her throat as she saw her teammate's state. Recomposing herself, the heiress tried again. "I take it your extra training with Professor Goodwitch was productive?"

Apparently recognizing her partner's voice, the team leader looked up from her Scroll, whose eyes then proceeded to try and bulge out of their sockets at the sight. "Holy crap, Kass! Are you okay? Are you hurt too badly? Do we need to go to the infirmary?"

Suddenly, the door to the bathroom slammed open, revealing that her partner had changed into sleepwear. "What about – what the dust!? What happened to you, K? It wasn't Cardin, was it? If he did this…" Lilac eyes flashed red for a moment.

The gunslinger merely muttered, "Glynda happened," before dumping her bag at the foot of her bed and collapsing face down into the mattress. She was perfectly content to go to sleep then and there, but something pulled on her shoulder. Kass briefly fought the attempt to keep her from rest before giving up and rising to a seated position.

Yang scrutinized her face, before softening slightly. "Alright, none of this looks too bad. That eye's the big problem, don't want it swelling shut. Hey Weiss, can you get me an ice pack real quick?" A quick flick of the Schnee's wrist, and her Semblance had created perfectly shaped ice cubes to fold into a cloth. Kassidy took the proffered bundle while her partner continued her interrogation. "You said Professor Goodwitch did this?"

"Yup." Flopping back down on the bed, she was ready to try for sleep again when something landed on her face. Picking up the offending garments, she saw that Ruby had tossed her sleepwear over.

"You look like you could do with a nice, hot shower. And getting more comfortable."

"I was trying to get more comfortable when you chucked these at me." Having realized a while ago that arguing with both sisters at the same time was hopeless, Kass begrudgingly got up from the bed and trudged over to the bathroom. After a shower and slipping into the admittedly quite comfortable sweatpants and nightshirt, she trudged back out and beelined for her bed. Her three teammates were gathered by Weiss' bed, who decided to restart the conversation.

"You never did tell us what your extra training with Professor Goodwitch entailed."

"She's trying to teach me how to swordfight." Sitting back down and replacing the ice pack, she added, "Emphasis on trying. Really, all we've managed to do so far is convince me that I'm right to focus on my marksmanship."

Ruby let out a hum in thought. "There's more than one way to swordfight. Or maybe a sword isn't what you'd be best with?"

"That's what we spent most of Monday on. We went down to the storage armory and she got to hit me with a bunch of different things. We eventually settled on this cavalry saber looking deal." Finally collapsing back in her bed, she finished the conversation. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to try and sleep this off."

"Don't you still need to do the reading for Oobleck's class?" Weiss was referring to the attack on Fort Castle that they'd be going over in history tomorrow.

"I'll get it with my workout tomorrow. Bob, set a reminder."

"Reminder set."

* * *

 _Kassidy woke up with some aches and pains, but not nearly as many as she had gone to sleep with. That was when she realized that she wasn't in her bed. Opening her eyes and looking around, she saw she wasn't even at Beacon anymore, but rather inside a cave of some sort. She was glad to see that her rifle and backpack were both right next to her… but was it just her, or did they get significantly bigger? She was about to ask Bob what was up, but faltered when she failed to tap the earpiece that almost never left its perch. Digging around in her bag, she panicked when she saw that her companion was completely missing. Looking around in case she had left him outside her bag, the gunslinger couldn't help but feel this was all incredibly familiar._

" _Looking for something, Kass?" The voice to her left made her jump and bring her rifle up. Her aim lowered, however, at the face looking back at her, a face that should have been long dead. "What's the matter? You look like you just saw a ghost."_

 _Shaking to clear her head of whatever the hell was muddling her thought process, she answered, "Just a bad dream." She had a sneaking suspicion she was in one right now, but the full realization eluded her._

" _Thinking about the old man again?" She nodded, if only to get the boy standing a ways away to elaborate on his own thought process. "I can't stop thinking about him myself."_

" _Those bastards didn't even leave us anything to bury." Kassidy hadn't even realized she said it before the words were already out._

" _Yeah, well you know how he was. Never wanted to be buried, just wanted to be free to drift the world. Guess he's doing that right now."_

" _Yeah." Absentmindedly throwing her gear together, her senses were screaming at her that not only was this incredibly familiar, but something was very wrong. "Think we should probably get moving? Don't think we're gonna be safe here much longer."_

" _You sure?" After realizing what he said, the boy facepalmed. "Why am I asking you? You're the smart one."_

" _You're no slouch in that department either." Walking over to a pool of water nearby, she added, "Besides, I need to compensate somehow for being the runt." She wasn't sure what made her say those things. Standing over the reflective surface, she gasped at what she saw. It turns out her backpack and rifle hadn't grown, she shrank. She eliminated the possibility of the water playing tricks on her eyes. She had definitely lost a foot from her height, and with it about thirty pounds. Most of the scars she'd become familiar with were missing, and in general she looked like she couldn't have been older than ten or eleven years old._

" _What, see something you don't like?" The boy wandered next to her. "Look, I know things have been rough. But we're almost to the state border. Once we're out of Louisiana, things should get easier."_

 _The boy and girl started to leave the safety of the cave. It was pretty perilous up here, a narrow ledge the only thing connecting them to the cliff face, and a several hundred foot fall if there was a misstep. The driving rain didn't help matters. However, a slip wasn't the complication that was waiting for those two. Just as they stepped onto less perilous ground, a chunk of the cliff right next to the boy's head exploded._

" _Sniper!" he yelled, and she hit the deck with him. Kassidy started scanning the treeline for signs of the assassin, while her companion crept forward to get behind a boulder that would block line of sight. Looking back to the boy to make sure it was safe to move, she saw a bush rustle a distance further. She was shooting at it before she realized it probably meant that a man was coming out of it, but sure enough the man in question pitched forward and faceplanted into the dirt. If only she could clear her head of whatever was making it hard to think. For now, more men were coming, and the two kids had to run. The run was cut short when the boy slipped on loose gravel made even more hazardous by the rain. Kassidy diving to the edge and grabbing his arm was the only reason he hadn't fallen to his death._

 _Suddenly, the fog cleared from her mind. Kassidy knew exactly where she was. More importantly, she knew exactly when she was. She tried desperately to pull the heavier child up to her, but her weaker body wasn't up to the task. Pulling and pulling, the gunslinger watched in horror at the inevitable. How many times had she seen this scene play out in her mind? She lost count years ago. She hadn't had the nightmares in months, though; she thought that she was finally rid of them. Why was she watching this now?_

 _The boy's chest exploded, a sniper round plowing through his torso. His eyes glazed over, and his grip weakened. Kassidy could do nothing but scream as he fell to his death._

* * *

"Kassidy, wake up!"

The shouting in her face made her shoot her eyes open. Yang was hanging onto her for dear life, pinning her arms to her sides. A restraining glyph was around her hand, which seemed odd at first. Then she noticed that she had drawn her pistol, knuckles bone white from gripping it so hard, and was unknowingly about to shoot whatever was in front of her. That thing in front of her was Ruby, silver eyes wide with terror.

Taking giant gulps of air, her tear streaked face stung as she tried to get herself to calm down. After being convinced that she wasn't going to shoot anyone on accident, Weiss dropped the glyph. Yang reluctantly let go, and Kass threw her head back onto her pillow and buried her face in her hands.

"Shit… I thought I was done with those."

"Done with what?" Ruby stammered. All three of her teammates were too scared to even be angry that they had been woken up in the middle of the night by the blonde screaming bloody murder.

The gunslinger decided she was done with sleep. "What time is it?"

Weiss answered curtly, "Three thirty."

Kass took a few seconds to breathe. "Alright. I can work with that. Another hour on my workout won't kill me." Grabbing her backpack, she was about to head out the door when Yang's question stopped her in her tracks.

"Who's Matthew?"

Kassidy very slowly turned around and glared at her partner, as though simply saying the name was the deepest and most offensive sin possible. "Don't ask."


	23. V1C22: Jaunedice

**Chapter 22: Jaunedice**

 **AN: First things first, pairings/ships. Those just got brought up, so I kinda have to address it. Keeping a long story short, yes they'll happen, but not for a while. However, I will be more than happy to continue teasing them to Kassidy's chagrin, as I've already done a couple times. And no, I'm not saying who's being paired, I want to see what you guys come up with. Also because teasing is fun.**

 **Secondly, Meet the Brawler will get its revision and rename with the next upload. Also on that note, the Introduction fricken finally got its update. With that change, I've gone through a bunch of the chapters to make minor edits to retain consistency. Consistency's a big deal for me, so I like making sure it's kept to the letter. And for those of you who don't like this one either… I gotta admit, I couldn't really think of a way to make it up to my liking either. But I've spent enough time on it, that it hits all the major points I want it to hit and I'm calling it good enough.**

 **Also, holy crap five thousands views, guys. And forty follows. I'd like to think these are signs that I'm doing something right. So glad so many people are regularly enjoying the work that I put out.**

 **In this chapter, Kassidy has a pretty shit day, and ends it in one of the worst ways possible for a depressed someone to end a shit day.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

Her day started crappy, and it just kept getting worse. It's been an hour since she woke up; her usual workout would start now on a normal day. Almost falling off the treadmill, she eventually got it turned off and sat on a nearby bench. Fifty four minutes of a seventeen mile an hour sprint had left her spent. Her legs felt like lead, and her lungs were on fire. But it wasn't enough for Kassidy.

Bob had figured out how to turn her school textbooks into audiobooks, so her workouts were usually spent listening to the readings she was supposed to do through her earpiece. Sure, she got through the history reading she sorely needed to catch up on. But after moving to Grimm Studies, her mind betrayed her as it went back to her nightmare. She had snarled and turned the volume up, but it wouldn't go away. Instead, it turned to other memories, other nightmares. To others that she'd watched die, that she'd killed, that she'd failed to save. Shaking her head furiously, Kass tried to focus on the results of her run. She got her speed bumped up another mile an hour, and held the sprint for three minutes longer, compared to when she started at Beacon. She was getting faster.

 _Not fast enough._

Another snarl, and the gunslinger pushed her palms into her eyes. The weight machines… her muscles didn't like getting bigger, they never did. She might have put twice as much work in as anyone else, but her muscles seemed to need ten times as much work to get the same strength. Still, slowly, she was getting stronger.

 _Not strong enough._

She hit the back of her head against the bench. Her eyes fell upon the punching bag. All the extra training with her team, and this week with Glynda, had their dividends as well. From what she knew of biology, when a bone breaks it heals stronger than when it got broken. With broken bones of some kind becoming a near-daily occurrence, she could already feel her body adapting to the new circumstances it found itself in. She might not have aura, but the biological impossibility that was her sack of flesh had its own ways of adapting. Of getting tougher.

 _Not tough enough._

The gunslinger let out a cry, a maddening yell for nobody to hear. She knew that her mental state wasn't the best. One didn't simply see the things she saw, do the things she did, and come out of it in one piece. And it always got worse with the nightmares. But this? Things have never started this badly. And they only ever got worse. _C'mon, girl! You're a Smith! Don't forget how Dad raised you! You're better than this! You're better than –_

 _Not good enough._

Feral eyes returned to the punching bag. Standing up, she walked over without bothering to wrap her hands, knowing full well what the rough leather would do to them. If adrenaline or exhaustion couldn't let her forget, maybe pain would.

Twenty minutes in, and her knuckles were a bloody mess. Flesh was shredded. Bone was starting to show through on a couple of the fingers. But she didn't care. Kassidy could still hear them as they tried to kill her. Could see their eyes roll back and their final twitches cease as they died. Her face was a mess, soaked in sweat and tears, mouth at this point contorted into a semi-permanent snarl. Suddenly, a hand manifested on her shoulder. Not knowing who it was, she turned around and swung and whoever dared interrupt her little masochistic display.

"Kassidy! Are you alright?" Emerald eyes under a red ponytail were full of worry. She'd just swung for Pyrrha Nikos' face, the champion's swift reaction the only thing keeping the fist from impacting.

The gunslinger sighed heavily. Now she was really tired, and for some reason she couldn't figure out why. She glanced at a clock on the wall before replying, "Five o' clock. You're here earlier than usual."

Pyrrha shook her head. "Some screaming woke me up this morning. I laid around for a little while, but couldn't get back to sleep." The Mistralian champion walked over to the first aid kit kept on the wall. "You need to stop going so hard. You can't just keep putting your body through this kind of punishment. It's going to give up on you sooner or later."

"Now you're sounding like Bob."

"Great minds think alike." Returning with some gauze, tape, and antiseptic solution, she was about to start on the bandages before Kass ripped them out of her hands.

"I know how to treat a wound. Lord knows how many times I've had to do it." Nikos almost looked hurt, but then she just nodded and took to her usual treadmill. Kassidy decided to change the subject. "How's Jaune been doing? He seemed really out of it after that duel with Cardin."

Pyrrha shook her head. "He was still taking it pretty badly before we went down for the night. Poor guy, he tries so hard. One of the things that makes him a good leader. He never gives up. Never will give up."

 _Need to keep this conversation going. Letting me think straight for once._ "Work ethic is a good start. But it can only get a person so far." Looking up from the impromptu patch job on her hands, she continued. "I've been spending a ton of extra time training with Yang and Glynda recently. Helped out a lot. Been getting new skills. Yang taught me how to punch without breaking my fist every time."

Nikos stopped running and looked up. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that some extra training would help Jaune a lot, and he happens to be partnered with the best fighter in the school." Pyrrha blushed, which Kassidy rolled her eyes at. "Oh, quit acting so humble. It's true. Honestly, I'd offer to teach him myself, but I'm pretty sure that's the definition of 'the blind leading the blind'. High quality anti-training right there."

The champion bust out into laughter, loud and clear. It took her a minute to fully calm down. "I'm sorry, Kass, the way you said that was too funny. Still… you're right, he could use the help, and I'm in a better position to help him than anyone else." Stepping off the treadmill, Nikos walked over and stood in front of her. "I'll talk to him tonight, then. Thanks for the idea."

Suddenly, the gunslinger found herself in a hug, and Pyrrha was far more somber and concerned. "What about you, though? You're not alright, and don't even try to tell me that you are. We've spent enough time working out together that I know a bit about you, how you react." Emerald eyes looked up into hazel. "I know it was you that was screaming."

Kassidy pushed the redhead to arm's length and kept her hands on her shoulders. "I can handle it. I can take care of myself. Been doing it long enough I better know how." Breaking the contact and picking up her bag, the blonde walked out of the room.

* * *

"Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated for your faunus heritage?" A number of hands shot up. As per usual, Oobleck's history class was interesting, although Jaune was somehow still finding a way to sleep through it. Kassidy paid attention with almost manic zeal. She felt she was slowly losing her mind whenever she didn't have anything to focus on. Noticing a few hands raise, the gunslinger thought for a moment. _Don't see what the big deal is myself. So they have extra body parts. Whoop-de-freakin'-do._ She shook her head, not wanting her mind to drift off again.

"Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war?"

"The Battle of Fort Castle." Weiss was proud as ever to show off her knowledge.

"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

"Hey!" She looked over, and Jaune was rubbing his head. Cardin's snickers made the source painfully obvious. _I do not have the time nor the patience to deal with your bullshit today, Cardin._

"Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent, excellent! What is the answer?"

Jaune stalled while looking around. Next to the gunslinger, Pyrrha was making motions regarding night vision. "Um, binoculars!"

Oobleck shook his head disappointingly. "Very funny Mr. Arc. Cardin! Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject?"

The local bully didn't miss a beat. "Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier."

Kassidy couldn't contain herself anymore. Pyrrha looked like she was about to rebuke him, but Kass beat her to the punch. "You're a special kind of idiot, you know that Cardin?"

"What, you got a problem?"

"Yeah, I'm allergic to stupidity." The gunslinger counted on her fingers. "First off, the Faunus are not animals. You'd do well to remember that." He growled, but she continued. "Secondly, have you tried training an animal? Sentient beings are much easier to work with. And thirdly, the advantage the faunus had was night vision."

"Many faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark." Pyrrha came in for the save. _Crap, forgot about that part. Thought they had goggles or something._ "General Lagune was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the General was captured. Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." The redhead ended with a smirk at Cardin.

"Mr. Winchester, please take your seat." Oobleck again shook his head disappointingly at the bully after he got up to deal with the two girls physically. "You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings."

* * *

 _It's official. Today couldn't have been any worse if I had tried. At least it's all over now._ The day had been a complete trainwreck. After history, Kassidy couldn't seem to focus her mind on anything. She got in a huge argument with Weiss at the lunch table which killed the mood for everyone. Glynda had decided today was a great day for another duel, this time putting her against Sky Lark. It had been a brutal, bloody affair, but after eight minutes she eventually came out on top _._ Ever since combat training, she was on a short fuse. She got into two more arguments with Weiss during team training, and another one with Yang, before eventually Ruby called the whole thing off early.

What led her to her current location, however, was Glynda contacting her to say that the evening practice had to be cancelled due to work. Kass understood, of course. And she didn't mind, she needed to make a trip to Vale anyway. Currently, she was on the roof of Beacon. Night had fallen, and the broken moon, perpetually in a full moon phase it seemed, lit up the shingles. She took the last sip out of a drink she brought up with her, and then set it aside to open up a second. A cool breeze and a beautiful night sky. For the first time all week, she relaxed. Her head had stopped trying to argue with her for the time being. She felt like she could stay up here forever.

Some voices a short ways away interrupted her reverie. She tried ignoring them for a little bit; maybe they were just students out to enjoy the night as well. But then they kept talking, voices getting louder. Sour mood and short fuse returning, she resolved to chase off whatever kids had ruined the peace and quiet. Making her way across the roof, and stumbling more than once on the uneven shingles, she was about to yell at them when she heard something that made her freeze.

"I didn't earn my spot at this academy. I lied. I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied."

Peeking around from a section of roof, she could see Pyrrha and Jaune on a flat portion that she regretted not seeing earlier. Deciding that they could serve as her entertainment for the night, Kassidy listened to the blonde spill his guts out before he chased Nikos off. Chuckling sadly, she was about to talk to him before she noticed Cardin climb up out of his window and join Jaune before summarily blackmailing him. Her blood boiled, but she decided to wait it out for a while longer.

Eventually, Winchester climbed back down to his room while Arc was on the ground. Confident nobody else was coming up, she chose this moment to strike. "Well, that didn't go very well." Jaune's eyes tried to bulge out of their sockets, and she had to raise a hand to quell his stammering. "Relax. I'm not here to blackmail you."

He took a few deep breaths, before getting up to his feet. "Phew, thank Oum. But, uh… how much did you hear?"

"All of it." He cringed, which she rolled her eyes at. "Don't get like that. Your secret's safe with me. I'm in no position to judge."

"Uh, what do you mean by that?"

Something in the back of her mind told her that this wasn't the best conversation to have, but she didn't feel like she cared. "Because Ozpin more or less let me in on a hunch. On some sort of social experiment." He was about to ask a question, but she beat him to it. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the nicest person around. I'm not exactly all there, either. Hell, especially not today."

"Yeah, what's been up with you today? You've been acting really weirdly."

"Not talking about it."

"Oh, okay." He rubbed at his arm. "So, what're you doing up here?"

"Figured I'd enjoy the night. Was actually further back on the roof, but then you and Pyrrha came up making a bunch of noise. Initially came over to chase you two off."

"Ah, right." He walked over to where she was on the roof. "So, how's things going with – " He stopped suddenly as he stood next to her, and sniffed the air.

"How's things going with what?"

The question seemed to snap him out of his trance. He stared at her like she had a third eye growing out of her head. "Kassidy, is that alcohol?"

The gunslinger took another drink, and then looked at the amber glass bottle. "Maybe." She regarded the guy next to her. "I'm not giving you any, if that's what you want."

"No, it's not that, it's…" Jaune was at a genuine loss for words. "I mean, why?"

She sighed. "Because sleeping pills don't work." She took another drink. "And also because I need to forget."

He scuffed his shoe on the rooftop. "You know booze doesn't help with that, right?"

"You've obviously never tried it before. It works short term. I only need short term to get sleep." She decided to change the subject. "Ever feel like you're in over your head?"

Arc gave her a funny look. "You said you heard everything, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then you already know that I always feel like I'm in over my head."

"Yeah, I guess." Taking another drink, "But still. You can get better. You have an aura, you can do all this ridiculous crap because you have some scientifically impossible soul wizardry making you faster and stronger and tougher than a person has any right to be." Another drink. "As for me, I'm just running around hoping I packed enough ammo and nobody decided to break the laws of physics more than necessary."

"Oh c'mon, give yourself more credit than that." Jaune waved his hand. "I mean, you're so good. Nobody can touch you in ranged weaponry, and you're getting better in hand to hand. All I've got over you is my aura."

"And that's all you need." She took another drink and stabbed a finger in his chest. "You already have everything you need. Once you have the aura, everything else is a piece of cake. Sure, you need to spend some time in the gym, and you need to work on your swordsmanship, but still. That's the easy part." Another drink, and she stabbed her thumb at herself. "Me? I'm about as good as I'm going to get. My rifle has limits, I'm not getting any stronger, and I've already pushed human reaction and endurance to their limits. I've got nowhere else to go." Another drink, a sigh. "Sometimes, I feel like it's so fucking pointless."

The two stood in silence for a while before Jaune dismissed himself and scurried on inside. She took her time finishing her current drink, looking at how pretty Beacon Tower looked against the night sky. She had left Bob in the dorms so she wouldn't have to talk to him. He'd tried calling her Scroll, of course, but she ignored it. Maybe she should've brought him up here to take a picture, though. The tower in the distance, the moon off to the left. _It needs to be framed_.

"Is that really how you feel?"

Kassidy jumped, and her heart froze when she turned around. Standing behind her was the one person she absolutely did not want to deal with tonight.


	24. V1C23: Molotov Cocktail

**Chapter 23: Molotov Cocktail**

 **AN: So I started writing this the instant I was finished with the previous chapter, and really the only reason I didn't publish both of them at the same time was an exam the next day. I don't know if it makes me a bad person to be so eager to get this part of the story out, but so be it. Also, "Meet the Brawler" got its revision, having now been renamed to "The Trick About Punching."  
**

 **In this installment, today was a far, far bigger issue than Kassidy recognized. Yang's left to pick up the pieces from her partner's actions, and then they need to have a little talk.**

* * *

(Perspective: Y)

Ruby and Weiss burst into the room before she did. Her little sister darted to get some sleepwear, then into the bathroom to change, then was out and in her bed before the front door even had time to close. Weiss sat at her desk, got out a notebook to study, and then just stared dumbly at it, as if she somehow forgot that she needed a pencil to write anything. Yang sighed and dropped her book bag off at her desk. Climbing into her own bunk, she dug out her scroll and was about to start up her fighting game before she decided she wasn't in the mood. Flopping back, she thought about the day's primary antagonist.

Today was so infuriating for everyone involved. Whatever nightmare Kassidy had this morning, it seemed like it broke her. None of them could get back to sleep after she left; whenever they tried, her blood-curdling screams came back to haunt them. When the three of them failed to find Kassidy at breakfast with Juniper, Pyrrha told them of how she found the blonde in the training room, fists completely shredded, screaming incoherently at a punching bag. When they got to class, not only were the bloodied, bandaged appendages obvious, what was also obvious was Kass twitching so much Yang was afraid she'd break into a seizure.

When history came around and the gunslinger argued with Cardin in front of the whole class, Yang could see the telltale glint in her eye, the way her legs curled. Kassidy was waiting – no, she was hoping – for a fight. A fight that she got a lunchtime, as she blew up at Nora thanking Jaune for help with homework last night. She and Weiss practically had to be drug apart before the gunslinger stormed off. And the actual fight…

Yang didn't want to think about the duel. It was bad enough. Everyone knew that Kassidy didn't have an aura, but that Lark kid didn't seem to care. Everyone gasped when he snapped her neck, leaving her head facing mostly backwards. But there was a louder gasp when she reached up, grabbed the sides of her head, and snapped it back in place. And then she slammed his face into a pillar. Over and over again, past the red, past where his aura shattered, breaking his nose before Glynda finally separated her from the boy. Everyone knew Kass could be terrifying in a fight, but that? She could give a Grimm a run for its money.

Her partner never showed up for dinner. She just vanished after team training, which was easily the worst part of today. Sure, Weiss probably didn't help by antagonizing her, but it doesn't change the fact that Kassidy nearly shot the heiress. Yang had to step in and try to slap some sense into her partner, almost literally. Ruby called off the training at that point, thank Oum, but not before the brawler caught an emotion in Kass' eyes that she'd never seen before: fear.

Paranoia aside, Kassidy was never afraid. She wasn't afraid when she was fighting her classmates, she wasn't afraid when she tore apart CRDL a week and a half ago, and she wasn't afraid when she decided to take a solo run through a thoroughly infested Emerald Forest. Her partner was one of the strongest people she knew mentally speaking, always willing to do whatever it took no matter what it entailed.

Which is why Yang couldn't allow a repeat of today. After every single class, the professors stopped her to ask if her partner was alright. Well, all of them except Goodwitch, who basically threatened her to not let it happen again. Not a single word had been said at the dinner table after their greetings; even Nora didn't feel like telling a story.

"Yang?" Ruby called to her from her bunk with a broken voice. The blonde instantly dashed over to see that Ruby had been crying. "I'm scared." _She did NOT make my little sister cry…_

"Yup, that settles it." She stroked her sister's hair, but Yang's voice had pure venom in it. "Me and Kassidy are going to be having a nice, long talk tonight. Probably followed by me beating some sense into her."

"No, no, no!" Ruby's eyes went wide, and she sat up swinging her arms wildly. "I'm not scared by Kass. I'm scared for her." The brawler's head tilted to the side, which prompted the black-haired girl to explain. "She's hurting real bad, Yang. She's hurting bad, and I can't figure out how to make her stop hurting. Which is making me sad, because I'm the team leader, y'know? It's supposed to be my job to help you guys, but I can't think of anything to help her." Her sister's heartfelt plea absolutely broke Yang's heart. But she knew that Ruby had indeed figured out a way to help the gunslinger. As if to confirm that, the youngest member of the team looked her in the eyes. "Do you think… do you think you could talk to her? Like you do for me?"

It was at this point that Bob made some kind of beeping noise. Yang and Ruby practically fell from her bed; nobody had known Bob was still in the room with them. _The hell? Kassidy doesn't go anywhere without Bob._

"What are you still doing here, Bob? Did Kassidy forget you?"

"She didn't forget me, she dumped me off and left me behind while she went to Vale."

"Wait, what?" Yang jumped down to the floor. "What could possibly possess her to leave you behind? You're practically welded to her back half the time."

"I'm not sure. I haven't been able to get a signal from her iris cam, so I can't see what's – hang on, the signal just came through." A few tense seconds passed before the computer spoke back up. "For the love of – Kassidy, you Java-damned idiot. Not this again. Yang, can I ask you for a favor?"

"What's wrong?" The brawler was feeling incredibly uneasy with what Bob was saying.

"Can you go up to the roof and bring her back down before she does something truly moronic?"

"What's she doing on the roof?" Ruby was innocently inquisitive as ever, while Yang was panicking that her partner had turned suicidal.

"She's not suicidal, Yang." The artificial intelligence seemed like he could read minds sometimes, a possibility that wouldn't honestly surprise her. "You'll see. Just try not to be too hard on her, please? She's had a bad enough day as it is, and she's going out of her way to make it worse right now."

That was all the explanation she needed. Dashing through the halls and finding a door to the roof, she climbed up onto the shingles. Hearing voices a little ways away, she started clambering across as quickly as she could, before freezing when she recognized Jaune's voice.

"Kassidy, is that alcohol?" Yang's heart dropped, silently pleading that her partner would refute the boy's claim.

"Maybe. I'm not giving you any, if that's what you want."

Yang ducked behind a section of the roof where she couldn't be heard and tried to get her ducks in a row. Kassidy had turned to alcoholism? Trying to drown her fear or pain or whatever made her a nightmare today in the bottom of a bottle? This was bad, real bad. Trying to force herself not to panic, she listened to the rest of the conversation, about Kass talking with Jaune about how in over her head she felt.

 _Alright, this just got a whole lot worse than I thought it was. Is Kassidy not sure on becoming a Huntress? But she's been doing so well for someone who didn't have an aura. Dust, she's a better fighter than a couple of the kids with aura._ She leaned her head back against the shingles and tried to think. Yang wasn't a counselor. She liked solving problems head on, tackling them and pummeling them into submission. _Well, why wouldn't that work here? She's been running or hiding or drinking away her problems all day. Maybe facing the music will do some good._ Satisfied with her half-thought-through plan, the brawler realized that the conversation had died, and Jaune had left.

Getting up, she walked over and decided now was the time to strike. "Is that really how you feel?" Her partner jumped and bugged out at her, before facepalming.

"Bob sent you, didn't he? Shoulda known he'd try something like that." There was the slightest slur to her voice, but other than that and the empty bottle she was holding there wasn't a whole lot of evidence that she'd been drinking. "How much did you hear?"

"Come on over here with me. Let's talk about it." Not waiting for the gunslinger to have a say in the matter, Yang grabbed her free wrist and drug her up to the roof. Kass eventually took lead, and brought her over to a part of the roof where her gigantic hiking backpack was resting. Next to it on the ground was a six-pack of beer, with two missing bottles. Slumping on the roof, Kassidy reached over and opened another. Yang decided to start the conversation with the obvious question. "How much have you had to drink?"

"Not enough." After eyeing the look she was giving her, Kassidy apparently realized that answer wasn't going to cut it. "This is the third."

"And how old are you, really?" Oddly enough, none of the team had been able to get a straight answer on the matter. Bob offered no comments on her age, and Kassidy herself only muttered something about being 'around sixteen or seventeen'.

"Not old enough to drink legally, if that's what you're asking." The gunslinger took a long swig from the bottle, and Yang cringed. She'd seen this kind of drinking before. Uncle Qrow might be a drunk, but at least he was somewhat reasonable. No, this was her father's kind of drinking, the drinking he did after Summer died.

"Where'd you even get it?"

"Some prick calling himself Junior wasn't keeping a close eye on his inventory. Dunno what a guy like him is doing with that kind of name, though." Kass smirked, but the expression turned to confusion when Yang busted up laughing. "Oh c'mon, the name's not that funny. Or did I just say another pun?"

"No, it's not that." Calming down, Yang explained, "Right before I came to Beacon I went to Junior's club to try and find an old friend." She cringed putting it like that, but the brawler didn't feel like now would be a good time to tell her partner all about her first mother. "I kinda busted the place up."

"Why am I not surprised?" Kassidy took another drink, and Yang decided to confirm just how bad this had gotten.

"How long have you been up here?"

The gunslinger shrugged. "Half hour? Forty five minutes? Haven't been keeping track."

Yang's eyes bugged out. Drinking two beers in a half hour, as young as she was? Was this girl trying to kill off her liver? "Please tell me you had dinner at least."

"Nope."

"Yup, that does it. You've had enough for tonight." The brawler reached over to grab the bottle, but her partner's damned reflexes apparently hadn't been impaired as much as she thought. A hand slapped away hers.

"No I haven't."

"You're going to get horribly drunk if you keep this up!"

"That's kinda the point."

"You're seriously going to drink all six of those beers?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Her slur was starting to get more pronounced as she took another drink. "I need three 350 milliliter bottles to get the dreamless sleep I need. And yes, I did check the alcohol content before I swiped them." Yang had a look of confusion, which her partner apparently picked up on. "What, did you seriously think I'd just go randomly drinking? I'm not a drunk, I just need something to make the nightmares go away."

 _Oh…_ "Why not get sleeping pills from the infirmary then? They've got some pretty strong stuff."

"Because sleeping pills don't work. And before you ask, yes, I've tried. So I decided to do some, uh, self-medicating whenever the nightmares come back. Alcohol's been what works best, and some of it doesn't taste that bad either." She took another drink and grimaced. "This tastes like piss-water though. Shame I didn't steal anything better."

"Well I could've told you that." A moment of silence passed between them, allowing Yang time to think. _Alright, so this isn't necessarily horrible. Yeah, still need to get her to quit drinking, but she's obviously not a drunk. Hell, how many drunks have I known to precisely calculate how much alcohol they need to reach a specific state of intoxication?_

"How come you want to be a Huntress?"

The brawler was shocked by the question out of left field, but she decided to indulge her partner. "I'm a thrill-seeker. I want to travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as possible. I want to wake up not knowing what the day will hold. Plus I get to help people, so that's a big plus."

"Do you know why Ruby wants to be a Huntress?"

"She always wanted to be the hero. Yeah, she can be a bit idealistic from time to time. But still, she always had this desire, this need almost, to make the world a better place. To go around helping people and saving the day. Maybe a bit naïve, but if anyone can pull it off, it's my baby sis." Yang suspected there was a reason behind these questions. "So why do you want to be a Huntress?"

Kassidy took another drink from the bottle and didn't answer for a few seconds. "I'm not sure I want to." Yang had to pick her jaw up from off the ground, which gave her partner time to explain. "When I got here, I knew I had already gone and drawn too much attention to myself. Sitting with Ozpin, I had two options: try and fight my way out, or go with his little experiment. The answer was fairly obvious at the time." Another drink. "This place is great, don't get me wrong. But it's quite obviously not for people like me."

"People like you?" There wasn't anything accusatory in Yang's voice, nothing hostile. Just simple curiosity. Her partner needed someone to vent to, so she decided to be the vent.

"C'mon, don't even try to pretend that I belong here. I don't have an aura, I don't have this awesome transforming weapon. I have near-death experiences on a weekly basis at this point. I'd be willing to put money on not making it through this semester alive. Even if I do, this job we're signing up for doesn't exactly have a high life expectancy. I'm going to get myself killed, and for what?"

"Maybe it's to help society." Of course that was the answer, but Yang decided to just lead her partner into it.

Kassidy didn't take that for an answer, however. "Society?" she scoffed. "What do I owe them? All society's ever done is try to kill me."

 _I think we're getting somewhere._ "What do you mean?"

The gunslinger sighed. "My dad was a war hero. When Russia tried invading Europe, it was his squad that was dropped in ahead of the main force and held the line at the Rhone. Everybody loved him. And then, six short years later, the public that loved him threw him under the bus. His own commanding officer ordered his execution, along with mine. Our friends were the first people to try and kill us."

She went to take another drink, but Yang decided she definitely had enough. Making another reach for the bottle, Kassidy's reflexes seemed to have been dulled down by the alcohol. She was as fast as ever, but the hand that was going to intercept hers missed. Yang snatched the bottle out of her hands and quickly chugged down the last third of it herself. Kass looked at her incredulously. Yang simply told her, "You've had enough to drink for tonight. Don't even try to go for one of those other three."

Her partner scoffed. "Of course not, I need those three for tomorrow." The gunslinger then glared at her. "If I wake you guys up tonight screaming, don't expect me to have any sympathy for you." Yang and Kassidy sat for a while, not talking, not doing anything, just looking at the night sky. It was actually pretty nice, the booze toning her partner down and making her actually relax for a change.

"Real nice night out. I can see why you came up here."

"Hmm." When they made eye contact again, Kassidy's eyes had glassed over, and her voice was definitely slurred. Yang recognized that the rest of the beer she had drank was making its way into her system. She needed to get one last bit of information out of her partner before reasonable conversation was truly impossible.

"You still haven't said who Matthew is."

"Shut up." The mood changed instantly. The gunslinger glowered at her partner, as though she could intimidate Yang into dropping the topic. The brawler chuckled to herself internally. Nobody stared her down, she stared others down.

"Look, whatever's going on in that super smart head of yours, this Matthew guy is obviously pretty important."

"I said shut up."

"You need to say something about it, or it'll tear you apart. Trust me, I know. So c'mon, why's Matthew so important?"

"Because I failed!" Yang flinched from how loudly her partner had just roared. Kassidy instantly quieted down, barely louder than a whisper. "I wasn't strong enough. He was always strong for me, but I wasn't able to be strong for him. I failed, and he died." She chucked the empty bottle next to her across the roof, where it shattered against some shingles. "There, you happy?"

 _Of course not!_ Whoever this Matthew was, he was obviously important to her. Her dad, maybe? Important enough that the mere memory of him dropped her into hysterics. Still, it was getting late. "Think it's about time we head back in?"

Kassidy tried, and failed, to stand up. Yang shook her head with a smile, and helped her partner up while grabbing her bag with the other hand. She decide to leave the six-pack behind, and was about to set off when Kass started gazing around.

"Looking for something?"

Her partner looked at her, and with as much sincerity as possible for a horribly drunk teenage girl to have, asked, "Do you know which window is ours? I don't think it'd be wise for me to be in the halls any longer than necessary."

The brawler could only chuckle. "No, we're not crawling through a window. C'mon, I know a shortcut."

A short walk, and a brief fight with her Scroll, saw the two blondes stumble into their dorm. Ruby and Weiss were both ready for bed but still up, and their heads snapped up at their entry. Weiss was the first to ask, "What is the meaning of this? And what is that smell?"

"She went and got herself drunk off her rear." Deciding not to swear in front of her sister, Yang dropped the pack and got Kassidy into her bed. Honestly, she probably could've dropped her partner too, considering she started snoring the instant she hit the mattress. She looked at the time – ten fifteen – and went to go collect Bob. "I'll deal with her in the morning. Don't wait up for me, I have an errand to run."

After leaving the dorm again, the gigantic tablet in her hands spoke back up. "May I ask what this errand would entail, and why it involves me?"

"You have a recording of my little talk with her, right?"

"Obviously."

"Good. Call Professor Ozpin."

"Any reason you couldn't do it with your Scroll?"

"My Scroll can't get past the do not disturb feature. I know what time it is."

"This is going to end badly. Don't say I didn't warn you." Nevertheless, Bob wasted no time in getting the Headmaster on the line, who curiously answered almost immediately.

"Kassidy, I wasn't aware you'd still be up. Is there a problem?"

"Professor Ozpin, this is Yang. And yes, there is a problem. With Kassidy. Can we talk?"

"Of course, come on up to my office. May I ask what the problem is?"

"That'll need me to be there, but for now… I don't think it's my help she needs right now."


	25. V1C24: Search and Rescue

**Chapter 24: Search and Rescue**

 **AN: Short and sweet author's note this time. This is the last dark one before we move on to some more fun chapters. Time for the Wizard of Oz to make a reappearance, while Kassidy figures out why exactly she wants to be a Huntress. Also, insert Volume 4 hype here. We'll be throwing a party to celebrate.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

Kassidy trudged through the corridors on her way to the combat training classroom. Today had been… odd, to put it mildly. _I didn't have any nightmares at least. Killer morning though: two brains, two hangovers. And then there's the fact that Yang tried babying me all day like I'm incompetent or something. Really, don't know what everyone's started with coddling me for._ Shaking her head, the gunslinger just now started to clear out a haze she's been in all day. Everything seemed like it was fuzzy, almost like being filtered through a sponge. At least Goodwitch didn't make her fight a duel today, though she more than made up for it by having her train against Pyrrha for most of the period. Reaching the doors to the classroom, Kass only took a moment to clear the final cobwebs out of her head before stepping inside.

"Right on time. Glynda did say you were a rather scheduled person." _That's not Professor Goodwitch…_

"Professor Ozpin. This is a surprise." She was about to walk over to join him in the middle of the room when he raised his hand and strode over to meet her.

"Good, I was hoping as such. Before you ask, no, we will not be doing one of your regular training sessions tonight. If you could follow me." With that, the two started making their way across campus. They walked for a little bit before Ozpin resumed the conversation.

"I've been talking with Yang and Bob recently." Kassidy sweatdropped at that mention. "Apparently you're going through a bit of a mid-life crisis. Which is incredibly strange, considering your age," he chuckled. "I'm told that you're not sure about continuing on the path of becoming a Huntress."

"No. Well, yes. Well…" The gunslinger thought for a moment. "It's complicated."

"Then by all means, take your time. We do have a bit of a flight ahead of us."

"Great, I forgot to pack my barf bags. May I ask where we're going?"

"I have a stop I need to make in town, and then I was hoping we could do a bit of extra training for you." Finding a Bullhead already waiting for the two of them on the tarmac, they climbed inside and the craft took off. "Now, I believe you were talking about a complicated situation?"

A tense silence hovered over them for a few minutes. "It's just… I'm not Huntress material. That's pretty obvious." Kass sighed and looked at the opposite wall. "Don't get me wrong, I'm appreciating the opportunity I have. But what am I supposed to do? I'm not getting any better. I'm already as good a shot as I'm going to get, I've already pushed human reactions and endurance to their limits, my body is absolutely refusing to get any stronger for some reason. And bless Glynda, she's trying to teach me how to fight with a melee weapon, but I think we've both recognized that's just an exercise in futility."

"You're afraid you won't measure up to the standards of a Huntress?"

"That's only part of it. The standards are there because of what we have to deal with, what we have to be able to do to deal with the situations we find ourselves in. I mean, the first time I did anything Huntress-related, I failed to stop a criminal and wound up with shrapnel in my gut for my troubles. Then I got my ankle shattered and my shoulder dislocated. And then…" Kassidy shuddered. "That was way too close. If I see a situation going south, I can't just ignore it. But what can I do? Back where I came from, I couldn't do anything and that was before everyone and their mothers had superpowers. Now? I'm about as useless as a fart in an air conditioner."

"Is that so? Well, I would most certainly hope not. It'd be a shame if I brought you out here only to discover I brought the wrong person for the job."

Kassidy looked at him incredulously. "The job?"

"Indeed. Hmm, it appears we've arrived at our destination." True to his words, their Bullhead landed and dropped them off. The professor and pupil departed to find themselves at the edge of the Emerald Forest nearest to Vale, right outside what appeared to be a temporary headquarters of some kind. A man in a militia uniform came up to greet them.

"Glad you could make it so quickly, sir. Is this your specialist?"

"She is the woman for the job, if her abilities are anything to go by." The gunslinger looked at the two of them, silently asking the obvious question. The militiaman shook her hand.

"Sergeant Barnes, Vale Militia. We've got someone lost in the Emerald Forest. A little girl went missing about two hours back." Her eyes went wide at that. "When we asked Ozpin for help, he said he'd be right over with the best tracker he could find. You're it?"

"I might know my way around a wilderness." She was practically panicking. A little girl, lost in a Grimm-infested forest? The gut-wrenching conversation she just had with the headmaster went out the window as her mind went into overdrive to figure out the fastest way to bring her back.

"Well, whatever we've got, it's yours."

"Have you found any tracks or a clue as to where she might have been? If I can get on her trail, we can talk over comms about the girl to get an idea about thought patterns and habits."

"Yeah, we have footprints over here. We haven't been able to follow them for more than a couple dozen feet though." The three of them went over to the prints in question. Sure enough, the trail ended a short ways later. It would be impossible for anyone who didn't know what they were doing to continue the search intelligently.

"Moss scraped off the log here. Inch and a half across. How old is she?"

"About nine."

"Yup, this is her."

"Squad two, form up here! We've got a trail!"

"Forget about it, I'll move faster solo. We're already racing the clock here." She considered dumping her bag, but then decided against it. The first aid kit might be needed, and there was no guarantee she wouldn't need extra ammo. "Are your boys fit to fight some Grimm?"

"Depends on how many."

"I don't need them to get themselves killed, just to buy some time. The girl's guaranteed to be panicking. Grimm're gonna be riled into a frenzy. The fewer monsters there are, the more time I'll have."

"I like your thinking. It'll take us a bit to get fully equipped, but as soon as they are I'll get them out there and doing some hunting."

"Professor, can you stay back and find out everything you can about the girl? The more I know about her, the better chance I have of getting to her in time."

Ozpin's mouth twitched into a satisfied grin. "I'll be sure to do that. Now hurry along, the clock is ticking after all."

Moving up to the scraped moss, she spied a bit of flattened grass. Confident that she was on the right path, Kass charged into the forest. _Too many people have died because of me. No more._

* * *

 _I. Hate. Boarbatusks._ Pushing as hard as she could against the one currently on top of her, she finally got the leverage she needed to get her arm unpinned. She reached for her knife and wasted no time burying it in its temple. Standing up, she stepped over the dissolving corpse as she worked to remember where it was headed before spotting her.

She was getting close, that much was obvious. The Grimm at this point have obliterated any actual tracks, but the beasts themselves were headed straight for her. This told the gunslinger that the girl was both still alive, as well as roughly where she was. A little bit of sprinting, and she found a pair of Beowolves tearing through the underbrush. Rather than gunning them down, she elected to follow them for a ways.

This turned out to be every bit the boon Kass hoped it was. The two stopped near the base of a tree. The girl she was supposed to find had climbed surprisingly high for her size. Dropping the Grimm with bullets to the head, Kassidy went up to the trunk. "Hey, just hang on. I'm coming up for you."

The girl turned to her, revealing a pair of ram horns sticking out of her head. The fear was obvious in her voice, but so was the relief. "C-can you help? I'm s-stuck."

She was about to start climbing the tree when a might roar sounded behind her. _Great, an Ursa. Just what I needed._ Turning around, her heart sank to find that it was a Major, big enough to tear through the tree the Faunus was on. It sank further when it started charging and she had to dive out of the way. _Well, at least she's not stuck in the tree anymore._ However, the Faunus was stuck under a branch, and the Ursa was stalking towards her. Kassidy had no chance of taking it in a straight up fight. Really, the decision was obvious.

As it reared up and roared, a ball of ice exploded on its face and froze its mouth shut. _I need to thank Weiss for making me more of these._ Dumping her backpack and rifle on the ground, she walked between the ram and the bear, drawing her knife and pistol. "Stay behind me, okay? I won't let it hurt you." The girl's eyes were wide and sparkling as she nodded.

Ice shattered, and the gunslinger turned around to see that the Ursa had clawed the substance off its face and started growling at her. She growled back, "You aren't getting anywhere near her." _Alright, to bring this girl back safely I need to take down a two and a half ton armored bear with a pistol and a knife. Eh, I've faced worse odds._ Sprinting forward, she rolled under a swipe, past its body, and came back up right next to its rear legs. Kass buried her knife into one while emptying a magazine in the other, going for tendons and ligaments. Her knife found some, and eight bullets didn't do the other leg any favors either.

Rolling back, she narrowly dodged another swipe, and found herself face to face with the demon. It lumbered after her, but was significantly slowed and obviously in pain. Dancing back from another paw, she rolled forward again to plant bullet and blade into its midsection. Unfortunately, it didn't do a whole lot. While significantly less armored than the back, its stomach was still more than thick enough to resist the smaller weapons. Kassidy tried scrambling back, but its claws came faster than she expected and left a nice gash on her right forearm.

She needed a new strategy, considering her current inability to straight up kill it. Rolling around, she returned to its flanks and put more bullets into the legs. Dodging back to the front, the gunslinger resorted to the time-honored tactic of running away. The girl was with her bag a good couple dozen feet away, and the Ursa wasn't going to be winning any footraces. Picking up her gear, she turned to the Faunus. "Hey, you ready to go?" She nodded, and Kass scooped her up and placed her on her shoulders. "See, piggyback ride. We're gonna have fun, right?"

"W-where's mommy?"

"She's back at the city. Hold on tight, okay? I'll get you to mommy." She couldn't sprint with a young girl on her shoulders, but she could still outrun an Ursa Major with eviscerated rear legs. Still, the other Grimm that were coming were a problem. Rifle not being an option, Kassidy drew her pistol, reloaded, and started shooting at the Creeps and Beowolves that were getting too close. She didn't have any hopes of killing them until they were right on top of her, but all that was needed at this point was space to run.

Space she got when, after a few minutes of running, she ran into a militia team that was in the forest. "Hey, over here!" Perking up, the squad was able to pick off the straggling Grimm that had managed to keep up.

One of them yelled out to her, "Follow us, we'll get you back."

"I won't turn down that offer."

* * *

The rest of the trip was uneventful for Kassidy. The soldiers escorting her back were quick to ensure any Grimm that took an interest were blown apart, and the girl's family took her after they got back. Presently, the gunslinger was sitting with a far too persistent nurse bandaging her arm. Ozpin had wanted to talk with Bob for some reason. As the nurse finished the patch job, the girl, her parents, and a brother walked up to her.

It was the father who spoke. "You're the one that saved our little ewe? Thank you. Our family owes you a debt it can never repay."

Kass waved her hand dismissively. "You owe me nothing. I'm just glad I got to her in time. Sorry for not bringing her back faster."

"Still, our family is whole, thanks to you. Our herd has a village not far from here. If you ever find yourself there, consider yourself our guest."

"That is most kind of you. Unfortunately, I need to bring my student back to the school. Have a pleasant evening, Mr. Emile." _And the Wizard of Oz comes in to save the day once again._

"We will now that our little ewe is back. Thank you." The Faunus family left, and Ozpin helped Kassidy to her feet before beckoning her back to the Bullhead. They were already halfway back to Beacon before the headmaster spoke up.

"Still considering yourself useless?"

"Anyone with a knowledge of tracking could've done that." The gunslinger let out a happy sigh. "Still, though, I'm glad I got to her. I don't want to think about what would've been if I brought a corpse back instead."

Ozpin decided to focus on the first point she made. "Anyone with a knowledge of tracking? You undersell yourself far too much."

"How do you mean?"

"Obviously you're aware of the many stories regarding Professor Port. I can assure you they're true. He is one of the finest experts on Grimm and the wilderness that I've ever had the pleasure to know. When I told him about how quickly you found the girl, do you know what his reaction was?"

The gunslinger perked up. "Professor Port knows about this already?"

"And Glynda. Peter was upset with the results. Do you want to know why?"

"Because I took too long, obviously." She rubbed her bandaged hand. "And I got sloppy with my fight."

"Actually, he was upset that he just got upstaged." Her eyes bugged out. "You say that you're not good enough to be a Huntress. But you could not be more wrong about the matter. Fighting is not all that we do, you know. We protect people from the evils of this world. Yes, that does often mean fighting. But you bring a unique skillset, a unique perspective that is also invaluable to a good Huntress."

While Kass pondered this, he continued. "And then there is the matter of your fight with an Ursa Major. A young woman, without an aura, the weakest in her class, and having peaked in her skills, from what you told me. But does that sound like the kind of young woman that effortlessly dances around a Grimm many times her size and cripples it?"

She held up her bandaged arm. "Effortlessly?"

He grinned. "Given the nature of some of your other injuries, I'm not terribly worried about your survival chances. Also, from what I've heard, this also ended in a far more… agreeable understanding with society than you're used to."

"You can say that again."

Ozpin leaned forward and looked her in the eye. "It is perfectly understandable for you to not fully know why you want to be a Huntress. Examining such reasons is not only encouraged, but also a goal of our curriculum. However, do not dismiss your chances simply because you perceive yourself to be weaker than your peers. And as for results, you managed to cover three miles in forty five minutes, while fighting Grimm and tracking a trail that Vale's finest could not pick up."

She shifted in her seat while he continued. "You are not useless, and I did not allow you into Beacon for a social experiment. Like everyone else, I allowed you into Beacon because I saw the potential for a fine Huntress, a guardian to protect our people." Ozpin grinned again. "And you want to prove me wrong, you're going to have to try harder than you are."

* * *

 _Another beautiful night. I should spend time on the roof more often._ Kassidy gazed at the night sky again, the moon and the tower again making for a picturesque moment. She looked down at her feet again, to three unopened bottles. The gunslinger felt better, yes, but her nightmares never gave up so easily.

"Hey, Kass. Yang said I could find you up here." Turning around, RWKY's (mostly) fearless leader was walking up to join her. "So… how are you doing?"

"Alright for now." She nudged the six pack a bit with her foot. "Weiss finally give you a break from studying?"

Ruby giggled, "Yeah, finally. You haven't been drinking, have you? Yang and Dad say that it never helps, after all."

Kassidy sighed. "Not for now, I haven't. But it does help with a very specific problem." Instantly, she whirled around and pointed a finger at the younger girl. "A problem that's specific to me, so don't go using me as an excuse to do stupid stuff."

"I won't. Bob told me about it. Are you really worried you'll have more nightmares tonight? You look really, not unhappier, I guess?"

The two girls snickered. "Yeah, I do feel better. But they never give up that easy. I don't want to put up with them anymore, and I don't want you guys to put up with me whenever I'm putting up with them."

"Ooh!" Ruby apparently had an idea. "Whenever I had nightmares, Yang and I would always read from this storybook. I even have it with me here at Beacon!"

Kass raised an eyebrow. "I appreciate the offer, but I don't think a book is going to help me."

"Sure it will! It never fails!" Ruby turned away for a second, before unleashing The Pout. "Please?"

"Ugh, I need to stop falling for that. Teaching you that you can get what you want with that is a bad habit we need to break." The gunslinger took a deep breath. "Alright, fine, you win."

"Yay! Come on in. We're all kinda missing you anyway…" Not waiting for an answer, Ruby grabbed her wrist and drug her back inside. Weiss and Yang were both ready for bed.

"Hey there partner. Took you long enough." Flashing a dopey smile, Yang hopped up on her bunk.

"She promised she'd read with me! Be right out!" With that, Ruby dashed into the bathroom to change. The brawler had an amused look in her eyes, which the gunslinger instantly picked up on.

"I didn't have a choice in the matter. Save me Yang Xiao Long, you're my only hope. Don't you have some big sister power or something?"

"I do, but… nah. She's your problem now." Kassidy grumbled before her sleepwear got tossed in her face. Again. _I really wish Ruby would quit doing that._

"Don't make promises you don't intend to keep." The mirth in Weiss' usually stern voice was palpable. She was obviously finding this far too humorous. Getting changed, Kassidy climbed into her bed before Ruby jumped in with an oversized fairytale book.

 _Ugh. Sometimes having a soft spot for the little ones is a real pain in the neck. Or the arm._


	26. V1C25: Ninjas of Acquaintance

**Chapter 25: Ninjas of Acquaintance**

 **AN: So, RWBY Vol.4 happened. And holy shit that animation, I'm drooling right now. I'm definitely going to be figuring out how to get a Geist (sp?) into my story at some point. And the bunny hoodie. So, spoiler alert for that. Digging the new costumes, and the fact that Ren said more this episode than the past three seasons put together.**

 **Anyway, I promised something lighter, and a party, so let's kill two birds with one stone with a pizza party! Kassidy finds out that Remnant doesn't actually have the glorious delicacy, and decides to fix the problem herself. With a bit of help from Ren, because I haven't teased enough ships yet. One of these days, she'll be less clueless than Jaune.**

 **Also, after some recommendations from a friend of mine who is a "professional" reader, I've made a couple small changes to how I write to make it easier to tell who's doing what. Don't hesitate to let me know whether or not it's working.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

Yang slammed their dorm room door open once again; honestly, it was a miracle that it hasn't been ripped off its hinges yet. But Kassidy didn't feel like complaining. It was the next day, and RWKY and JNPR just got back from lunch.

"And you packed all that extra stuff for nothing, K. Told ya things would go well today!" Yang called out happily as she went to the bathroom to shower.

"Hey, forgive me for being prepared for our training missions. Especially considering our first one ended so well." Her partner wasn't wrong though, Kassidy had spared no expense in stuffing her bag with every last bit of ammo and medical supplies she could get her hands on. Dropping the bag at the foot of her bed, she dug out Bob and set him to charge on her desk. She had really wanted to work some on his code this afternoon…

Before a textbook got dropped in front of her. "Don't think I haven't noticed your grades suffering. Honestly, how can someone who brags so much about their intelligence be failing applied chemistry? Or regular chemistry, for that matter?" _Gee, thanks for announcing it to the world, Weiss._

Kassidy sighed and dropped her head into her hands. "Hey, it's not my fault we didn't have dust where I'm from. Or that you guys have all the wrong names for chemistry. Or that you haven't filled out the periodic table yet."

Weiss looked like she was about to launch into yet another tirade, but then she took a deep breath and looked noticeably calmer. "Look, I understand you're putting all your work into improving your skills, and as loathe as I am to admit it, it's showing." After this, her expression hardened again. "But that's still not an excuse to completely ignore you schoolwork. Have you even started your history paper yet?"

"Uhh… that was the one about the setup of Menagerie, right?"

Bob decided to come in to the rescue. "Close. This paper's topic is the impact the persecution of the Faunus had on the ignition and results of the Great War. And no, this is not 'World War One' Great War."

"Ugh, and I thought racism was bad enough back home. You guys definitely took it to a whole new level." Weiss noticeably flinched at Kassidy's comment, but someone knocked on their door before she could ask. Ruby opened the door to find JNPR on the other side, which Kassidy jumped at. "Juniper to the rescue! Thanks for getting me out of another Schnee lecture."

Weiss scowled at her, but Jaune decided to change the topic quickly. "Our pleasure. Anyway, considering we have the afternoon free, we were wondering if you ladies wanted to hang out this evening." Kassidy raised an eyebrow at him; even only two days after his secret came out, it was obvious that Cardin was milking his blackmail for all it was worth. Jaune shrugged while Ruby started talking at a mile a minute about how awesome the idea was.

"Actually Ruby, in case you've forgotten, we still have studying to catch up on." _Well, I mean, Weiss isn't wrong._

"Oh, but that's boring! Why don't – " Nora was about to explain why it would be a terrific idea to hang out before she sniffed the air. "Ew, you guys still haven't showered?"

Kassidy shook her head, before giving Weiss a half-hearted glare. "Someone thought it would be a good idea to let Yang shower first."

Weiss gawked, "Did you even smell your partner? She had a stronger odor than the three of us put together!"

"No, I don't go randomly smelling people. Kinda creepy, if you ask me." This made Weiss sputter, but was saved from more embarrassment by Yang finally stepping out of the bathroom, dressed in only a towel (much to Ruby, Weiss, and JNPR's chagrin). "Only half an hour? That has to be a record of some kind."

Yang took the jab in stride. "Yeah, figured you guys needed a shower too. Decided I could fix my hair on your bed."

"Can you help Ice Queen chill out while you're at it? I'm trying to get work done." Kassidy and Yang shared a high-five while Weiss was practically steaming.

"No you're not!"

"Bob needs some of his protocols upgraded. Just because it's not the work you want done, doesn't mean it's not work."

"Anyways…" Pyrrha tried to defuse the situation as well as remind the four girls they had guests. "So what do you guys think? Of spending this evening together as friends?"

"I like how you think, P-money!" Yang fixed her towel while digging out three separate brushes and started the laborious task of caring for her golden carpet. "How about we go out? There's a new burger joint in town I've been meaning to try out."

"Ooh, burgers. Been forever since I've had one of those. Or even…" Kassidy gasped and her eyes went wide at the thought. "Pizza! Oh my god, when was the last time I had a pizza? Please tell me there's a pizza place around here."

Seven blank stares answered her, before Ruby nervously tugged her cape. "Uhh, is pizza something from your home?"

Kassidy returned the blank stare. "Wait, are you seriously saying you guys don't know what pizza is?" Seven shakes of the head were the reply, and she stared off into space with a neutral expression on her face.

Ren was showing some concern after thirty seconds of silence. "Um, is she alright?"

The question was enough to get her back to reality. "Bob, they don't have pizza."

"That's what it sounds like to me."

"Uncultured heathens!" Her teammates flinched from the outburst. "How can you not know of the most glorious food in existence? Bob, is Dad's recipe in your memory anywhere? We need to fix this, and we need to fix this tonight."

While her computer searched, Weiss had regained her composure. "So, what is this pizza? And what could possibly make it so good that you would think it would compete with the finest food Remnant has to offer?" The other teens nodded in agreement that they weren't sure about the whole deal.

"You simply haven't had the joy of eating a pizza. An issue I'm solving tonight."

"You have work to do tonight! You do not have the time to be cooking!"

"Pizza is more important!"

"No food is more important than your grades!"

Nora sheepishly interjected, "Well, I mean, pancakes are pretty important…"

All of a sudden, a lightbulb went off in Kassidy's head as to how to convince her acquaintances as to the importance of pizza. "Oh Nora?"

"Yeah?"

"Think of pizza… as a meat and cheese pancake."

The entire room gasped as the teenagers realized they had exactly five seconds before Nora went ballistic. Ren was the only one able to form a coherent, albeit horrified, reaction. "Kassidy, you did not just say that. Do you have any idea – "

He was interrupted by a flash of pink, as his partner suddenly materialized right in front of him with wide eyes, a manic grin, and a tone in her voice that suggested horrible things if you didn't do what she wanted. "Ren, would you be a dear and help Kassidy make the meat pancakes?"

"Kassidy, you have doomed us all." With a resigned sigh, Ren dug out a notepad and pencil he seemed to carry in some sort of extra-dimensional pocket. _Really, it was the only explanation how he always has it on him regardless of the situation_. "Okay, what do we need for the pizzas?"

"Big one is gonna be ovens. Willing to bet we can each eat a pizza ourselves, plus salad and drink. I might be able to fit two pizzas in an oven, which still means four ovens." Kassidy thought for a moment. "Do you think we'll be able to talk the kitchen staff into letting us borrow their equipment this evening?"

"I happen to be in good standing with them. They do have a rather large oven that will surely be able to fit eight pancakes."

"Oh no, my dear Ren, pizzas are not pancake sized. A good pizza is at least sixteen inches across. Now, after ovens, the most important component is the dough. You cannot have a good pizza without a good dough. Once Bob finds my old man's recipe,"

"Which I just did."

"Awesome, now we just need to go shopping for ingredients. After that, we're gonna need tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and finally the toppings."

"Now there's the good stuff!" Yang called from the bottom bunk. "What kind of toppings are we talking about?"

"Well, what kind of toppings would you want?" Reactions ranged from agape mouths to ravenous eyes. "Pretty much any meat and any vegetable works. As for fruit, the only one I've heard of is pineapple. So yeah, pick some meats and veggies."

As everyone thought of some of the strangest topping combinations she's ever heard, her computer brought her attention to a new message from Professor Ozpin. Her eyes tried bugging out of her head as she finished reading.

"KASSIDY SMITH,

PAYMENT IS USUALLY RENDERED TO HUNTRESSES ON THE COMPLETION OF MISSIONS. CONSIDERING THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF A SEARCH AND RESCUE MISSION, THE WAGE OF 500 LIEN WAS TRANSFERRED TO YOUR ACCOUNT. THE MILITIA ALSO SAW FIT TO SEND ALONG A 100 LIEN BONUS. I FULLY EXPECT THIS TO BE THE FIRST OF A LONG LIST OF GOOD WORK WITH YOUR NAME ATTACHED.

PROFESSOR OZPIN"

"Did you get all that, K?" Yang had apparently finished things off with her own order. "Uh, you alright partner?"

Finally coming back down to Earth (or Remnant, as it were), a goofy grin spread across the gunslinger's face. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Ooh, something good happened. Let me see!" A flash of red confused Kassidy, until she found she was holding not Bob, but a handful of rose petals. "You went on a mission without us! When did this happen? OhmyOumyouneedtotellusallaboutittonight!" Ruby was hanging upside down from her bunk with the oversized tablet.

As everyone gathered around to see what the matter was, Kassidy threw back on her jacket and half-skirt, grabbed Ren's sleeve, and pulled him out the door with her. "C'mon, let's get some shopping done while we have the chance."

Pulling out his Scroll, he seemed confused. "It's not even two o' clock yet."

"Yeah, but the dough will take a while."

"I see." After some walking through the halls, which also involved telling her AI to send her the shopping list, the two found themselves on a Bullhead headed into the city. This seemed like a great idea, until her weak stomach decided to remind her of its existence. Ren said stoically, "I forgot you had motion sickness also."

"A sack that can somehow hold a couple times its own volume in food, and the instant I get airborne it becomes the weakest organ in my body. I've given up on applying logic to myself some time ago."

"Ah. So, what was this about a mission I heard?"

"Last night after dinner, Ozpin took me to the Emerald Forest. Some kid got herself lost, and I needed to find her and bring her back."

"A search and rescue mission. Is it safe to assume that's where your injured arm came from? Did it go well?"

Kassidy scowled at her bandaged arm. For some reason, it wasn't healing as quickly as it usually does. "Well, the girl got back to her family, and Ozpin recently informed me of a six hundred Lien payment. I'd like to think it went alright."

"I suppose congratulations are in order. The success seems to have done wonders for your mood as well. You weren't screaming a fit last night, nor did you seem to have a hangover this morning."

"I was that obvious, huh?"

Ren chuckled, "You can be stealthy while on the job, but beyond that you're not very good at being subtle."

She shrugged. "Must be a side effect of being a terrible liar." Mercifully, the flight had ended at this point, and the two got off. "Know any good food marts or something we can pick all this stuff up at?"

He looked at the list on her Scroll, smiled, and nodded. "I think I know just the place."

"Alright, who are you and what have you done with Lie Ren?" Kassidy looked at him in a joking manner. "You've shown more emotion in the past fifteen minutes than you have in ever, from what I've seen."

Ren flashed a grin. "It is nice to get away from everyone now and then. And it helps that you happen to be one of the least judgmental people I've ever met. It's quite refreshing, really."

"Well, not like I'm in much of a position to be judging anyone."

The remainder of the time out shopping was spent talking about classes, as well as trading stories on their respective partners. While they were out, Kassidy couldn't help but notice people pointing, smiling, and snickering when they thought she couldn't see. All this managed to do was confuse and stress her, and by the time they got back on the Bullhead she was a nervous wreck.

Ren had taken notice. "What's bothering you?"

"Everyone else. Please tell me I wasn't the only one seeing the looks and gestures directed at us."

"You weren't."

"Being the center of attention always puts me on edge. That's the dead giveaway sign something bad is about to happen."

The ninja chuckled. "I assure you the worst that would happen is people would get the wrong idea about us."

Now Kass was even more confused. "'The wrong idea about us.' What's that supposed to mean?"

"Surely you jest. Of course, it's…" He trailed off when he gazed into Kassidy's visage and saw the genuine bewilderment. "Dear Oum, you actually don't know what I'm talking about. I think you could give Ruby a run for her money in the innocence department."

"Um, what?"

"I don't believe I am the person who should have that particular conversation with you."

"Oookay. Moving on."

The remainder of the afternoon was spent mostly in silence. True to his word, Ren got the kitchen staff to allow them to use the equipment. Several hours later found the two bringing eight mouth-watering, masterfully crafted pizzas back to the dorm.

The scene they found was confusing, to say the least. Weiss' desk was in the center of the room with a large crack in it, with Nora and Yang using it to hold an arm wrestling competition. Pyrrha and Weiss were looking at Bob and holding an animated discussion about something, while Jaune and Ruby were content to enjoy the scene from Kassidy's bed.

Ren cleared his throat. "Alright, fun's over. Let's clear some space, people."

"Indeed, let's." Kassidy jumped, while everyone else bugged out at Glynda standing behind them. _How did that lady get behind me without me noticing? Have I really slacked off that much?_

"Just for your information, Ren and I haven't been here all afternoon."

"I am fully aware, Miss Smith. I trust you two had fun?" Goodwitch had a twinkle in her eye, before it was instantly extinguished as her gaze fell upon the rest of the room. "However, your friends have been so boisterous that numerous noise complaints have forced me to investigate the matter."

Kassidy groaned, Ren facepalmed, and in stereo, the two called out their respective partners. This earned some giggles from four of the teenagers, with both Yang and Nora gawking about how it wasn't fair to automatically assume that they were the troublemakers.

"Based on the evidence available, I'll need Miss Xiao Long and Miss Valkyrie to report to my office." After a collective groan from the two heavy hitters, her face softened considerably. "Although, I will not need to see either of you until tomorrow morning. Now, I believe I heard something about a party as well?"

"Yeah, a pizza party." Kassidy shuffled her feet. "It came to my attention that the glorious cheese and meat covered discs didn't exist here, so I decided to remedy that situation. I'd offer you one, but I'm afraid I didn't make an extra."

The professor grinned wickedly, confusing all the kids. "For shame, Miss Smith. That simply can't do at all. Considering that partners are partially held responsible for each other's actions, I expect you and Mr. Ren to remedy this situation at your earliest convenience." And with that, she turned on her heeled boot and walked down the hallway, leaving eight stunned teenagers in her wake.

"So… that happened," was all Yang was able to get out.

"Now, without further ado, mostly before these get cold, let us commence with the greatest food experience of your lives. Alright, first off, we had chicken, onion, and avocado?"

"That would be me."

"Wow, getting adventurous Weiss. And that actually doesn't sound that bad a combination, might need to try it sometime. Sausage, feta, and black olive?"

"Hello again!"

"Of course, because you weren't fulfilling enough of a Greek stereotype. Here you go, Pyrrha. Pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, bacon… alright, this one's obviously Yang's."

"You know me well, partner."

"Which leaves me with my sausage and green pepper."

Ren finished things off by handing Ruby a cheese pizza, Jaune a pepperoni and mushroom pizza, and Nora a… _the less I think about that topping combination, the better._ He had made another sausage and green pepper for himself at the gunslinger's suggestion.

Needless to say, the glorious meat and cheese discs were huge hits with everyone. Even Weiss was pleasantly surprised. After eating dinner and with Jaune pulling out a movie for the eight to watch, all Kassidy could think about was how used she could get to this.


	27. V1C26: Practice Makes Improvement

**Chapter 26: Practice Makes… Improvement**

 **AN: So, me putting a chapter up this Sunday is a bit up in the air right now. I just got two assignments dropped on me, in addition to a big paper, an exam, and two programming assignments I already had, and all due by Monday. I was able to get most of this done before the extra work showed up, but still… don't be shocked if I miss Sunday's upload.**

 **Also, for future reference, I'm thinking that we've got about 12-14 chapters in the Volume 1 setting before we move on to intervolume material. Next chapter is the Forever Fall episode, and after that… oh boy. We are gonna have some serious fun with that mini-arc, I can tell ya. I didn't change the category to 'humor' for nothing.**

 **Anywho, time for team training, as our lovely ladies start really figuring out how to work together as a team. Kassidy gets a new piece of equipment, and since this is Kassidy we're talking about, we also get innuendos that she fails to pick up on.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

Afternoons were always the same ritual, no matter which day it was. Class gets out at four, RWY go into the dorm to change (Weiss always manages to hog the bathroom, while the two sisters had no discomfort among each other), Kassidy would swap her school backpack for her combat bag, and set Bob up to charge. After everyone was ready, the four girls head down to one of the training arenas, Kass changes in the locker room, and they would begin with whatever seems like they need the most work on.

It seemed like on this Wednesday, Weiss thought what needed the most work was her arguing skills. As soon as Kassidy had stepped out into the arena, the heiress launched into yet another tirade. "Could you have possibly made a bigger circus out of chemistry today?"

Yang piped up in her partner's defense, "Hey now, K made chemistry actually be fun today. And besides, don't forget who she's partnered with." Leaning in, she added, "Are you seriously challenging us to create a bigger scene than what she did today?"

"Of course not!" Weiss shrieked. "I simply thought our teammate would have more sense than to spend the entire class period arguing with the professor about those… what did you call them again?"

"Trans-uranic elements. Lanthanides and actinides, mostly." Slipping into her vest and buckling it up, Kassidy made sure the pockets were adequately filled with clips of ammunition. _Not only was that argument illuminating, but it's fun to rub it in Weiss' face she's not the only smart one here._

"Insisting we have holes in our elemental chart – "

"Periodic table," Kassidy corrected.

"Elemental chart," Weiss continued to insist, "is bad enough. But you spent the better part of an hour debating about the existence of a whole section of elements that don't even exist!"

"Is it the elements' fault that you're bad at looking for them?"

"C'mon, guys! We only have an hour and a half before dinner, and we really need to get some work done!" This time, Ruby's half-ordering, half-whining that came to be her trademark when trying to exert authority was enough to get the two nonrelatives to stop bickering on its own. Kassidy walked over, dropped her bag by the bench, and made sure her rifle, pistol, and knife were all in easy reach on her person while Ruby explained what she wanted to have happen. "Okay, so Goodwitch wanted those team attack ideas by the end of the week, right? Well, we have the ideas, but we should probably make sure they're good ideas."

"You're actually thinking before acting? Hmph, I suppose I've been a good influence on you after all." Weiss flipped her ponytail as she basked in her self-administered praise.

"Careful, Ice Queen. If your head gets any bigger the rest of you won't be able to support it."

Weiss glared at Kassidy while Ruby continued. "So yeah, I figured we should be spending today working on what we came up with and seeing if it's any good or not. Kassidy, why don't we start with you and me?"

At her beckoning, Kassidy got her rifle from off her shoulder and checked her ammo while the two of them were walking towards one of the walls with a metal slab set up. It was too large to really help with aiming, and it didn't move, but it was the only thing in the building that could stand up to concentrated fire from Crescent Rose, Ember Celica, and the Garand all at once. Well, other than the three aura-enhanced huntresses, but Kass still didn't shoot at her teammates during practice.

The two gunners stood next to each other a good twenty five yards from the target. "Alright, ready?"

"Ready."

"Okay. Thorned rose!"

And with the command, both girls sprang into action. Going off the theory, the two girls would use their maneuverability and firepower to simply bury a target in lead; Crescent Rose was a damn cannon trying to pass itself off as a sniper rifle, and while the Garand couldn't compete with the sheer force its flexibility and rate of fire evened the odds in that respect. Kassidy rolled to the right and started emptying the rifle as quickly as she could. Continuing until she had made about a sixty degree arc from where she started, she dumped another clip into the steel structure. Looking over, Kass was not surprised to see that Ruby had almost instantaneously gotten to her spot but was just now firing the last shot from her magazine.

"Wow, you really need to teach me how to shoot that quickly." Ruby had already zipped over to their teammates. Kassidy shook her head and walked over to join them.

"Most of the difference comes from the weapons. Sorry, but you're never, ever getting a bolt action 40mm gun to fire eight rounds in less than four seconds. Still, there's a couple tricks I can show ya at some point." Turning to her partner and Weiss, Kassidy added, "What kind of view did you two get?"

"Just to be clear, how did we come up with this idea again?" Weiss wasn't scolding – _at least, I'm pretty sure she isn't_ – she was just curious.

Kassidy answered, "There's hardly any melee weapons where I'm from; a knife is going to be as serious as you get. Back home, if you have a problem, use a gun. If that doesn't work, use more gun."

Yang apparently took to the idea well. "I dunno who thought that up, but I like him!"

Weiss furrowed her brow. "Melee weapons still have their place. What if your gun doesn't solve the problem?"

"Then you're not using a big enough gun." Weiss tried to argue further, but Kassidy answered darkly, "Believe me, you don't want to ask that question. Suffice to say, with the stuff we had built, there is no problem that cannot be solved by a sufficient quantity of high explosives. And I mean that literally."

"Okay… moving on." Yang moved the conversation back to its original topic. "I can see where you guys got that philosophy. I don't think anything smaller than an Ursa Major is coming out of that display alive. Maybe a Huntsman with a lot of aura. And that wasn't even with specialty Dust ammunition."

"You two were pretty stationary after you got to where you wanted to go. You'd be sitting ducks. Plus, if the thing you're shooting is a Huntsman that has a way of blocking bullets, he'd still be able to do so with the one hundred twenty degree separation you have. Not easily, but he could."

"Hmm, you're right. Think we should bump it up to one fifty, Kass?"

"I can see that, but I don't want to get any more than that. The closer we get to a full one eighty, the better our chances are of shooting each other on accident."

"Yeah, I guess." Ruby thought for a moment, before coming to a decision. "You ready to keep going, Kassidy?"

Kassidy scoffed, "Am I?" An inquisitive look from Ruby prompted, "Of course I am!"

Weiss seemed amused by the situation, while Ruby giggled. The team leader soon got her act together, though. "Alright, Yang, Kassidy, get ready. Weiss, uh, do you mind being the target this time?"

"Oh, I suppose." Weiss used a glyph to backflip into the middle of the arena. All three girls knew what was coming. Yang threw some shells into Ember Celica, while Kassidy set the Garand aside to brandish her knife, also strapping her bracer to her forearm.

"Blacksmith!"

Yang wasted no time in sending flares flying at Weiss while Kassidy sprinted at their target. At first, this attack seemed to be the definition of counterintuitive. Sending your auraless gunslinger to engage in melee combat, while your brawler stayed at range to harass the other guy? There were a couple good reasons for this. The first being that Ember Celica was a bigger distraction than the Garand. Sure, rifle bullets hurt as much as anything else, but when one can just tank the shots, there's no flashy visual or aural effects, and there's no chance to dodge, the Garand worked far better at doing the deed than getting someone's attention. The grenade-like shells that Yang fired, however? They were very big, very flashy, and they hurt a lot if you didn't get out of the way.

It was those qualities that allowed Kassidy to close the distance and get up in Weiss' face. As the heiress twirled out of the way of the last shot, Kass ducked inside her guard and started slashing at her teammate. The second reason Kassidy was charging the target was because she was better at fighting dirty. She might not be as good as Yang at brawling, but experience had still given her plenty of cheap tricks. Sure, Kassidy would've used her pistol as well if it wasn't one of her teammates, but the point still stood here that she needed to do as much damage as possible. Weiss tried to bring up a glyph to send her flying, but Kassidy was quicker and kicked her knee out from under her. Fighting to regain her balance, the heiress could barely react in time to elbows, fists, and a serrated knife that went for whatever they could. Kassidy focused on the joints – she wasn't there to kill the target, just cripple it.

The third reason was because of the blonde who was now charging across the room at the two of them. Ruby's reason for the name, so she said, was because it was like a blacksmith working on his hammer and anvil. Yang would get the target on the anvil, the anvil would keep the target busy, and then they'd bring the hammer down. _How the one huntress without an aura was chosen to be the anvil is still anyone's guess, but hey._

In theory, Kassidy would keep the target distracted and injured enough for Yang to come screaming in with a knockout blow. However, Weiss knew about the attack. _Not like Yang is being subtle anyway._ Still, improvisation was needed. Kicking off and getting some distance between the two of them, Kass raised her arm and shot the cable out, trying to get Weiss entangled or at least too distracted to worry about the burning righteous fury aimed at the back of her head.

Unfortunately, Kassidy's aim was off. Or maybe it was too good. Weiss dodged out of the way, and the grappling hook on the end hit Yang square in the forehead. The blonde stumbled and crashed into the both of them. Kass fought to get out from under her two teammates, a job not made easy by the fact that Yang was more concerned with laughing than actually getting up.

Ruby was over in an instant. "Are you guys okay?"

"My pride's hurt, but I'll manage. Your sister's making it hard to breathe, though." _At least Weiss was courteous enough to get up._ Giving up on trying to muscle the significantly larger blonde off of her, Kassidy decided to try and yell at her partner.

"Interesting concept." The unexpected voice made everyone's head shoot up, even Yang's. Suddenly, Yang remembered that she was on top of her partner and sprang to her feet, followed shortly by Kassidy. Against the side wall stood Professor Goodwitch carrying a package of some kind. "Miss Smith, I thought your reflexes were better than that. And your aim."

"You and me both," Kassidy muttered.

Yang was far more relaxed about it. "Actually, I'd say her aim's square on the head. She really got me hook, line, and sinker with that one." Ruby and Weiss groaned as Glynda looked unamused. Kassidy was busy trying not to laugh; if Yang had any encouragement, the puns would never stop. Even if she did find them funny more often than not.

"I see. In any event, I was here to deliver something to Miss Smith." Handing the package over, she explained, "I have a friend who works at a weapons forge, specializes in working with steel. We had an idea of a steel composition that he found rather intriguing. After some talking and a bit of work on his part, he came up with a new alloy of his own. He didn't mention what kind, but he did find that it reacted well to being infused with Dust."

Kassidy was confused at that last sentence. "I'm sorry, what does infusing your metal with Dust do again? I think we mostly focus on the Dust itself in applied chemistry."

Weiss spoke up. "It mildly strengthens the material, but the important one is that it allows our aura to interact with the object in question."

"Uh, okay. Interact how?"

Ruby laughed. "What do you mean interact how? It gets easier to use as we attune to it!" At an inquisitive glance, Ruby laughed harder. "What, did you think I could twirl my sweetheart around as easily as I can because of how cute I am or something?"

"Aura does make you guys significantly stronger."

"Not that much stronger, partner. And it doesn't stop there, either. Why do you think Ember Celica doesn't obliterate my fists and arms whenever I use them?"

"Or why controlling my glyphs is so much easier when I have Myrtenaster?"

"Your teammates are not wrong. In any event, inside that package is the result of his work. He owed me a favor at any rate, so it comes free of charge."

Curious now, Kassidy opened the package. Inside was a sword, very similar to the one she had been practicing on Professor Goodwitch with. Pulling it out, it seemed odd, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it. It was more like a feeling in the back of her mind, a feeling not of necessarily wrongness, but just of strangeness.

"That looks almost exactly like Winter's sword." Four heads turned to the stray comment by Weiss, who just realized she had said that aloud. "Winter is my sister. Sure, it's a hair shorter, and it doesn't have the small rapier built in, but other than that it's practically the same weapon."

While her teammates were talking, probably about the revelation that Weiss had a sister, a very peculiar sensation came from the sword, one that Kassidy could put her finger on. "It's buzzing. Why is it buzzing?"

"That's an initial sign that your aura is interacting with…" Glynda trailed off as she realized what she was saying. "I thought you couldn't use your aura."

"I can't, and to be honest I'm still divided on whether or not to believe this aura deal is the hoax to end all hoaxes."

"Awesome!" Ruby zipped over and started ogling over the sword. "If you can attune to it even without an activated aura, then you should get good with using it in no time!"

"Something about that suggests we're talking more than practical skill."

Yang spoke up. "How it's supposed to work is that as you keep using it, and as you get more attuned to it you can affect it more and more with your own aura, making it feel lighter, or strike harder, or take stronger hits. Honestly? Dunno how it's gonna work with you, but if it's doing anything at all then that's a good sign."

"So, what you're saying is that the vibrating sword could be fun if I play with it enough?"

The reaction to her question was not at all what Kassidy was expecting. Glynda and Weiss looked positively scandalized. Ruby had turned as red as her cloak, trying to bury as far into her hood as she could. Yang had completely collapsed on the floor, laughing so hard she couldn't even breathe.

 _I've been getting these reactions more and more lately. This is getting rather annoying._ "Alright, seriously, what's up with you guys these past couple weeks? Yang keeps laughing at random crap I say that isn't funny, and you guys keep giving me strange looks. Like those!"

Yang could barely talk from her position on the floor. "Don't tell me you don't understand – "

"ENOUGH!" Weiss roared. Everyone flinched back as she stormed to the center of the group. "Yang, get your act together. Kassidy, stop talking, seriously. Ruby, I think it'd be best if we called the team practice here. I've had enough of this."

With that, Weiss stormed off back to the dorms. Yang was still laughing and Ruby was still trying to burrow into her cloak. _The hell is going on?_ Looking to Glynda for a hint, the professor only planted her face into her palm and shook her head.

* * *

 **AN 2: Before you ask, no, I couldn't write that part with a straight face. The whole Dust infused metal is my personal explanation for some of the physics defying BS regarding their weapons, and I'm sticking to it. Anyways, considering that I'm getting a regular number of reviews each chapter at this point, it might be prudent to start with Reader Responses. So let's kick off our inaugural edition of that.**

 **James: I admit, I might have been hinting at YangxKass much more obviously than any of the others. I guess we just need to see where the story takes us. Also, what are you waiting for? Go get that pizza!**

 **Akshka: This is the World of Remnant, where bloodthirsty monsters roam the wilds, human-animal hybrids are society's designated punching bag, and every single weapon is also a gun (except Crocera Mors, poor Jaune). Also one that's so hilariously vague that as long as it wasn't shoved in our faces during the show, it's fair game. Yes, I do plan on taking advantage of that fact.**

 **Slenderbrine: Until if/when I decide on a ship to pursue, I do like to provide variety. I have my own ideas, obviously, but for the most part it's where the story takes us.**


	28. V1C27: Forever Fall

**Chapter 27: Forever Fall**

 **AN: A long one for you guys tonight. I did manage to get it written in time, thankfully. I do not envy the amount of work I needed to do, however, to get everything done in time. So excuse me while I keep my bloodshot eyes from looking at a computer for the next ever.**

 **Kassidy and the gang goes to Forever Fall. Wondered why it took four huntsmen/huntresses so long to get Glynda in the episode? Here's why, at least according to me.**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

"It's a shame we never have time for leisure study anymore. I find this forest fascinating, personally. Perhaps the hue is caused by a mutated chlorophyll molecule?"

As Professor Goodwitch led the way, eleven of the twelve students walking through the forest were captivated by the scenery. Judging by his comment, even Bob was apparently taken in by the beauty of the place. Kassidy might have been, also, if she weren't performing the self-appointed role of group lookout. _Hey, it's someone's job to be paranoid. Pretty sure the Grimm don't care about red leaves, so why should I?_

"Yes, children, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But, we are not here to sightsee. Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so."

Kassidy's eyes fell upon Cardin and Jaune bringing up the rear. JNPR's lead bumped into the redhead, whistled innocently, and then snuck a glance in Smith's direction. Kassidy merely offered a shrug. She had earlier told the boy that she wasn't going to interfere, and she meant it.

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at four o' clock. Have fun." With that note, Goodwitch left the students to their devices.

"Come on, buddy. Let's go." After a pleading look to her and Pyrrha, Jaune's head sank as he trudged behind Cardin.

Having already fallen a good ways behind their respective teams, Pyrrha and Kassidy started walking. The air was so tense that you could cut it with a knife, and they both knew which blonde haired boy was at the center of it. It was Kassidy that eventually broke the silence after a couple minutes. "So, remind me again why everyone charged ahead of us? Seriously, we weren't even hanging back for thirty seconds before it was just the two of us in these woods."

Pyrrha waved her hand and gave a shallow laugh. "Well, you know how excited Nora can get. And Ren probably went to try and keep her in check."

"Yeah, I can buy that. I imagine that Weiss is in the same boat right now, trying to keep up with Ruby and Yang." They both chuckled a bit at the mental image of the heiress chasing a hyperactive speed demon through the forest, but the tension in the air quickly returned. Trying to cut through it, Kassidy spoke up again. "Speaking of teammates running off, how's Jaune been handling the whole business with Cardin?"

Pyrrha stopped walking. Turning around, Kassidy found some dangerously suspicious eyes regarding her. "What whole business with Cardin? They're just really good friends now."

Kassidy rolled her eyes. "Give me a break. Even if I didn't know Jaune's little secret, you couldn't pay me to believe that Jaune and Cardin would willingly be friends with each other."

Pyrrha's jaw dropped. "You know?"

"Yeah."

"And you elected to do nothing about it?"

"And you did?" It didn't take Pyrrha giving her a death glare for Kassidy to regret saying that. "Alright, that was unfair on my part. Sorry."

"Apology accepted," Pyrrha said reluctantly.

"But no, I'm not stepping in."

"How come?"

"Because Cardin's already scared of me. If I step in and bail Jaune out, CRDL will just see it as me saving his hide. Then, whenever I'm not around, they'll do worse." Shaking her head, Kassidy started walking again. "Breaking up Cardin's little blackmail operation won't do Jaune any favors. This is something a man needs to fix on his own."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Pyrrha's expression settled into a frown. "That doesn't excuse what he did, though."

"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. I'm not one to judge."

"How do you mean?"

"Let he who is perfect cast the first stone." Upon seeing Pyrrha's inquisitive gaze, she added, "Religious expression where I'm from. And god knows I'm not perfect."

Pyrrha looked like she had an answer, but a bush rustled to their right. The Mistralian champion took a knee, hiding behind her shield and brandishing Milo in rifle form, while Kassidy whipped her own rifle out and aimed at the noise.

"Hey guysh. Wha you doin'?" Nora came stumbling out of the bush while chugging a jar of sap. Kassidy facepalmed, while Pyrrha just shook her head at the other redhead's antics.

"Come on Nora, we need to be collecting the sap, not drinking it." Nora let out an 'aw', while Pyrrha stowed her rifle and shield. "Let's go get some more."

"Nora! Where did you run off to this time?" Yang came strolling through the forest, before tripping on an exposed root and faceplanting into a pile of leaves. Kassidy chuckled.

"Smooth moves, grace."

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, K." Standing up and picking leaves out of her hair, Yang walked over and shoved an empty jar into Kassidy's hands. "C'mon, were you really expecting me to do all the work for ya? Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty."

"Not worried about my hands, but doesn't this sap stain?"

Yang gave her a wicked grin and slapped her shoulder. "Hey, I finally got my partner to care about how she looks."

"No you didn't. I just don't think Weiss would appreciate it, and I get enough shit from her as it is." The two blondes shared a chuckle before joining Ruby, Weiss, and NPR at a cluster of trees.

"Hey there Kass. You remember how to do this, right? I could… kinda use help with mine," Ruby sheepishly admitted.

"What's there to remember? Stab a tree, collect the sap, don't let it stain your clothes. Can you take over watch for me while I handle it?" Now aware of several pairs of eyes on her, probably due to her bold claim, Kassidy dropped her bag to the side, drew her knife, found a spot a good four to five feet up, and quite literally stabbed the tree. What she didn't expect was for there to be so much pressure in the fluid, and she just barely dodged out of the way of the pinkish red stream. Plugging it up with one of the taps, she counted herself lucky.

Until a grunt came from behind her. Turning around, her eyes widened at the sight. Weiss Schnee, dressed in her usual pristine white dress and jacket, was covered with sap. Bright red sap that stained clothes. Almost everything about the heiress seemed calm, but her eyes spoke of murderous intent. Kassidy put her hands up and slowly started backing away. "Uh… would it make it better or worse if I said that I didn't mean to do that?"

Weiss drew her rapier.

"Um, alright. Let's put the sword away before someone gets hurt." Backing up further, Kassidy found herself pressed against a tree. "Uh, nice Weiss? Good Weiss. Put the sword away."

Furious with the world, Weiss yelled and lashed out at the tree next to her. Unfortunately for the heiress, Myrtenaster being plunged into the tree opened up another vein of sap, spraying Weiss in the face. Four teenagers were howling in laughter, Ren had an amused look, Kassidy was trying to not join the laughter in fear of making things worse, and Weiss looked fit to be tied. At this point, there was only one thing that would save Kassidy Smith from an early grave.

A demonic growl sounded from a short ways away, over a small rise towards the back of the group. The seven students dropped everything at the sound. Ruby asked the obvious, "Did you guys hear that?"

Russel, Dove, and Sky picked that moment to sprint through the middle of the group, with Dove crying, "Ursa, Ursa!" He ran right into Yang, who briefly interrogated him, revealing that, "It's got Cardin!"

"Jaune!" Pyrrha looked horrified, and rightfully so. Kassidy grabbed her bag back up, making sure her knife and pistol were both in their holsters, her rifle was loaded, and her new sword was in its sheath on the side of her pack before giving Pyrrha a nod.

Ruby, however, had other plans. "Yang, you and Kass get Professor Goodwitch!"

"You two, go with them! There could be more."

Kassidy, Yang, Ren, and Nora wasted no time in tearing through the forest. Having the best sense of direction and navigation in a heavily wooded area, Kassidy was in the front of the group, beelining to where she knew Glynda said she would be. It must have been obvious that the four teens weren't feeling the greatest about the situation, because Grimm had started making their appearance. However, it was almost entirely Creeps with the odd Beowolf, and Kassidy and Ren dispatched them with ease.

As they rounded a tree, they saw Glynda rushing up to them. Skidding to a stop, she adjusted her glasses in a manner that was practically her trademark. "Children, where is the rest of your group?"

"An Ursa has Cardin and Jaune." Ren put his hands on his knees and panted for a bit, before regaining his breath and continuing. "Ruby, Pyrrha, and Weiss are there to help. We were sent to get you."

"I see. Very well, lead the way."

The five weren't able to make it ten steps before the foliage around them exploded. Glynda's cry of ambush fell on deaf ears as gunfire ripped through the bushes and trees at the approaching Grimm. _The fuck is this? Where did all of these guys come from? And how did they ambush us? Not an alpha here; these guys are too young to know how to ambush us._

Kassidy was about to shoot a Creep when she got shoved into the dirt, rifle flying from her grip. Turning around, she saw Yang struggling with a Boarbatusk on top of her. She went to dive for her rifle, but stopped short at seeing an Alpha Beowolf resting its paw on the Garand. "Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me."

It lunged forward, trying to rip her throat out. Scrambling back, she emptied her pistol's magazine into its face. She knew her smaller firearm had exactly zero chance of killing an Alpha Beowolf, but it did get the beast to give her some breathing room. Enough breathing room to shrug her backpack off her shoulders, while simultaneously pulling out her newest weapon. _Well, let's give this thing a test run. Not like I have anything else right now that can even think of killing it._ The Grimm, growing bold again, slashed at her. Ducking under the forepaw, Kassidy grabbed her sword and swung it upward. Miraculously, it connected, and the Grimm reared back in the pain of losing a hand.

It didn't get a chance to finish its howl, as a grenade detonated in its face. Kassidy looked back long enough to see Nora flash her a thumbs up before returning to the fight. By now her rifle was well and truly out of the picture, behind a half dozen Creeps and a Beowolf. Switching to a one-handed grip, she took her pistol in her left hand and reloaded it. _Alright, just like with your knife and pistol. You just have a longer blade this time. You got this, Smith._

The Grimm charged. She managed to shoot two of the Creeps before having to backpedal from a third. Slashing out, she only managed to scratch its bony snout. The Beowolf leapt at her, and she had to duck to the side to avoid getting her head taken off. Somehow managing to get a slice in it on its way over her, she had no time to relax as the other four Creeps took advantage of her now prone posture. She managed to brain one before they were on top of her.

An explosion sent them flying. This wasn't a pink explosion from Nora's grenades, though. No, apparently some particularly stupid Grimm made the fatal mistake of pissing Yang off. As Kassidy got to her feet, she saw that the battle was more or less over. All that was left of the ambush were a small handful of Creeps, which Yang and Nora took no small amount of delight in absolutely obliterating.

Breathing heavily, the four students turned to the professor, again adjusting her glasses. "Miss Smith, you panicked. That could have very easily gotten you killed." Kassidy grumbled something incoherent, before Glynda said, "Other than that, you have most certainly been improving your swordplay."

Kassidy grumbled less incoherently, "You've smacked me with a stick enough times I haven't had much choice in the matter."

"Oh cheer up, partner! I think we got the point!"

"Ugh, Yang! Stop making terrible puns!" Ruby walked up to the rest of the group, with Weiss, Pyrrha, Jaune, and Cardin all in tow. It was hard to tell if the red on Cardin's armor was sap or blood.

"Mr. Winchester, Ms. Schnee, are you injured?" Glynda seemed concerned, until both students answered in the negative. She became unamused, however, with Weiss' threat that Kassidy would be. "So, what was this situation I heard about an Ursa?"

"An Ursa Major attacked Jaune and Cardin. However, it seems our help was unnecessary, as they had both slain it by the time we arrived." _Pyrrha seems to be hiding something…_

"I see. In any event, are we all finished with collecting our samples?" A chorus of affirmatives prompted her to declare, "In that case, we should be on our way back to Beacon."

As seven of the nine kids made to follow the professor, Kassidy went over to collect her rifle. Fortunately it somehow escaped damage. She was so pleased with that fact that she didn't even notice Pyrrha behind her.

"Do you usually make a habit of falling behind the group?" Pyrrha laughed as Kassidy jumped up in a panic. The blonde glared at the redhead.

"Please, don't sneak up on me like that." Losing the edge, Kassidy added, "So, what's the real story back there?"

Pyrrha put her hand to her heart and acted hurt. "Are you accusing me of lying, Kassidy?" They were both able to hold a serious face for about two seconds before descending into giggles. "But that was what happened. We didn't get a chance to intervene, and Jaune killed it."

"Then why do I get the feeling that there's a part of this story you're leaving out?"

Picking up the pace slightly, Pyrrha called from over her shoulder, "Well, what can I say? Let he who is perfect cast the first stone."

Kassidy smirked. The message was obvious: Cardin, for one reason or another, no longer had his blackmail to hold over Jaune's head.

* * *

 _Another night, another visit to the roof._ Kassidy was enjoying some fresh air after her evening training session with Glynda. The professor obviously wasn't happy with how she handled the Creeps, and so the practice was particularly brutal in how to handle being outnumbered. She was still numb from the beating she took.

"Hey, you doing alright, Kass?" Looking behind her, she saw Jaune walk onto the porch she was occupying and stand next to her. A look of concern was plastered on his face. "You're not drinking again, are you?"

"Nah, I'm fine. Doing my own little celebration, actually."

Jaune looked around them in confusion. "Strange celebration you have going on here. What's the occasion?"

"My first month on Remnant."

He choked on thin air. "You've only been here a month?!"

"Yup. Somehow managed to not get myself killed yet, too."

He chuckled. "Well, that's kinda the goal for all of us, isn't it?"

"Suppose so. You guys have an easier time of it than I do, that's for sure." An awkward pause reigned for a couple minutes before Jaune spoke up.

"That was quite a way to spend a Saturday."

"Better than getting chased by a scorpion bigger than a house," Kassidy chuckled. "I hear Cardin's finally off your case."

"How did you find out?" he asked incredulously.

"Pyrrha."

"Ah, that would explain it." He shuffled his feet a bit. "Hey, Kass?"

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking… you've been taking lessons from Glynda about using a sword, right?"

"Yup."

"Do you think... maybe you could teach me what you've learned?"

Kassidy thought for a moment, before deciding on the obvious answer. "Nope."

"Aw, how come? How am I supposed to get better?"

"I'm not teaching you because if I taught you, you'd get worse at fighting than you already are. Guaranteed." The two shared a brief chuckle. "Besides, if you're looking to get better, then I'm the wrong tree to bark up."

"How do you mean?"

Kassidy looked at him like he was an idiot. Which, given the question he just asked, he just might be. "Well, gee, I don't know. It's not as if I'm partnered with who's apparently one of the greatest swordswomen of her generation."

"What, Pyrrha? Nah, that's ridiculous. Why would she want to waste her time on me?"

She could do nothing but facepalm. _Is this kid an idiot or that dense?_ "If I remember correctly, about ten days ago she went out of her way to offer to train you." Upon seeing him hesitate, she decided he was an idiot. "Look, just ask, alright? The worst that'll happen is she says no."

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks. So, what're your plans for tomorrow?"

The answer was immediate. "Survive."

"What would you need to survive tomorrow? You guys aren't going to be going out on a mission or something, are you?"

Kassidy sighed. "In case you've forgotten, tomorrow is April first."

"Yeah."

"And my partner is…"

"Yang – ooh." Jaune had an epiphany, and hissed in pity.

"And my team leader is Yang's little sister."

"Um."

"And my third teammate had her outfit ruined courtesy of my tree-tapping skills."

Jaune looked at her incredulously. "Kass?"

"Yeah?"

"You're screwed."

A devious smirk formed on her face. "Maybe. Maybe not."

He paled. "Remind me not to visit your dorm tomorrow."

"Alright. Don't visit our dorm tomorrow."

"Smartass."

"That's my name, don't wear it out." They both laughed, before movement in the corner of her vision caught her attention. Pyrrha was standing in the doorway, watching them. "Well, I need to get some rest while I can." Leaning in, she whispered, "Don't forget to ask." Bidding him farewell, she walked over to the redhead.

"You two seemed like you were enjoying yourselves," Pyrrha deadpanned.

 _Alright, wonder what I did to deserve that._ "Just warming him up for ya. I need to get to sleep anyway." Leaving the two partners to their devices, Kassidy made her way back to the dorm. _Why do I get the feeling I'm going to be really appreciating my light sleeping habit?_

* * *

 **AN 2: And thus the next mini-arc is revealed. Dear god this next week's chapters are going to be a blast to write, and hopefully an even bigger blast to read. Prepare your anuses for April Fool's shenanigans. This is your first, last, and only warning. Anyways, onto Reader Responses.**

 **James: Noticed indeed. Glad to hear that you're liking the pacing, and unless something drastic comes up then I am planning to continue Wednesday/Sunday uploads. If you don't mind me asking, are you preferring the chapters to be longer or shorter? Your review makes it seems like the chapters aren't as long/short as you would like. Also, I do plan on having meaningful interaction in every single chapter. Glad to hear you're enjoying the story so far, here's to hoping I can keep up with expectations.**

 **Captain marvel 36: Winter's sword never struck me as a rapier, more like a cavalry saber. To me, a rapier was something used exclusively in fencing (unless your name is Weiss Schnee). Bah, look at me typing as if I know anything about swords other than they're pointy metal sticks. Yes, Kassidy is currently most comfortable with her rifle. Currently. Glad to hear you're enjoying the story so far, here's to hoping I can keep up with expectations.**

 **BlakeSummers98: Just to clarify, were you making a comment as to Kassidy's complete inability to identify innuendos, or was that a plea for me to stop making them? Sorry, I just have a really hard time distinguishing between these kinds of things, especially when it's written rather than spoken. Glad to hear you're enjoying the story so far, here's to hoping I can keep up with expectations.**

 **Matt Cyr: Officially, Kassidy has never played a video game before. Unofficially... well, he is my favorite class.**

 **dwayiam: Indeed. Boy is Yang going to have fun with her when she decides it's time for the uninformed innuendos to end. If she does, knowing our blonde brawler she might find infinite enjoyment out of listening to Kassidy make a fool out of herself.**

 **Akshka: What can I say? I enjoy tormenting my characters.**

 **Iron-ninja: Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much. I figured throwing in a moment like that every now and then would help ease tension at times.**


	29. V1C28: Fool's Errand I

**Chapter 28: Fool's Errand I: It's a Wrap!**

 **AN: Here it is, these two chapters plus the one after will probably be the largest comedy segments in this fic (and it definitely will be if you include the previous two chapters with them). Why am I spoiling you all with so much humor and so little action? Well, my dear readers, I don't think Rooster Teeth is hitting you guys enough with the feels. Once we start back into a serious section, we're (mostly) staying serious until the end of Volume 1. Enjoy your humor while you have it. Insert evil laughter, hand wringing, and mustache twirling here. Suffice to say, all will be revealed in time.**

 **Alright, now with vague and ominous warnings out of the way, it's April Fool's Day at Beacon. Yang's a well-known prankster, Ruby grew up with Yang, and Weiss can hold a grudge. Nora's a pretty big prankster too, and for the other three… it's the quiet ones you have to watch out the most for. Who will survive? Do things get taken too far? Does the staff approve of, or even join in, the festivities? All that and more, in this exciting two-part episode of Team Rookie!**

* * *

(Perspective: K)

The night's slumber was long and restful, as it needed to be; those bruises weren't going away on their own, after all. Kassidy sat up, groaned, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, all while keeping her back to the sunlight. _Wait, sunlight? Ugh, not again._ She reached over to the nightstand for her earpiece, but a hand shot out and caught her wrist.

"Going so soon? You only just got up." _Of course it'd be Yang. Who else?_

"Just got up? When was the last time I got up after sunrise? Time's a-wastin'." Swinging her legs over the bed, Kassidy added, "What time is it, anyway?"

"Eight thirty."

"WHAT?!" _Did I seriously just sleep for ten hours? Not cool!_ Kassidy tried to get up, but Yang leapt off her bunk and shoved her back on the mattress.

Ruby leaned over the side of her bunk and looked at the two blondes. "Well, you're always working so hard. Why not take the day off? Get some rest?"

"Because I have work to do!"

"As much as I usually agree with that line of thought, I've seen you finish your work. You won't be getting away from us that easy." Weiss stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in a not-stained jacket and dress. The sinister grin plastered on her face made it obvious what was going on here.

"Ugh, see, Rubes? This is why I said we needed to leave Ice Queen out of it. She's so bad at this pranking business. Already gave up the game." While Weiss scoffed, Yang reached for something on her bunk. "Still, I agree with our dear leader," she said with words so sweet it'd make one's teeth rot. "You definitely need more rest. And I'm going to make sure you get that rest."

Kassidy sighed. "Look, if you're going to threaten me, at least get out of your pajamas and into your day clothes. Or at least let me do that. And besides, I've already gotten ten hours of rest so far. That's two days' worth of sleep for me."

"Wow, someone's grumpy this morning. You definitely need more rest. Come on, where is it? There." Yang looked back to Weiss and Ruby, who were both snickering and gave a thumbs up. A glyph formed on the doorknob, which Kassidy found confusing. "Now, are you going to stay in bed and cheer up? Or am I going to have to make you stay there for the morning?"

 _Oh boy, here we go._ "How, exactly, would you plan on making me stay here for the morning?"

The only warning Kassidy had was a roll of duct tape being opened, and an exclaimed, "Like this!" Then Yang pounced.

The Great Tape War of Beacon lasted for two minutes and seventeen seconds. Surely, as the two blondes wrestled, their epic struggle would be recorded in the annals of history by the world's greatest bards and playwrights. Songs would be written about Kassidy's valiant struggles against the physically superior blonde, and in fact the smaller of the two was able to pull out some tricks of her own Yang quite simply wasn't prepared for.

Regardless, all great things must come to an end, and eventually the two partners collapsed on the mattress in a heap. Contrary to Yang's intention, they had both managed to get entangled in the adhesive fabric, and were quite thoroughly stuck together. Kassidy, meanwhile, was similarly displeased with how things turned out. _Attacked by my own partner! And now there's this! This is gonna be real fun to get out of._ She tried slapping Yang, but only managed to flap her wrist around a bit somewhere off to the side. Kassidy settled for growling at her partner, "I hope you realize this is all your fault."

Meanwhile, Ruby was collapsed on the floor, laughing so hard that her face was as red as the cloak still folded on her dresser. Weiss had taken a seat on her bed, brushing her hair and watching the struggle unfold with no small amount of satisfaction. The heiress quite mirthfully stated, "This was an even better idea than I gave it credit for. Now we don't have to deal with Yang either for the day." The two smaller girls of the team shared a high-five, before Ruby started getting her day clothes together.

After a bit of struggling, Yang gave up for a moment. "Hey Rubes, can you help me out here? I'm a bit tied up at the moment." She bit back a smirk as Kassidy tried (and failed) to slap her again.

Weiss groaned, "Not again. Ruby, if you don't shut your sister up, I will."

"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport, Weissy. Come on, help me wrap things up here! You know – ah!" Yang tried to make another pun, but a blur of red and a tearing sound heralded the arrival of a silver strip of cloth covering her mouth. Her eyes flashed red momentarily, and she began her struggles anew.

"Ugh, thanks for that, Ruby. That's one way to get her to stop with the puns, I guess. Mind helping me out here?" Kassidy decided appealing to their desire to not deal with Yang would be the best way out.

"Hmm… nope!"

"Nope?"

"Nope! You need your rest." With that, Ruby skipped to the bathroom to change, while Weiss continued to brush her hair while smirking evilly at the two blondes across the room. Kassidy tried to focus, but Yang's wild thrashing did a pretty good job of making it hard to concentrate on keeping a train of thought going.

Eventually, Ruby came out fully dressed in workout gear, Weiss was finally finished with her hair, and the two were about to leave the room for their day to day activities. Kassidy decided to engage in one last plea for help. "C'mon guys! You're really gonna leave me here like this? I've got stuff to do!"

They both stopped, turned, and seemed to be in deep thought. Ruby said, "Have fun, you two! Don't worry, we'll be sure to bring back some food for you after a bit."

"Now hang on, Ruby, she does have a point." At Weiss' statement, Kassidy visibly relaxed a bit, Yang flashed the heiress a glare (or, tried to, seeing as she couldn't twist her head around fully), and Ruby turned around with a quizzical expression. "Is it really a good idea to leave Kassidy fully capable of ordering around a supercomputer with a history of hijacking androids to do her bidding?"

"Hey, now! That was only the one time! And she didn't order me to do it, either!" Bob squawked from his perch on Kassidy's desk. "Still, you raise a valid point. The instant you two leave, she's just going to have me bust her out."

"Whose side are you on, anyway?" Sighing, Kassidy decided to go for the obvious route now that the cat was out of the bag. "Bob, I or – oof!" Another blur of red, another tearing sound, and Kassidy found she couldn't talk anymore.

"I'm sorry, you what now? I couldn't get that." _Did he just…? No, no way. I'm pretty sure Bob doing that just violated multiple protocols of his. That definitely didn't just happen._ Ruby giggled, shared another high-five with Weiss, and the two left the dorm.

Kassidy glared at Yang, trying to communicate through her eyes just how much trouble the larger blonde was in whenever they got free. It looked like Yang couldn't decide whether to glare back, or wear a more amused expression. Both girls quickly started their struggles against the tape again, but stopped when Bob spoke back up.

"Well, since you haven't finished your previous statement, I guess I need to figure out what to do. If you'll excuse me, I have some simulations to run, but in the meantime it would be rather rude of me to just leave the two of you there with no entertainment. Let me see… ah, there it is. Here's some music for you to enjoy."

The sounds that came out of the black box made Kassidy scream into the tape holding her silent. _There is no genre of music I despise more than disco. Bob knows that, too!_ Apparently, Yang wasn't too thrilled about the choice either, as she groaned and tried to bury her ear into the bed. The two blondes resumed their struggles in earnest. Anything, anything to get away from that god-forsaken disco music.

* * *

(Perspective: Ruby)

Ruby Rose stepped off the treadmill. Apparently, team RWKY weren't the only ones getting in the spirit of the day. Someone had sabotaged the treadmills, which seemed to change speeds at random. It was enough to drive most students away from a Sunday morning workout, but not the brunette. Sweating through her workout clothes, she grabbed her water bottle, threw her towel over her shoulders, and cleaned up in the gym showers.

After changing into her typical outfit, Ruby was about to leave the building when she saw a new girl walk in. The most prominent feature was her deep purple hair tied in a waist-long ponytail, but other than that she looked suspiciously like… "Pyrrha? Is that you?"

The girl looked up, gave a nervous smile, and waved. "I see your day hasn't been as eventful as mine."

Ruby giggled. "Oh, I don't know about that. Yang and Kassidy sure made this morning interesting."

"I'm sure they did," Pyrrha laughed. "Speaking of which, where are they? Nora and I have been looking for them all morning."

"Oh, they're getting some quality time together. Need to keep camaraderie up, you know?"

"That I do. In that case, the four of us are about to get some lunch. Would you mind joining us?"

"That sounds great! Ooh, let me get Weiss!" Ruby dug her Scroll out, fumbled it, and dialed Weiss' number. "Hey, Weiss. Wait, you're still practicing? Oh, you just finished. Okay, great timing! Listen, JNPR's headed to lunch, and I figured it'd be a great time to hang with friends if we joined them. Alright, I'll let Pyrrha know." Hanging up, Ruby turned back to Pyrrha. "She just needs to shower first, then she'll be on her way."

A short while later found Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, and Pyrrha leaving the line at the cafeteria and headed to their usual table. Ren and Nora were both already seated, munching on BLT's. Oddly, Nora had baby blue hair, and seemed to be quite aggressive in consuming her sandwich. As they all sat down, a very prominent farting noise could be heard. All eyes were on Weiss, blushing like mad and standing up from a whoopee cushion that somehow escaped everyone's notice. Everyone but Weiss busted up laughing at the scenario, before the heiress disgustingly picked it up by a corner and tossed it a good ways away.

"So, what are Kassidy and Yang up to today?" Nora had a darker tone to her voice, and she glowered at Ruby.

It was Weiss to the rescue, however. "Oh, nothing much. We just made sure they got some team bonding time in. Important to be in good accord with one's partner, is it not? And I'm sure they both appreciate the rest."

"Yeah, um, about that." Ruby was quite nervous in her question. "Do you think maybe we took it a little too far?"

"Of course not," Weiss snapped. "Kassidy ruined my favorite outfit. And Yang would be a complete nightmare today. Really, it's the best for everyone involved."

"Would you happen to know where they are, by chance?" Nora seemed to be not quite herself when asking that question.

"Actually, I do." Ruby fiddled with her cape. "Um, why do you ask?"

"Well, let's see." Nora was getting more energetic, and this wasn't the energy she got from talking about pancakes and sloths; more like the energy she got from wanting to break Cardin's legs. "My syrup was spiked with vinegar again whenever we had pancakes this morning, mine and Pyrrha's shampoo had hair dye mixed in it, and someone messed with Ren's Scroll so that it'd mess with his meditations. Really, who else other than Kassidy and Yang would do it?"

"Ooooh." Ruby stuck her tongue out in thought. "They would've had to have done it last night, though. They've been… pretty busy all morning."

"That's even worse!" Nora leapt up from the table. "Where are they? WHERE ARE THEY?"

"Easy, Nora!" Pyrrha stood up also and planted a firm hand on her shoulder. "We'll find them after we're all done with lunch. Right?"

"What if they leave before we're done, though?" Nora was half asking, half whining in her usual manner.

Weiss typed on her Scroll a bit, then nodded and looked up. "Bob said they're both still where we left them. And not going anywhere anytime soon."

"Sounds great. How about we finish up lunch, then the six of us can go visit?" Jaune pulled out his Scroll and started playing a videogame. Ruby and Weiss exchanged apprehensive glances.

"Is there something you want to tell us?" Ren was eyeing them suspiciously.

"Uh – "

"No, there isn't." Weiss clamped a hand over Ruby's mouth. Ren and Pyrrha exchanged looks, before Jaune screamed like a girl and threw his Scroll across the table. Ruby wondered what the problem was, before she saw a scary face across the screen. Between that and the horrifying screech that sounded just before Jaune screamed, the events that had happened were obvious.

"I – I don't understand. I've had that game for months, and it's never done that."

"More of Kassidy's doings? She does have a way with electronics." Everyone looked at Ren, confused and surprised that he'd make such an accusation.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We're all done eating, and those two blondies have a lot to answer for." Nora leapt up, with Ren and Pyrrha right behind her (probably to keep her in check).

Ruby and Weiss shared a look, and the heiress nodded at her. "R-right. Uh, they're in our dorm. Let's go." As one, the six teens made their way across the campus. After several minutes of walking, they rounded the corner into their hallway. Curiously, Professors Goodwitch and Ozpin were standing in front of RWKY's dorm. Also curiously, Ozpin's spectacles had the addition of a comical false nose and mustache.

"Ah, children, maybe you'd be able to answer a few questions for me." Despite the humorous additions to his visage, Ozpin remained entirely serious. "There's been multiple breaches of the CCT Network's security systems leading to various machinery, including treadmills, several students' Scrolls, and mine and Glynda's desks. Naturally, Kassidy's computer is the most likely culprit, so I was about to ask what the matter was. However, perhaps you six have some knowledge on the situation?"

"Um, um um um, no sir," Ruby stammered. "I mean, the treadmills were all funny when I was getting my workout in, and Jaune's and Ren's Scrolls have apparently been acting weirdly. But you're thinking Bob did this?"

"Yes, we do." Glynda looked at the group. "Are you alright, Miss Schnee? You're looking rather contemplative."

Weiss paled slightly at getting caught, but quickly answered, "Actually, I was. I thought that maybe Kassidy and Yang had made yet another mess, and it would be wise to step in ourselves before you all entered." Ruby gaped at her, but Weiss continued. "However, I do believe it'd be worth the risk."

"Alright, you heard the lady. Open up the door. Those two have a lot to answer for. And I have some legs to break." Brandishing Magnhild, Nora stood in front of the door menacingly.

"Now, now. Perhaps they have a legitimate explanation for today's events." Ozpin chuckled to himself, before using his own Scroll to unlock the door. In hindsight, it shouldn't really surprise Ruby that the professors could unlock the dorm room doors themselves. The headmaster opened the door.

* * *

(Perspective: K)

 _Alright, just what has gotten into Bob? First off, I absolutely did not pack disco music in my hard drives, so he's definitely going around collecting Remnant music. And he's been doing that for the past three hours!_

Kassidy's though process ended there, as Yang inadvertently head-butted her. Glaring at the other blonde, she was only reminded of their situation. Whatever kind of tape Yang had gotten was clearly too strong. She made a mental note to ask later so she can shove a roll into her backpack. Hey, you never know when a roll of duct tape would come in handy. The two were drenched in sweat, and the sheets were smelly and sticky at this point. _Not like I'm going to complain about as mild an inconvenience as that, but still. Yang's taking care of this load of laundry._

The blonde being held fast mere inches from her was similarly displeased with the situation. Yang obviously hated disco as much as Kassidy did, and she had fought against the tape until she was exhausted. And still, every now and then Yang would shoot a glare her way, as if it were her fault that she refused to just get taped to her bed like nothing was going on. Oddly, a prominent blush has been on Yang's face since the whole thing started. Kassidy ruled out overheating, which left… _well, a whole lot, probably. Bob's the guy with the physiology database._

Suddenly, the lock to the dorm clicked, and the door opened slowly. Two pairs of eyes snapped to the sound; lilac filled with fear and trepidation, and hazel with annoyance and impatience. What neither of them were expecting, however, was a small party to try and cram itself into their room. The animated argument the eight were having quickly died down as they stared at the picture before them: two blondes in Kassidy's bed, taped together, drenched in sweat, clothed in their pajamas and tangled in the sheets as well as each other.

Seven of the eight instantly developed gigantic blushes, while Ozpin sipped from his mug with amusement. Glynda was the only one able to form words. "What on Remnant has gotten into you two?" Yang's eyes bugged out, while Kassidy settled for rolling hers while mumbling into the tape to emphasize her inability to speak. The deputy headmistress stormed over and removed the offending fabric and repeated her question.

Taking a few breaths, Kassidy glared at Yang as she spoke. "SOMEONE thought it would be a good idea if, and I quote, 'I got more rest to cheer up'. Then my own damn partner attacked me!"

"And?"

"And, what? I defended myself, obviously! Might've done it successfully too, if Yang wasn't twice my size."

Glynda sighed, before looking Yang in the eye. "Is this true?" Yang meekly nodded her head, before trying to bury her face into the mattress out of embarrassment. With an even more pronounced sigh, Glynda waved her stick and 'magically' removed their binds. Kassidy celebrated by literally and forcefully kicking Yang out of her bed, before stretching her limbs.

"Hey, what the hell was that for?" Yang shot up, eyes flashing red.

"I should be asking you that! Thanks to you being… whatever the hell that was this morning, I missed breakfast, I missed the opportunity for my morning workout, I missed the opportunity to make more ammo, and I missed the opportunity to catch up on my studies!"

"Why are you so damn pissy all the time? I thought you more than Ruby or Weiss would get a good prank!"

"That wasn't a prank, that was – "

A cane being forcefully slammed into the ground brought the argument to a screeching halt. "While I'm sure you two still have some issues to work out, I'm afraid that I have some issues of my own to resolve. Such as a computer breaching our cybersecurity and tampering with numerous devices at Beacon Academy."

Kassidy held her hands up in mock surrender. "Hey, don't look at me, you just saw where I spent the entirety of my morning. Unless…" Her jawline hardened, and she looked at her desk to the black box that had finally turned off that god-awful music. "Bob?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have anything you would like to say?"

"I plead the third."

Kassidy blinked. "Don't you mean the fifth?"

"No, I mean the third."

"You refuse to quarter troops in your house?"

"I have few principles, but I stick to them."

"Well, then. I do believe we've found our culprit." Ozpin had an amused look behind his mug as Glynda facepalmed. "In that case, I bid you good day and happy April Fool's." The two professors walked out, leaving the eight teenagers there. Kassidy looked at the clock. 11:45 AM. _Not even noon. I still have half a day to go. Could this possibly get any worse?_ Her face went blank and pale at that thought. _Wow, look at me tempt fate yet again. Yup, I'm definitely screwed._

* * *

 **AN 2: Well, that was a thing. Don't worry if you didn't get your fill of pranks this time around. This is a two-parter, after all.**

 **Also, I am confirming here and now that there are 13 chapters remaining in Volume 1. The second part of the April Fool's arc, one chapter afterwards, and two serious arcs of four chapters each, with two chapters of filler between them, rounding out with an epilogue. After that… I'm kinda tempted to take a small break to write a couple chapters of another story. What can I say? I have an active imagination. So, what do you guys think? Once I'm finished with Volume 1 material, should I bother with throwing up a couple chapters for a second story?**

 **And to finish things off, here are Reader Responses.**

 **Iron-ninja: Screwed indeed. Which, obviously, means that it's time for Kassidy to take her revenge.**

 **Guest: Believe me, I was** _ **incredibly**_ **tempted to put something similar to that in this chapter, but decided against it. Once we're out of these next two chapters, I'm not letting off of being serious for a good month or so. Figured you guys would like a little more humor/light-heartedness before that happens.**

 **James: No guarantees that I'll be able to keep the chapters this long, but for the time being this should satisfy your craving for longer chapters.**


	30. V1C29: Fool's Errand II

**Chapter 29: Fool's Errand II: Long Live the Queen**

 **AN: Alright, I kinda need to get this off my chest. Holy shit guys. 10.5k views, 60+ follows, nearly 50 favorites, and more regular readers than I can shake a hyperintelligent AI at. I still can't believe that RWKY has gotten the kind of success it has. Well, I mean, I don't really know what truly counts as success for a first story on this site, but I consider this a success for me. Honestly, truly, thank you. All of you. I am incredibly happy to have found a new hobby in writing as opposed to playing about 10 hours of video games a day, and I am tremendously grateful for being able to interact with all of you. As horribly cliché it is to say this, you guys really are the reason I keep writing.**

 **Also, I kinda want/need to address the future of this story. First things first, yes, I am in this for the long haul. At minimum, RWKY will continue until I've covered the end of Volume 3. After taking a good hour to think on and map out the story from here, I'm tentatively deciding on 103 chapters total for this story: the Introduction, the three volumes, intervolume material for the time periods between V1-2 and V2-3, and a two-part Epilogue. That means we've got 73 chapters to go. Two chapters a week, 37 weeks… what did I just sign myself up for again? So yeah, we're going all the way with this sucker.**

 **And as for that other story that I said I may have an idea on? Yeah, I can understand keeping the focus on one story at a time. After the epilogues I'll probably switch things up, but for now I can appreciate the need to give my full attention to one story at a time, to make it as good as I can.**

 **Enough talk about not-Kassidy stuff. In the part of the chapter that you guys actually care about, we briefly explore a bit of Kassidy's past, and for once it's not filled with murder death violence. One shopping spree later, REVENGE!**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Yang and Kassidy took opposite sides of the lunch table. As the two blondes tore into their respective sandwiches, Kassidy kept her head down and a glare in her eyes, which did nothing to improve Yang's mood. Truth be told, Kassidy wasn't terribly mad; sure, there was the fact that her whole morning got wasted, but she likes to think of herself as a simple girl. As long as it's not trying to kill her, she doesn't really care. However, the whole act of feigning hurt did have its own benefits. Firstly, it gave her some needed practice with lying. And second, it was critical to her plans that Yang thought she was pissed at her.

"Still not a word, huh?"

"If you want me to be sociable, you should try showering."

Yang's face lit up at having gotten her partner to finally talk to her. "I know I'd get you out of your shell eventually."

"Hmm."

"Ugh, I said I'm sorry. What more do you want from me?"

"Nothing you can give." A sly grin came across Kassidy's face, but she fought to instantly bring it back under control. "Besides, you should be worrying less about me. From what I've heard, you have a lot of catching up to do in this little prank war our group has started."

"Yeah, I suppose." Yang huffed and took another bite from her sandwich. _Wow, she's really that depressed I'm pretending to be mad at her? If the reward wasn't worth it if I pull this off right, I'd almost feel bad._

"Hey, Yang, would Ruby happen to like raisins by chance?"

The unexpected question pulled Yang out of her uncharacteristic moping. "Uh… no. Why do you ask?"

"Was planning on doing a bit of shopping this afternoon. Get everyone peace offerings. The whole shebang. And obviously the easy way to get on your sister's good side is with cookies."

Yang chuckled slightly. "Yeah, that's right. Though don't get her oatmeal raisin cookies. She hates those things."

"Good to know. Now, if you excuse me, I have a Bullhead to catch to downtown Vale." After cleaning up her dishes, Kassidy got on the next flight.

Unlike previous Bullhead trips, Kassidy was unable to hold her bile. The fact that her lunch was just wasted for naught did nothing to improve her mood. Eventually, and thankfully, the flight landed in the heart of the city. Consulting a map and ensuring her pistol was still concealed under the bottom of her jacket, she set off towards the nearest general store.

"So, uh, remind me again why we're actually going shopping?"

"Because, Bob, I have a reputation to protect."

"And what reputation would that be?"

Finding a Rem-mart, Kassidy stepped inside and began perusing their wares. "You actually don't know?" Stopping in front of a section with magnets, she smiled, nodded, and added a couple to her basket, before remembering something and facepalming. "Oh crap, that's right. My school days were before I built you. You probably don't have any records of the terror I inflicted upon my classmates at elementary."

"That would be an accurate assessment."

"Well, dear friend, get yourself comfortable, because it's story time." Throwing a bag of confetti on top of the slowly growing pile of odds and ends, Kassidy began to explain herself.

"Back on Earth, before everything bad happened, back when I was knee high to a grasshopper, I went to school. Yeah, imagine that."

"You must have been quite the model student. Incredibly intelligent, curious to a fault, and quite compassionate when the person in question isn't trying to kill you."

Kassidy snorted in laughter. "Boy do I have you fooled. I had that school ruled with an iron fist. Nothing hurtful or particularly mean, mind you, but between dominating every sport, every recess, every P.E. class, as well as the pranks I'd pull, I was basically the devil incarnate."

"If this was so bad, how come I've never heard of this before?"

"Well, it wasn't bad, per se. I was a pain in the ass, not destructive. As aggravating as I was to the teachers, they knew I was just after some honest fun. Sure, I got a slap on the wrist here and there, maybe a detention if I really got out of line, but it was just a huge game for me, and I bet it was one for them too." She had to stop to wipe tears of nostalgia from her eyes. "Damn, why does thinking of the past always make me cry? At least there's still a couple good memories up in my gray matter."

"Do I strike you as a psychologist?"

"Nope. Just someone who has to listen to me without getting a say in the matter."

"I feel so much better now."

"I'm sure you do, Bob. I'm sure you do." Stopping at the bakery, Kassidy picked out two packages of cookies: one chocolate chip, one oatmeal raisin.

"Didn't Yang say to not get the oatmeal raisin kind?"

"Yes."

"Then why did… ah. May I ask what is going on here?"

"Yes you may. Back home, April Fool's was a pretty big deal. I was pretty much the prank queen." Stepping up to a self-serve register, she smiled evilly. "You saw what everyone was dealing with this morning. The first blows have already been struck, and Yang had me taped to a bed all morning. After the fiasco that was this morning, it's time for the queen to take her throne once more."

* * *

There needed to be a specific method to the madness in order to get the most chaos out of today. For example, pranking Yang would be best to wait until the end of the day, when she and Pyrrha would be finished with a spar they had agreed on. Similarly, pranking Weiss needed to be done in a public place. Jaune was too easy, and anything she could do to him wouldn't have too many run-on effects with the rest of their little circle. Same thing with Ruby. And as for Ren… it took her a while for her to figure out how to even prank him in a meaningful way.

However, after some thought, Kassidy decided that it would be best to kill two birds with one stone by pranking both Ren and Nora simultaneously, and it was the pink clad grenadier that she was looking for now. Nora wasn't terribly hard to find, currently working out in one of the gyms and benching… _350 pounds?! How many pancakes did that girl eat for breakfast this morning?_ Shaking her head, Kassidy took the opportunity to strike. For this particular prank, she'd need to prey on Nora's competitive nature, and the dire warnings Ren gave everyone about not letting her have caffeine. "Hey there Valk. Thanks for not breaking my legs this morning."

Nora sat up from the bench, wiping her face with a towel. "Well, you're lucky you were able to prove you didn't actually dye my hair. Or spike my syrup. Still need to figure out who did, though."

"I'm sure you'll find out who soon enough. Hmm, three hundred fifty pounds? Not bad. Keep up the work and you might catch up to Yang."

"WHAT? Yang lifts more than me?" Nora didn't catch on to the lie. In reality, they were dead even, but the impact was made.

"Yeah, she was doing three eighty five yesterday."

"Crap! I gotta work more, then!"

"I think I might be able to help with that." Upon Nora's confused look, Kassidy pulled out a tall can of a heavily caffeinated energy drink from her book bag. "I like making new friends, and one of them was quick to recommend this little beauty for helping with energy levels."

"Gimme! Gimme, gimme, gimme!" Nora snatched the can out of her hands and straight up chugged the whole thing. After finishing the drink, she dropped the can without lowering it from her face. Her pupils had narrowed to pinhole sized, and there was a slight tremble in her hands.

 _Excellent. Now, to finish things off…_ "Oh, by the way, Bob managed to get into the video surveillance in Beacon. Turns out it was Jaune that spiked your syrup, and Pyrrha that dyed your shampoo." The best part about this was that those weren't actually lies. _It really is true that it's the quiet ones you need to watch out the most for._

Nora turned her head to face Kassidy, manic grin plastered on her face. "Okaythanksbye!" With that, she seemed to teleport, only the faintest pink blur indicating that Nora had zoomed out the door. Presumably to deal with her treacherous teammates.

 _Only one thing left to do, and that's to make sure Nora gets pranked too. And there's only one man for the job for that._ Having Bob bring up the CCT's equivalent of a text messaging service, Kassidy typed quickly.

I'M SO SORRY, REN.

The reply took a few seconds.

WHAT FOR?

YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT IT SOON ENOUGH.

YOU GAVE NORA CAFFEINE, DIDN'T YOU?

HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF SUCH A RECKLESS THING? ALSO, YES I DID. GOOD LUCK.

YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS.

* * *

With Nora wreaking havoc across the school grounds, and Ren desperately trying to contain her rampage, it was safe to say that everyone was suitably distracted. With nobody to catch her in the act, Kassidy had ample opportunity to set up her next three pranks. Jaune liked his comic books, so those were the obvious targets. Bob found and mimicked the signal needed to unlock their door, and she spied one on his bed, opened to the first page. _Perfect._

Pulling out a cheap bottle of glue, she wasted no time in gluing random pages together. _This is too easy. There's gotta be something else here worth doing._ Looking around, she spied Crocera Mors lying on what she assumed to be Jaune's desk. _Well, if push comes to shove I can probably blame it on Cardin. Or Ruby._ The shield turned scabbard had simple mechanisms, and it was equally simple to rig it to expand after being jostled by only a slight force.

Satisfied with her work, Kassidy returned to her own dorm. The next targets were Ruby and Weiss. Dropping the two packages of cookies on her bed, she got to work swapping the cookies. Again, too easy, but there was more that could be done. Taking the oatmeal raisin package (now filled with chocolate chip), she worked it on Yang's bed, slightly under her covers while leaving enough of it poked out to make it look like Yang was careless.

After preparations were made, Kassidy sat down to her desk. Now, it was merely a matter of waiting. Weiss always went on study marathons on Sunday afternoons, and almost always had Ruby dragged into the library with her. Kassidy needed the heiress' study materials for her next act, and giving Ruby false cookies wasn't much of a prank when Ruby wasn't around to receive them. _One thirty? Probably another hour before they get back. Might as well get my own studying done while I can. Got that Grimm Studies test on Tuesday._

A solid sixty minutes of memorizing Creep biology later, and Ruby and Weiss both burst into the room right on schedule. The two were arguing as per usual: Ruby about how unfair it was to be cooped up in the library for two and a half hours, and Weiss on their leader's ineffectual study habits. Kassidy let them go at it for about a minute, then cleared her throat and stood up. "Hey, I know something that'll cheer you up, Ruby."

"What's that?"

"I feel kinda bad about snapping at you earlier. So I went and got you these." Digging into her bag, Kassidy brought out the package of chocolate chip cookies (which were actually oatmeal raisin). In a 'blink and you'll miss it' moment, Kassidy went from holding a box of cookies to holding a small handful of rose petals as Ruby tore the box from her hands, spouting absurd amounts of thank-yous before opening the container and inhaling the first one. Her face was priceless as it twisted into a grimace, and it took most of Kassidy's self-control not to bust up laughing. "Is there a problem?"

"This isn't chocolate chip! This is oatmeal raisin! I HATE OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES!"

"Woah, what? Did they mark it wrong or something?"

"I thought that too, until I noticed that the package had already been opened before you gave it to Ruby." Weiss was all too quick to try and sound intelligent. _Which is just what I was counting on._

As Ruby advanced on her menacingly, Kassidy schooled her face into one of fear, while pretending to back into the bunk bed. "Now hold on, this wasn't my doing! Let's not do anything drastic, okay?" Kassidy looked behind her and conveniently saw the package of oatmeal raisin cookies (which were actually chocolate chip). "Wait, what?" Pulling them out from their hidey hole, she was enthused by Weiss making the comment that they were pre-opened as well.

Ruby halted in her tracks. "Okay, so you gave me a package of chocolate chip cookies that were actually oatmeal raisin. Then you pulled out a package of oatmeal raisin cookies hidden under Yang's sheets."

Kassidy nodded along, pretending to be as clueless as Ruby was. "You don't think…?"

Ruby took a cookie, pleasantly finding it to be chocolate chip. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed and hardened in resolve. "Yang. You will pay for this treachery, sister!" The door flew open and shut, a trail of rose petals leading out.

Weiss looked at Kassidy, pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed. "Well played, I suppose. At least it'll keep those two out of my hair for a while."

"My pleasure." Kassidy returned to her notes on Bob, before 'suddenly' thinking of something. "Hey, you usually take walks right about this time, don't you?" Of course Weiss took walks through the campus gardens on Sunday afternoons. It seemed to be the heiress' favorite means of relaxing.

"Um, yes? Why do you ask?"

"Do you mind leaving out your notes while you go out? I think I might've missed something on that Grimm Studies exam I need."

"Ugh. Alright, fine. But please start paying more attention in class." With that, Weiss gathered up her coat and practically strutted out the door. _Well, don't try to look like an arrogant rich kid or anything._

With the dorm room empty once again, Kassidy smirked as she made her way over to the study materials on Weiss' desk. Of course, it wasn't the notes themselves that were important. _Crap, actually paying attention to Port? I'll do that whenever Yang gets a haircut._ No, the true targets were Weiss' pens. Taking out the two that were there, Kassidy brought them over to her desk and quickly disassembled them, leaving them with empty inkwells. Reaching into her bag, she dug out a small bag of fake blood. _Not every day I get to make Weiss eat her own words. This'll be fun if I can make this happen in a public enough place. Which I will, because she's predictable._

* * *

Having spent most of the afternoon innocently studying in her room, Kassidy was the first to dinner. More sandwiches, this time of the roast beef variety. Settling down to a rather large sandwich, with a healthy helping of salad at Bob's insistence, she started slowly consuming her food while looking at the news. First to the table was Jaune and Pyrrha. The former nursed an injured arm, while the latter looked out of breath and annoyed. Kassidy decided to broach the conversation first. "Hey there, you two. How's your day been so far?"

"You mean after we walked in on you and Yang, well, you know…?" Jaune and Pyrrha both blushed immensely at his mention of the incident. _What the hell is with people recently? This is getting more than a little annoying._

"Hey, I did warn you not to visit our dorm today. Oh, I almost forgot something." Kassidy dug around in her pockets before grabbing what she had stuffed in there earlier. "Hey, Pyrrha, did I hear right your Semblance thingamajig is magnetism?"

"Polarity, actually."

"Ugh, there you people go with your incorrect science terms again." Kassidy faked a pout, before pulling her hand up to reveal the magnets she held. "Either way, catch."

She had tossed the trio of magnets perfectly. Pyrrha tried ducking out of the way, but it made little difference as the small stones started orbiting her head. Kassidy bit back some chuckles as Pyrrha tried to reach a hand up to grab them, only to have the magnets move away from her hand. About a minute of struggling later, a very frustrated Pyrrha resigned herself to having a trio of magnets orbit her head for the foreseeable future.

It was at this moment that Ruby and Yang sat themselves down to the table. Both of them had grass and dirt streaks in their hair and clothes, and looked exhausted. They were about to continue an argument before they abruptly stopped and stared at the newest additions to Pyrrha's head. Ruby decided to ask the obvious question. "Are those-"

"Magnets," Pyrrha confirmed.

The two sisters looked at each other, then started giggling helplessly. Obviously, Yang had a pun for the situation. "Wow, Pyrrha, I guess you've got quite the magnetic personality."

"Quite attractive, if I do say so myself." Kassidy's attempt at humor was met with four blank stares and reddened faces.

"Dust, you actually don't know what you're saying, do you?" Yang's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Uh, of course I do? Why would I use words that I don't understand the definitions of?"

"Because you evidently don't understand every definition of the words you're saying." Weiss came up to the table, dropped a large salad in front of her seat, and pulled out her notes and pens. Shortly behind her were Nora and Ren, both of whom were flustered and out of breath.

"Kassidy… don't do that again… ever," Ren managed to get out between pants. "I had to get an actual sloth for her to calm down."

"Well, congrats on your new team mascot." Kassidy got back to her sandwich, while noticing out of the corner of her eye Weiss getting notebook and pen ready to do some more studying. _All I have to do is wait for her to start writing and…_

"What the…" Weiss stared in confusion at the red her pen was secreting, before her eyes went wide, she jumped out of her seat, and let loose an ear-piercing scream. The seven other teens practically fell out of their seats, apart from Kassidy who was rather curious.

Unpredictedly, but much to Kassidy's amusement, Professor Goodwitch came over to investigate the scream. "What on Remnant are you eight doing this time?"

"My pen! It… uh… it…" Weiss was having trouble doing English.

Kassidy leaned in to take a closer look at the red-inked notes. She took a sniff and nodded authoritatively, before turning to the heiress. "You know, when you said a few weeks ago you'd take notes with the blood of your enemies, I didn't think you meant that literally."

"WHAT?!" Weiss was flabbergasted, before leaning in herself to examine the situation. "This is fake blood, and you asked me to leave my notes out earlier so you could study them." Turning around with unrestrained fury, Weiss conjured a white glyph in front of her. "Any last words, Smith?"

Kassidy got up from the table and started slowly backing away. "Would this be a good time to start running?" With eight nods of yes, she turned around and got to work dodging ice blasts from Weiss, eventually making it out of the cafeteria more or less unscathed.

She waited for a good twenty minutes, before the gang left as a group and started heading towards the practice arenas for Yang and Pyrrha's spar. As they left, Kassidy got Nora's attention, and pulled her off to the side. "Hey, I don't like asking for favors, but could I borrow Magnhild for a little bit?"

Nora narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "And why is that?"

"Because I saved the best for last." The two girls grinned wildly, and shook on it.

It took a little bit, but the modifications were done. Twenty minutes later, Kassidy found herself walking into the arena just as Yang and Pyrrha's sparring match ended. Apparently, there had been a couple other friendly bouts before the main event, which suited her just fine. With the grenade launcher and specialty grenade stowed in her giant hiking backpack, she found a bench to watch the end of the fight.

Surprisingly, Pyrrha messed up. Not to where she got beaten by Yang, but to where she completely drained the last of Yang's aura. The blonde hit the ground hard, sore and exhausted. Pyrrha ran over with a mouth full of apologies, and helped her up. Yang stood shakily, but quickly got her footing. Looking around, she asked, "Anything else before we all pack up for the night?"

"Yes." Kassidy faked an angry voice, and walked out. "I still have a score to settle with you from this morning."

"Sorry K, my aura's kinda nonexistent right now."

"Good." Kassidy took a few steps forward before setting the backpack down from off her shoulders.

"Uh, you're starting to scare me a bit partner. What's going on?"

"What's going on?" Kassidy spat on the ground before continuing. "You attacked me, wasted my morning, and have been a general pain. And that's just today. This whole semester you've been going out of your way to test my patience. Well, today you pushed it too far." _Alright, enough with the monologue. Need to do this now before they catch on to this prank._

Yang took a few steps back. "What's this about?"

With the prompt from her partner, Kassidy opened her bag and took out Magnhild, making sure her modified grenade was already loaded. "I guess what I'm trying to say is… you're fired."

The next second and a half occurred in slow motion. The projectile left the launcher, Yang's eyes went comically wide, and everyone else was yelling and screaming and had wide eyes of their own. Yang threw up her arms in a useless instinct to shield herself and squeezed her eyes shut. Then, just as the grenade reached her, it exploded.

When Yang didn't hear the expected detonation, she dared to crack an eye open. She was now covered in confetti, the dull metal case rolling to a stop at her feet. Silence filled the room for exactly three seconds, before Kassidy crumpled to the floor, no longer able to contain her laughter. Yang started laughing too, and in a few moments everyone was in on the joke. Even Weiss and Ren were failing to suppress a few giggles.

Eventually, Yang crawled to her feet and made her way over to Kassidy, before bowing at the knee. "Well, I tried my best, and I can't believe I'm saying this. But I think someone beat me in pranking today."

Ruby gasped. "What? Nobody's ever beaten Yang before! That means… Kassidy! You're the new Prank Queen!"

Nora got in on the act. "Long live Queen Kassidy!"

* * *

 **AN 2: Okay, so thanks to my absolutely flawless time management skills, I'm writing the second half of this author's note roughly fifteen minutes before this gets posted, if not sooner than that. Yeah, the last few sentences were a little on the rushed side, but I doubt I would've been able to get down anything better at a reasonable time. While there's a bunch more I can talk about, I've already started things off with the longest AN ever. So let's skip straight to the Reader Responses and save more discussion for Wednesday.**

 **Matt Cyr: The disco hate was not a Martian reference. Rather, The Martian referenced any sane person's rational hatred for the abomination of music that is disco.**

 **James: I can understand that, and I'll be keeping the second story ideas down for a while. A prequel, though? Probably not.**

 **Akshka: No tape here, but hopefully entertaining as is.**

 **AndJrew76: Long time, no read! So glad you're continuing to enjoy the story.**

 **AgentDraakis: Alright, just because you asked, a small innuendo. To tide you over until Wednesday. We're hitting that point pretty damn hard next chapter.**


	31. V1C30: Harrassment (RATED M)

**Chapter 30: Harrassment**

 **VIEWER DISCRETION WARNING: I AM RATING THIS CHAPTER M FOR ATTEMPTED SEXUAL ASSAULT. SERIOUSLY, IF YOU'D RATHER NOT READ IT THEN I'M STICKING THE OFFENDING SECTION IN BETWEEN LINE BREAKS. DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU.**

 **AN: Well, with that out of the way… yeah. Not really sure what prompted me to write that, it just kinda happened. I know I promised one last light-hearted chapter, but apparently we took a detour straight to Seriousville. At least the first half is still light… ish.**

 **Also worth noting, there plans for at least one more chapter with graphic content similar to this. While Four Birds, One Stone toed the line, I personally feel that this steps way over that T-M line. I'll follow the etiquette I established here for any and all content of that variety and make sure it's clearly and repeatedly labelled. This is still a T-rated fic, so if anyone doesn't want to deal with that then I'll make sure it's clear what to avoid. Is it actually M-rated material? Dunno, but better safe than sorry.**

 **Anyway… in today's chapter, Kassidy figures out what the hell is up with everyone, before having the single most embarrassing conversation she has ever had. Then Kassidy gets cornered. I'll give you three guesses as to which team the offending party is on.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Friday, April 6. This was the day that Kassidy swore she would die on. Not from Grimm, or from a superpowered teenager, or who knows what else was on this god forsaken planet. No, the cause of Kassidy Smith's death would be from annoyance overload. For the past five days, almost everyone she ran into was giving her sideways glances, blushed in her presence, watched her when they thought she couldn't see them, or just straight up leered at her.

Of course, her first reaction was paranoia. Having every kid on campus, and most of the teachers for that matter, giving her strange looks constantly? That was the first sign something was very wrong. Two days and three attempts to bait out a possible assault later, however, and Kassidy concluded that there wasn't an actual threat. Which made the continued behaviors of everyone around her incredibly annoying. Especially when she couldn't figure out why.

Sure, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang acted normally. Ruby was still the hyperactive dork that had way too much fondness for her weapon and used her adorableness to get her way in things. Weiss was still the stuck up perfectionist with a ridiculous work ethic and enough pride for three people. Yang was still the overly friendly brawler that would beat you into a pulp for even looking at Ruby wrong… or her hair, for that matter.

Unfortunately, they were the only three people she interacted with on a daily basis that did act normally. A prime example for 'people behaving strangely' would be team JNPR, which was sitting at the lunch table with them. Sure, most of them kept to their food, or told another ridiculous story in Nora's case, but every now and then Pyrrha would try and sneak a glance at Kassidy and Yang as they ate. After a few minutes of this, Kassidy had enough. Finishing off her stew, she stood up. "Hey Pyrrha, can we talk privately?"

"Um, sure." Pyrrha seemed incredibly nervous at the request, but nonetheless got up and followed her out the cafeteria.

 _Still have an hour before combat training class. Should be enough time to get some solid answers out of her._ Leading her to an unused classroom, Kassidy shut the door behind them before glaring at Pyrrha. "Alright, what gives?"

Pyrrha gave a nervous chuckle. "What do you mean?"

"Don't give me that crap. All week you guys have been sneaking glances when you thought I wasn't looking." Pushing her hands into her eyes, she sighed. "And don't think I haven't noticed everyone else doing that too. Which means that either half the damn school's gone crazy at exactly the same time, or there's some kind of sick joke that nobody's clued me in on. So, care to clue me in?"

Pyrrha's eyes widened, and she started shaking her head and arms. "No, no, no! It's not sick at all! Or a joke! Honestly, it's a great thing that you and Yang have found. I'm just surprised that you two are taking it so slow."

Kassidy planted her hands on her hips, shook her head, and sighed. "Bob, help me out here. Apparently Yang and I found something, and people think we're not going fast enough. What am I missing here?"

"You honestly don't know what I'm talking about, do you?" Kassidy confirmed Pyrrha's suspicion, who giggled softly. "I was talking about you and Yang dating."

Kassidy's jaw dropped. "Alright, just to be clear, you're talking about 'pursuing a romantic relationship' dating, and not 'finding interesting dates on the calendar' dating, is that right?" Pyrrha nodded, which left Kassidy even more flabbergasted. "Um, what the fuck? What could have possibly given you this idea?"

"Now what are you talking about?" Pyrrha took a more defensive stance in their conversation. "You're the only one of us that even tolerates Yang's puns, she's the only of us that can get you to open up, and don't even make me mention what happened Sunday morning."

"In case you failed to notice, I actually LIKE puns, I DON'T do a lot of talking to begin with, and Yang ATTACKED me that morning. Seriously, we are NOT dating." _Am I still sleeping? Is this another nightmare? God I hope not, this is gonna take so much alcohol to forget._

"Look, I can understand if you want to keep this quiet. I know not everyone is tolerant of it, but we're your friends, right? You don't feel like you need to hide around us. I'm sure Jaune, Nora, and Ren feel the same way.

"Oh for the love of… I'll take 'Conversations I Never Thought I'd Have' for eight hundred, Bob."

"I just got a message. Ruby wants to know what you're up to." _Heh, that code phrase for providing an excuse to get me out of a conversation is never going to be more appropriate._

"Better not keep our fearless leader waiting, then. And Pyrrha? Get the hint." Without waiting for another word, Kassidy stormed out of the room and returned to the lunch table.

"Hey, Kass." Fortunately, Ruby was contributing to her cover story. "How was your talk?"

"Mortifying." Kassidy got some odd looks, but she didn't mind. _Honestly, if that was what this had all been about, I'll take those looks all eight days of the week._ "Fair warning, I'm skipping today's team practice. Yang, too."

"Wait, what?" All three of her teammates responded at exactly the same time.

"Yang's doing her best to make me die of old age before I hit twenty. We need to have a very serious talk about that."

"Um… okay?" Yang seemed perplexed.

The three and a half hours between when the two teams finished their lunches, and time seemed to be mocking Kassidy as much as the strange looks she got were. Time dragged on forever, and she had plenty of opportunities to repeat the conversation she had with Pyrrha over and over again in her head. At least Nora beat the everliving crap out of Dove Bronzewing in Combat Training, so that was nice. What was also nice was Yang almost blowing up half the lab in Applied Chemistry. Again. Still, the mortifying conversation she just had and the obviously mortifying conversation she was going to have raced through her mind.

Finally, classes ended for the day. As Ruby, Weiss, and Yang changed out of their school uniforms, Kassidy yet again waited outside their dorm for her teammates to finish. They did, and as Kassidy pulled on her leggings and shirt in the bathroom, her mind kept racing as to how she was going to play this out despite having the past three and a half hours to plan out every little detail. Collecting her breath and stepping out, she wasted no time in dragging Yang with her to another unused classroom.

Yang spoke up before Kassidy got a word in edgewise. "Alright, you know the rules. If we're going to have these secret meetings, you need to tell me something embarrassing."

Kassidy's mind ground to a halt. "We never made that rule. And this isn't a case of 'I never agreed to it', you flat out never said that before."

"That's because I just made it, silly." Yang grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"Well, I don't agree to it."

"Ugh, you are the worst. C'mon, Bob. You're with her all the time. You gotta have something juicy for me, right?"

"I don't know if this is the proper setting to do so."

"I'll let you try out your latest combat protocols on me tonight." That sealed the deal; ever since that whole fiasco with their first training mission, Bob was almost as fanatical as Kassidy was about upgrading his ability to fight. And it wasn't often he got to spar, what with the two factors of Ozpin not approving of his 'borrowing' androids, and never being able to get a sparring partner.

"Deal. You didn't hear this from me, but lately Kassidy has had a bit of envy regarding breast size."

"WHAT?! BOB!" Kassidy screeched as Yang tried, and failed, to contain her giggles. "That's it, open up the infinite loop program. You're in time out. Again."

"Ugh, you know how much I hate getting stuck in an infinite loop."

"Maybe you should've kept that in mind."

"Still worth it." With those words, Bob seemingly shut down. He wouldn't be doing much of anything for a while.

"I don't hear you denying it." You could almost literally hear Yang's smirk.

"I, you, eh, uh…" Kassidy's brain shut itself down, unable to form a coherent response. Eventually, her head sank in defeat and she mumbled, "It's not my fault that puberty forgot about that part."

Yang apparently heard that, though. Laughing, she sat herself down on the bench next to Kassidy. "Hey, don't worry about it that much. We all grow differently, and I don't think you're done growing yet."

Kassidy half-heartedly shoved at her partner. "Quit trying to make me feel better. It's not working." _How I wish I had Ruby's cloak right about now. Hiding in it sure looks like an attractive alternative right now. Or maybe even blaming my furious blush on reflected light. Or something._

"Oh, cheer up, sourpuss! Who cares if you're a little small right now?"

Kassidy looked at Yang with an incredulous glance. "Small?"

Yang elbowed her. "Yeah, but don't worry. You'll fill out."

"Quit trying to spare my feelings; I'm not small. Weiss is small. I'm flat."

Yang waved her hand and snorted, "Pfft, you're not flat. What's your bra size?"

Kassidy somehow found the means to blush harder, as she tried to find somewhere to burrow in and hide until the end of time. "Isn't that a little personal?"

"Among us girls? Nah, not really. At least, it isn't with Rubes and I." Yang elbowed her again. "So, c'mon. I guarantee you're not flat."

Whether it was due to not really knowing better, or being far too flustered to care, Kassidy decided not to argue with that logic. A few seconds of silence followed. "I don't have one."

"Um, what do you mean by that?"

"I mean I don't even wear a bra. There's nothing to support." Standing up and burying her face in her hands, Kassidy let out a long, frustrated sigh. "Thank god Pyrrha can't hear us right now. Willing to bet this would've completely invalidated my argument."

"Yeah, okay. Now that I got my amusement for the day, what did you want to talk about? I figured it had something to do with your talk with her."

Almost as if remembering that particular conversation, Kassidy whirled on Yang with renewed vigor. "What have you been up to lately?"

"Err…"

"Surely you've noticed people staring at us all week, right?"

"Nothing I'm not used to."

"Well, it's something I'm VERY not used to, and according to Pyrrha it's because they think we're dating."

Yang blinked. "They do?"

"Apparently. I'm still not sure how exactly they came to that faulty conclusion, but I am sure that it's nothing to do with me. Which means you're obviously to blame. So, I ask again, just what have you been up to lately?"

Yang furrowed her brow in thought for a little bit, before lighting up in a grin again. "Are you sure you have nothing to do with it?"

"Of course I don't! Which of my actions could have possibly made them think that?"

"How about the constant innuendos you keep dropping?"

"What innuendos?"

Yang ran a hand down her face. "Dust, I can't believe I'm about to have this conversation."

"What conversation?"

Yang patted the bench next to her and beckoned Kassidy to sit. Sitting cross legged, Yang turned to face her. "When Nora says she and Ren aren't 'together-together', do you know what they mean?"

"Eh?" Kassidy had never really given it thought before. Why would she? They're just really good friends, probably since their childhood. "Not really. Where does this come from?"

"When you called Pyrrha 'attractive' on Sunday with that whole magnet situation, do you have any idea how that could have been interpreted?"

"As a scientifically accurate descriptor of the system consisting of the magnets and her head?"

"Dear Oum, not even Weiss is this dense." Yang leaned back and rubbed her face, before deciding on a course of action. "Kassidy… Dust I can't believe I'm about to ask this. Did you ever get The Talk?"

"I've gotten plenty of talks from plenty of people. You're going to need to be more specific."

Yang looked unamused. "The talk that deals with… you know… a person's private parts?"

Kassidy blushed heavily at Yang's insinuation, but nevertheless thought about it. "Not that I can think of. If they're not mine, then they quite comfortably fall into the 'none of my damn business' category." Yang was about to say something more, Kassidy seemed to remember something and snapped her fingers. "Ah, that's it! Dad did give me what he called an abbreviated talk when I was nine. Said it was good for any and every talk I would ever need."

Yang eyed her suspiciously. "Do you mind telling me that talk he had with you? Because something's telling me it wasn't good for this one."

"Don't do stupid shit."

Yang blinked. "Was that it?"

Kassidy thought a little more. "He said something about pills, but I don't really get what those have to do with anything."

Yang buried her face in her hands. Her muffled voice sounded frustrated. "Yup. I'm actually going to need to have this conversation with my partner at Beacon." Letting her hands down, Yang looked Kassidy in the eye. "Well, while that talk isn't technically wrong… actually, yeah, it's pretty much wrong."

"I sincerely doubt that."

Yang chuckled lightly. "Alright, as much fun as it would be to keep making fun of your unintentional innuendos, this is stuff you kinda need to know. So listen up, because I really don't want to say this twice."

* * *

Glynda wasn't meeting her for additional training anymore. While Weiss was normally always up for helping her swordswomanship, tonight was an exception as the heiress felt as though she needed to get more studying done. Which was perfectly acceptable to Kassidy. She had been right, the conversation with Yang had indeed been mortifying, and not just due to Bob's not incorrect declaration. _Holy fuck did things just become a lot more complicated._

Kassidy tried to focus on her dinner, but to no avail. With both the rest of her team and JNPR having left a short while ago, the awkward glances sent her way were now painfully obvious, and that wasn't the paranoia talking. If Kassidy was moderately annoyed earlier, she was seriously uncomfortable now. Shifting in her seat yet again, she decided that Bob had enough of a punishment and brought him out of his little time-out program. He needed to be ready for his spar with Yang, after all. _Or is it a date now? Goddamnit, why is all this crap coming up now?_

Making sure her computer was ready for his spar with Yang, Kassidy dug into her food to try and distract herself from everyone around her. Unfortunately, the lasagna did a very poor job of providing a lasting distraction, and it wasn't long before the plate was empty. Picking up after herself, Kassidy decided to make up for the lack of evening training with another workout.

* * *

 **BEGIN M RATED SECTION**

The gym proved to be no safe haven, however. The awkward glances continued, as it seemed like everyone in the gym was taking their fill of her. _Jesus Christ on a pogo stick. I've never been this self-conscious about anything. Am I going crazy? This cannot be normal. Pfft, like I was ever normal._ Setting the bar on the rack after doing some squats, Kassidy looked behind her to find the worst of it all. For, standing behind her, eyes firmly on her pronounced rear, was Russel Thrush, the sword wielding douchebag from CRDL.

As she moved to bench presses, Kassidy found that Thrush had followed her, doing a bad job of looking like he was exercising while never taking his eyes off of her. It only took a further ninety seconds of this before she decided she had her fill of the workout. Abruptly putting up the weights halfway through her second set, Kassidy wasted no time in hurrying out the gym.

Now, as a girl with a profound sense of paranoia, Kassidy Smith was very good at telling when someone was following her, or when she was being watched. You had to be skilled to escape her notice for any length of time. And Russel Thrush was not skilled. As such, Kassidy almost instantly noticed the boy following her. Although she already knew the answer, she decided to prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that she was being followed. Taking the most circuitous route possible, Kassidy took nearly ten minutes to arrive in the dorm building, a far cry from the four minutes it usually took. Sure enough, Thrush had followed her the whole way.

"Hey, Bob?" Kassidy whispered into her earpiece, "How quickly could you get me help?"

"Depends, what for?"

"You know that Russel Thrush prick from CRDL? He's been following me for the past ten minutes, AFTER he stared at me the whole time I was in the gym. Not sure if it's paranoia or… a result from mine and Yang's talk earlier, but I don't like this."

"Hey there, little bird." Kassidy had subconsciously slowed her gait while talking on her earpiece, and Russel used the opportunity to catch up with her. Taking a subtle glance around, she found herself in an empty hallway, with Russel using his body to block the wall in the direction where they came. The only direction she could easily go was into a corner.

"Interesting nickname. What's the occasion?" Kassidy did her best to sound level-headed. If nothing else, the cool weight of her ever-present pistol in the small of her back was there. _Another benefit of paranoia: I'm never unarmed._

"Ah, don't worry about it, I make nicknames up for everyone." Russel slowly started pressing forward, making Kassidy back away to maintain distance. Thanks to Yang's talk, she knew damn well where this was going. "Hey, are you alright? You've been looking out of it all week, and at dinner you seemed really uncomfortable."

"You've been watching me?" Kassidy let out a small snort, partly to emphasize her next point, partly to reassure herself. "You have any idea how dangerous it is to be watching an armed, paranoid woman?"

"I was worried. Cardin's a jackal in human form, and Dove and Sky are both jackasses, but I try not to be like them. I didn't like the look of you being so worried."

 _I sincerely doubt that._ "Yes, you didn't like the look so much you stared at me the whole time I was in the gym, then proceeded to follow me after I took the most circuitous route possible back to the dorms just to make sure you were indeed following me."

Russel raised his hands, but kept pressing forward. "Guilty as charged. I just don't want to let a pretty girl like yourself be so worked up about nothing."

"You really think I'm pretty?" Suddenly, her back hit the wall. _The corner already? Damnit Kass, way to not pay attention._

"Of course. So, what do you say, little bird? Maybe get a bite to eat some day? Get to know each other a little more?"

Kassidy decided to try and end things now. Diplomatically, anyway. "Actually, I really need to get to my dorm right about now. Need to study." She tried to move along the wall…

Only for Russel to predictably put an arm up to block her escape. "Why not come to my place, then? We can study together. Or maybe find something else to occupy our time?" He waggled his eyebrows in a manner that would have befuddled Kassidy were it not for her current situation.

"Sorry, not an option. Weiss is waiting on me, and I'm late as is."

"I'm sure snow angel won't mind. So c'mon. I can show you a great time."

 _Alright, that's it. This stops here._ Slowly, stealthily moving her arm behind her back to reach for her pistol, Kassidy tried to buy time as well as distract his attention. "Now, look, I've been more than reasonable, but if you don't let me out then-"

"You'll what?" Suddenly, Russel shoved his forearm into her chest, pinning her arm between her back and the wall and causing her to let out an 'eep!'. "No need to do anything drastic, is there? I just wanna spend some time with you is all." Cursing her ludicrously weak muscles, Kassidy could only think of one thing to get her out at this point. It was a classic, after all. Bracing her legs for a quick second, she swiftly brought her knee into the boy's crotch.

Leave it to aura to ruin all her plans. Russel seemed to have barely felt that, not to say that he didn't notice it. Grabbing her other arm and pinning it to the wall as well, he leaned in closer with a sneer. "Now that wasn't very nice, was it?"

It was at this moment that salvation came, courtesy of a golden gauntlet slamming into the side of his face while firing a high impact shell. Filled with fury, eyes blazing red and hair blazing gold, Yang was the picture of holy retribution as she cocked Ember Celica for another shot. "Neither is getting all handsy with my partner, Thrush."

Russel's face was filled with bowel-voiding terror. "Hey, this wasn't what it looked like."

"No, it was exactly what it looked like. I saw everything." Yang took a few menacing steps forward and sucker punched him, her gauntlets giving another loud report. "Cardin's going to be scraping what's left of you off the wall when I'm done." Another punch depleted his aura and broke his arm.

A purple barrier separated Yang and Thrush. A very irate Glynda came storming down the hall moments later. Russel seemed utterly relieved, as he predictably tried to spin the story. "Oh thank Oum you're here, Professor Goodwitch! Yang just-"

"Silence!" Using her telekinesis, Glynda threw him into the wall and pinned him there. "I came here fully aware of the events leading up to this moment. And if it were up to me, Mr. Thrush…" Glynda walked into his face and gave him a glare that would shame the dead into dying a second time. "You would count yourself beyond lucky if you were merely expelled."

 **END M RATED SECTION**

* * *

Kassidy simply stood there stunned. As the livid deputy headmistress dealt with the offending party, Yang cooled off and wrapped up Kassidy in a fierce bear hug. Shortly thereafter, the rest of their little circle came running down the hall as well. Jaune spoke for the six of them. "What happened? We heard something about an emergency and came here as fast as we could."

Neither of them spoke. Yang merely nodded her head in Thrush's direction, who was still being chastised by Glynda. A few seconds of listening in told the newcomers all. Nora made threats about how he'd be missing more than his legs, and for once Ren and Pyrrha made no efforts to stop her; only the dutifulness of Glynda spared the boy's life. Ruby turned things into a group hug. Jaune and Weiss stood there with their jaws planted firmly on the ground.

A couple hours later saw Kassidy sitting at her desk in their dorm room idly fiddling with Bob. Nobody had said anything, Kassidy's lack of desire for conversation being made known early on. A knock on the door revealed Glynda to the pajama-clad girls.

"I know it's getting late, so I'll keep this brief. Kassidy." The address caused her to look up from her computer. "I am so terribly sorry you had to go through that. I can promise that Russel Thrush is currently discussing with Headmaster Ozpin his continued education at Beacon Academy… if there will be any." Glynda took a few steps forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "If you need anyone to talk to, my office is always open." Kassidy gave a hum of acknowledgement, before Glynda turned to Yang.

"Now, as for you Miss Xiao Long. Before I say this, know that I do not in the slightest blame you for your actions." The statement was met with curious glances, and Glynda sighed. "Unfortunately, due to school policy, I'm required to issue you a detention for use of excessive force on another student." A chorus of complaints was silenced by a raised hand. "For the record, I don't like it either. Regardless, visit me in the combat training classroom after dinner on Monday for your punishment." The emphasis on the last word removed any doubts that this wasn't actually a detention, and Yang nodded.

Glynda left the room, and silence reigned for a few minutes. Ruby was the first to raise her voice. "You want to talk now, Kass?"

Kassidy sighed. "What I need is a drink. Or three. I'll be on the roof if you need me." She stood up from her desk.

"No, you won't be." A firm but soft hand held on to her. Yang's face was filled with worry. "That's not gonna help you in the long run, trust me. I've seen it before."

"Got any better ideas? It doesn't take a genius to figure out the nightmares are coming back after that."

Yang looked around at the room. Ruby had wide eyes equally filled with worry but didn't seem to have any ideas. Weiss' brow was furrowed, and it was she that spoke up. "From what I know of psychology, nightmares like the ones you had – have – are because you don't feel safe. So is there a way to make you feel safer?"

Kassidy snorted. "Weiss, I sleep with my pistol on the nightstand and my rifle leaned against the foot of my bed. Hard to get much safer than that."

"I can think of one way." Yang looked around the room again, apparently asking an unvoiced question that both Ruby and Weiss blushed but nodded at. Turning to her partner, Yang said, "I'm joining you for the night."

"Um… joining me how?"

Yang just rolled her eyes. "We're sharing your bed, silly. Now c'mon, it's past ten and we all need our sleep for tomorrow's mission."

Kassidy blushed furiously. "Wow, Yang. You sure know how to time things."

Yang understood what she was talking about immediately. "Yeah, yeah. Into bed with ya, partner. You need your sleep and then some after tonight."

* * *

 **AN 2: So, that escalated quickly. Hope you all enjoyed your humor while you can, we're full speed ahead towards Seriousville for the immediate future.**

 **Also, yes, I am aware this chapter is ungodly long. While yes, I am planning on taking James' advice for longer chapters, I'm not planning on making them this long. More like 3500-4000 words long as opposed to the old 3000-3500.**

 **Also also, I screwed around slightly in paint to make an actual cover image. So, hope you enjoy Kassidy's emblem/symbol thing. Finally, onto Reader Responses.**

 **Captain Marvel 36: I assume you mean don't let this turn into a soap opera type of deal? Honestly, having never seen a soap opera before, I wouldn't know what I should be looking out for. I'll try regardless.**

 **James: Glad to hear you're enjoying things so much. Things definitely took a darker turn here, hopefully it still lives up to satisfaction.**

 **Iron-ninja: All hail indeed. If only there was time in the RWBYverse (or I guess I should call it RWKYverse now) for endless pranking. Regardless, there remains Grimm to slaughter, bad guys to hunt, and terrorists to terrorize.**

 **AgentDraakis: Glad to hear that you're enjoying the comedy segments so much. Especially considering that most of the compliments I had gotten were for the action chapters, it's good to hear I can switch hit.**

 **Tykene: Well, for better or worse, that all got addressed here. Hopefully the solution is to your liking.**


	32. V1C31: Port's Problem

**Chapter 31: Port's Problem**

 **AN: I swear, these author's notes just keep getting longer and longer. Just got a lot to talk about regarding the fic I guess. First off, hope you enjoy having your release a day early. Why am I posting a day early? Two programming assignments and three exams, all due this week. I got this written up early, but still… don't rely on this Wednesday's upload because odds are it won't happen.**

 **Next, ships. I didn't realize until after the fact just how hard I pushed Kassidy x Yang, but I did. After reviewing my own ideas for the fic and realizing that I had exactly zero plans to tease other ships until Molotov Cocktail (my personal name for the ship) got confirmed, consider this your confirmation that Kassidy and Yang is the ship. Now, don't go getting excited, the actual shipping itself is a LONG ways away, I have some very specific plans where to go with that.**

 **Further, since I brought up the possibility of M-rated chapters, let me be clear that there will be exactly zero chapters rated M for romance related stuff. Not only does homie not play that, I'd be talking so far out of my ass I can't even come up with a good anal joke for that. Seriously, the closest thing I've had to a relationship is with my computer.**

 **Also, the story got added to a community. Not really sure what all that means, I didn't do it, but yay. Especially considering I got thrown up with the likes of Couer Al'Aran, Le MAO, PotnPan, and JC of the Corn… I mean, holy shit. Dunno who I tricked into thinking I write anywhere near the level of those guys, but thanks for the vote of confidence. And the pressure.**

 **In this edition of "how long will it take people to figure out I don't actually know what I'm talking about", it's time for a new mission! A new type of Grimm has shown up, and RWKY is uniquely qualified to deal with them. Or are they? Yeah, if you think I'm letting our resident Huntresses off the hook that easy, then you must've just got here.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Kassidy wasn't sure when the last time three weeks just drifted by in a haze, with her not paying that much attention to life. Probably never. She just… she just couldn't get over what had happened that Friday for some reason. It was inconceivable that she wasn't able to move past it. It was just some guy being a royal jerk, nothing new there. She's been beaten before, hell, she even got tortured a couple times when she did get caught early on. Pain wasn't anything new to her, neither was getting her oh so precious feelings hurt.

But getting cornered by Russel Thrush? That felt different somehow. More personal, more visceral. She couldn't quite put a finger on it. And it bothered her to no end. Bothered that she let herself get cornered like that. Bothered that she was letting something as petty as that affect her so much. Bothered that she couldn't figure out the scramble her thoughts got themselves into. Bothered that she couldn't just get over it already.

And right now? She was bothered by the fact that her arms and legs were doing their best to ignore her commands. As she stepped out of the shower after her early morning workout and clumsily pulled on her school uniform, she thought back to the conversation that lead to morning rapidly becoming both her most and least favorite time of day.

" _Hey Kass, what's up?"_

" _How many pancakes would I need to make to bribe you to get up at 4:30 in the morning?"_

" _4:30! Hmm… probably a lot. Like twelve. Why would you want me to get up that early?"_

" _Because my workouts aren't getting me anywhere anymore. If anyone can get me in fighting shape, it's you."_

" _Where's this coming-"_

" _I'm tired of being weak, Nora. Tired of having to rely on Ruby or Weiss or Yang to come swooping in to save my sorry rear every time something mildly threatening comes up. Tired of being so goddamned helpless."_

Kassidy let a grim smirk grace her visage for a moment. _Depending on what kind of results I get, that was either the single smartest or the single dumbest move I've made so far at Beacon. At least I've learned how to make some killer pancakes._

"Watch where you're going!" The shrill shriek brought Kassidy back to reality. Apparently she had managed to get from the gym showers to the dorm room building, unlock her team's dorm, and nearly plow into Weiss all without noticing.

"Sorry, princess. Just tired, I guess."

Kassidy sat down at her desk and brought up Bob's code again. _Nothing like a good programming problem to try and get my brain back in line. Guess that's why I've been doing it so much._ By some incredulous decision nobody understood, Russel Thrush wasn't expelled. Not to say he got off easy, and for obvious reasons he did his best not to be in the same building as RWKY when he could. But all it really did was make Yang feel vindicated in taking a role as her personal bodyguard or something. Not only did that make it really hard to convince people they weren't dating, but it frustrated Kassidy that her teammates didn't trust her enough to be able to take care of herself.

"Alright, we need to talk." Surprisingly, this particular outburst came from Ruby as opposed to her sister. "Seriously, Kass, why won't you talk with anyone? You've been hurting real bad ever since Russel tried to hurt you," Kassidy cringed at how Yang explained the situation to her sister, "and you haven't let anyone try to help you. It's tearing you apart."

"Wouldn't be the first time I've been torn apart." _Well, metaphorically at least. I haven't actually been physically torn apart yet, thank god._ "Quit worrying about me, Ruby, I'm fine. Seriously."

"No, you're not fine. You don't even need to be a terrible liar for us to figure that one out."

"I said I'm fine, Yang. I can handle my own problems."

"Can you?" Kassidy turned around to see an irate Weiss stare her down. "You're internalizing the issue. It's not healthy. This is a serious issue. You really need to – did you just shrug at me?! Take this seriously for Oum's sake!"

Kassidy just shrugged again. "Why would I take something that isn't serious seriously? Just one more issue to add to the list." Yang and Ruby exchanged worried glances, while Weiss looked like she was trying to best decide how to argue the point. She beat her to the punch, though. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get a bit more coding done before class starts."

At that moment, all four of their Scrolls went off. Naturally, Bob had the message as well, a banner manifesting across the top of the screen.

"Professor Port's class is cancelled for today… won't catch me complaining." Weiss shot Yang a dirty look as Ruby tried to decide whether to agree with her sister or admonish her for being so willing to skip the lecture. Another message came through quickly, however.

"Team RWKY, please report to the infirmary at once," Kassidy read. "This can't be good."

"Oh come on, partner! What's the worst that can happen?"

Ruby, Weiss, and Kassidy all facepalmed simultaneously. "Yang, what have we said about your ironic foreshadowing? STOP SAYING THAT!" After taking a moment to recover from her outburst, Weiss recomposed herself and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Now, with that out of the way, it would be best not to keep Headmaster Ozpin waiting."

"Uh, right! Team Rookie, to the infirmary!" Ruby led the charge to the building in question, and in a few minutes the four girls found themselves strolling up to the front doors.

Ozpin walked out to greet them. "Ah, girls, glad you could make it. Before we begin, I would like to speak with Ms. Smith privately." _Oh, lovely. Because I haven't argued enough with people this morning._ Stepping a short ways into the hallway, Ozpin kept quiet. "I understand you have had quite the month here. But given our situation, I'll keep this brief: do you feel ready to go on a mission?"

"A mission?" Kassidy was blindsided by the question, but she quickly came back to reality. "With all due respect, if there was a point where I wasn't able to throw down at any given time, then I wouldn't have gotten here alive. I'm always ready."

Ozpin looked at her inquisitively, scanning her face as though he didn't quite believe her. After a good fifteen seconds, his expression softened. "Very well, if you insist." He beckoned the rest of the team inside, and led them through the building.

"So, uh, Headmaster? How come you brought us to the infirmary?" Ruby tugged at her cape a bit.

The small party arrived at a door, and after a moment's hesitation, he opened it for them. "The reason as to why Professor Port's lecture was cancelled." Weiss and Kassidy shared a gasp, already guessing what they were about to see, but the four girls walked into the room regardless.

"What the Dust? Port's on life support? What happened to him?" Yang couldn't contain herself at the scene before them. Kassidy took quick note of the important parts. No aura, barely stabilized vitals, and more open wounds than… _open wounds… oh god not again._ Kassidy tried to fight it, but it was little use and she rapidly dumped the contents of her stomach into a wastebasket. _At least I haven't had breakfast yet._

After recovering, she turned to her partner. "Hey Yang, remember when you said 'what's the worst that can happen'? Remember how we told you to stop saying that kind of crap?"

Yang paled. "I didn't mean or want anything like this to happen, and you know it!"

Ozpin cleared his throat, bringing the bickering to a halt. "Now that you know the stakes of what I have to tell you, let's give Dr. Narud space to work."

Upon being led to a sort of conference room, RWKY was surprised to see Professors Goodwitch and Oobleck in the room as well. Nevertheless, what was going on was obvious to Kassidy, and as soon as everyone had taken a seat she spoke up about her misgivings. "So, let me guess: you're about to ask us to go fight whatever just put Professor Port of all people on life support."

Glynda and Oobleck were both caught off guard by her bluntness, but Ozpin took it in stride. "Yes, that is exactly what I'm about to ask. But before we descend into an argument, I would like to explain some background on the situation." Organizing some papers in front of him, Ozpin began his little speech. "Approximately six hours ago, reports showed that a small handful of strange Grimm had wandered into the forests of Forever Fall. Initial readings left us befuddled, so naturally we sent Peter to investigate. What he found was a small pack of a type of Grimm that has only just started showing up across the wilds of Remnant."

"These Grimm are so new, in fact, that they don't even have proper names yet." Oobleck dug out his own papers and actually talked at a normal pace, letting the seriousness of the situation sink into his words. "However, among those of us in the know, they're currently being called Hunter-Killers. A variant of Beowolf, it's slightly larger, moderately bulkier, and significantly more heavily armored. There are few spots on its body that aren't covered by bone plates."

"But those aren't what makes it so especially dangerous." Glynda joined into the briefing at this point. "Hunter-Killers are unique among other Grimm in two ways: they're unusually intelligent. They can't outsmart us, thank Oum, but they're still geniuses by Grimm standards. And… they've learned how to fight with aura."

"Wait, the Grimm have figured out how to use aura?" Weiss was taken aback by that statement.

"Not exactly." Glynda explained, "Through means completely unknown to us, they can feed off of auras near them, making them stronger, faster, and reinforcing their bone plates. The more aura they can draw from, the stronger they get. We don't know what kind of limit this ability has."

"But regardless, it's incredibly powerful, and what has led to their current moniker." Ozpin took things over from there. "Peter ran into a pack of four… he never stood a chance. We were able to scare them off when we responded to his emergency signal, but the damage had already been done."

Kassidy mulled over the facts for a moment. "So, we've got overgrown Beowolves that can get stronger with nearby aura. Alright, easy enough. Me and Ruby can hop on a Bullhead and take potshots until there's little more than bloodstains on the grass."

"Unfortunately, it won't be that easy. They have proven unexplainably resilient to ranged weaponry, and our initial tactic of bringing in Bullheads with high enough caliber weaponry to overwhelm their defenses has trained them to avoid the craft at all costs."

Yang frowned at Oobleck's explanation. "So, what are you wanting us to do again?"

Ozpin handed folders to the members of the team. "As you guessed earlier, we want you to deal with them."

"But why us?" Ruby opened her folder and stared at all the paper in it, before raising her voice again. "If these things are so dangerous… I mean, I appreciate that you think so much of us, but what can we do?"

"From what we know of Hunter-Killers, we believe you four to be uniquely qualified to deal with the threat." Glynda sighed and folded her hands in front of her. "Ms. Rose, your semblance, as well as your weapon, allows you to stay far away from the Grimm and engage them safely. Ms. Xiao Long, from what little we understand of their abilities, they can only draw power strictly from auras… not semblances."

"Which means that I only need to get hit a couple times to be stronger than them anyway. Sweet, been a while since I've been in a good slugging competition." Yang cracked her knuckles excitedly.

"Ms. Schnee, your glyphs, coupled with your skill in Dust use, would give you complete control over the battlefield, something which is absolutely required for a fight with Hunter-Killers."

Kassidy finished for Glynda. "And I don't have an aura for them to draw from, so they're little more than overgrown Beowolves to me."

Ozpin deigned to conclude the briefing himself. "Not precisely, because they can still draw from the auras of your teammates. And even without being able to draw from an aura they are still significantly more dangerous than your typical Beowolf." Sighing, he motioned for a new cup of coffee before continuing.

"This is a fully fledged Search and Destroy mission, and given the risk – not to mention your status as Huntresses in training – we're prepared to offer far more than you would usually get on this mission. In those folders is everything we know about Hunter-Killers in general and these four specifically. In addition, our armory and stockpiles are fully open for your access, and you may requisition whatever gear you need. You have been excused from classes for the day, and a Bullhead has been set aside for your use, which will be taking you to Forever Fall this evening at 7:00."

"Of course, it is your right to refuse this mission," Glynda added as almost an afterthought. "I know we're asking a lot of you, and we fully understand if you don't believe yourselves to be up to the task."

"However, then we would need to go to whomever we have next to deal with this threat. And we have nobody next."

"Talk about a vote of confidence, Prof – Doctor Oobleck." Kassidy rifled through the papers strewn about in front of her. "Well, what do you girls think?"

"Your mood has certainly improved. And it's our duty as Huntresses to do this, especially when we're so suited to the task." Weiss scrunched her brow in through, before visibly relaxing. "Not to mention all the extra credit we should get from this."

"What the heck? Should be a fun way to spend a Friday evening." Yang earned six separate scowls for her offhand comment.

"Weiss is right, we have to do this." Ruby hit her fist on the table with authority, before cradling it from slamming the table too hard and giving a soft whine.

"Miss Smith?" Ozpin asked expectantly.

"Hey, someone has to keep these three in check." Ruby groaned, Weiss glared at her, and Yang chuckled. "I'm not in the habit of going for assisted suicide, but if we play our cards right this isn't that." Raising an eyebrow at the few physical measurements available, Kassidy dug out her computer. "Alright Bob, wakey wakey."

"I'm a computer. I'm always awake."

"Sure you are," Kassidy chuckled. "The Garand's going to be significantly less useful than it normally is for this hunt. Other than picking off the local wildlife, the hide on these guys is thick enough to resist lead. I'm going to need specialty ammo for the main event, and I don't have a lot of those. Ruby, can I ask for your help with making more?"

"Of course!"

"Alright. Hmm, looking at these combat anecdotes… let's focus on ice and explosive. Bob, I want sources for thermite raw ingredients ready for review by the time we're back at the dorm. I only have one clip of explosive left, and that's not going to be good enough."

"Just warning you, it's not going to be a very long list. Making thermite from scratch is a pain in the rear around these parts. Still, I'll see what I can do."

"And once you're doing helping Kassidy make ammo, you are joining me in the library." Weiss jabbed her finger at Ruby, who shrunk away from the attention. "As team leader, it's your job to be prepared for anything. So help me, you are going to have this packet memorized by this evening if it kills me."

Yang leaned in to Kassidy's ear, and whispered, "Probably will, if their study sessions are anything to go by." They both chuckled.

"Um… okay! I'm helping Kassidy make ammo and then learning about these Hunter-Killers, Weiss will be studying also, Yang will be… what will you be doing again, Yang?"

"Why don't you stick with Weiss, Rubes? I'll help K with her ammo."

Ruby groaned and whined, Weiss looked at first pleased, then put off, and Yang had a shit eating grin on her face. Kassidy took it all in with a smile and a small laugh, before glancing at the professors and offering a shrug.

"Alright, I'll be in the library with Weiss all day… yay…" this earned a cross glare from Weiss, "Kassidy and Yang will be making ammo. Can you make sure all our gear is ready as well?"

"Sure thing."

"Okay. We'll all meet in the cafeteria at five for an early dinner, sound good?" A chorus of affirmatives made their way to Ruby. "On this day, Team Rookie takes down some Hunter-Killers! Bonsai!"

Ozpin spoke up again. "Very well, students, it sounds like you have a sound plan in place. Do not hesitate to contact any of us if you need assistance in your preparations."

* * *

"C'mon, partner, lighten up! It's only a short ride to Forever Fall!"

"Unless you want to be wearing my dinner, don't invite me to 'lighten up'."

"Easy, guys. We're almost there. I think. Hey, Mr. Pilot Guy, how long until we get there?"

"Another two minutes, gals."

Kassidy took that as her cue to give her gear one final look-over. No rappelling out this time, the pilot was actually kind enough to land before demanding they get out. _Seven eight-round clips of explosive and ice ammo each, check. Twenty clips of regular ammo, check. Pistol with ten eight-round magazines, check. Sword, check. Backpack filled with as many medical supplies as I could shove in it, check. Bob with all his toys, check._

'Listen up, strap in, notify your next of kin.'

"Yang, turn that horrible music off! You're going to attract attention to us when we land!"

"Relax, Ice Queen, we're not even on the ground yet. Let a girl have her bit of fun, why don't ya?"

"This is the pilot speaking, thirty seconds."

Ruby stepped in front of the door and spoke up. "Alright, everyone remember the plan?"

Weiss spoke up first. "I'll keep the battle moving in our favor. Keeping them split up levels the playing field and opens up more options on our side."

Kassidy was next. "I'll find someone to pick on and freeze him, blow him up, or try and chop off some limbs, whichever is most appropriate. The easier time Yang has, the easier time the rest of us will have."

Yang cracked her knuckles and gave a manic grin that wouldn't be out of place on Nora. "I punch them. Hard."

"And I'll keep any regular Grimm out of the fight so that you three only have to worry about the Hunter-Killers. Hey, Headmaster Ozpin, you still hearing us?"

"We read you loud and clear."

The door opened behind Ruby, and the four Huntresses filed out of the Bullhead in short order. A Creep that was too curious for its own good earned a bullet in the brain for its troubles. "Alright, Kassidy, why don't you take front? You're the best at this tracking stuff."

"Hey, got some tracks over here for ya, partner. Too big to be Beowolves." Sure enough, Yang had found the proper tracks. Oddly enough, there was only one set of tracks; from what information they had, Hunter-Killers firmly believed in the safety in numbers principle. Still, one track was better than no tracks, and she led the team further into the forest.

After a few training missions to practice their formation, travelling through a forest was old hap for the girls. Kassidy was in front, focusing on navigation while also keeping her ears open for the first signs of wildlife. Weiss and Yang were right behind her, ready for a fight. Ruby, with her ridiculous speed and stamina, would often take to the trees or dart out around the sides, keeping a closer eye on the surrounding area to make sure the group didn't run into anything unexpected.

Everything was going well. Too well. As usual, paranoia wormed its way into Kassidy's thought process, as also as per usual, she trusted her paranoid instincts to keep herself out of trouble. _Why is there still only one set of tracks? And why is there exactly zero wildlife around us? Something isn't right here._ She tapped her earpiece. "Hey Ruby, you haven't seen any other tracks yourself, have you?"

"Hmm… nope!"

"Easy, K. We got this."

Kassidy couldn't shake the bad feeling though. "If you don't see any tracks in the next minute, let me know. I'll keep on this one." The air was definitely tenser now – while the girls still dismissed her most outlandish feelings as paranoia, by this point Kassidy has proven more than once that she knows what she's doing. Ruby was a bit more frantic in her patrol, and Weiss and Yang were definitely on edge.

"Been a minute, still haven't found any."

Alarm bells started ringing rather loudly in Kassidy's head. "Alright, forget the tracks for now. We need to get to the nearest clearing."

Weiss didn't seem to like that idea. "We're doing fine, Kassidy. Just focus on tracking them, we'll keep you covered."

Kassidy snapped at her, "Listen. What do you hear?"

"Nothing."

"Exactly, and that means?"

"… Oh." Weiss' face slightly paled.

"There's more. Hunter-Killers are supposed to be fanatically attached to their pack, right? We've only found one set of tracks so far, not four."

"C'mon guys, let's keep our heads in the game. Things are still going well for us." Yang tried to lift the spirits of the group, but the slight shake in her voice said that she was trying to convince herself too.

"If things are going so well, then why do I feel like the one that's being hunted?"

A twig snapped about seventy five feet away, and all three girls snapped up to it. Kassidy started looking around for the nearest clearing. "Yeah… kinda just said that. Ruby, find anything?"

"No, I – ah!" It sounded like Ruby just ran into something – or that something ran into her.

"Ruby!" Yang was about to run towards her sister in a panic when Kassidy grabbed the sleeve of her jacket.

"We'll circle around for her. Right now, we've got our own problems."

"What do you mean, we have our own problems?"

Weiss barely got the words out before a series of growls sounded around them. Three Grimm stepped out of the brush and circled the Huntresses huddled together. Weiss spun a dial on her rapier, Yang cocked Ember Celica, and Kassidy loaded a clip of explosive ammo before talking over her earpiece. "Hey, Oz? We found them."

* * *

 **AN 2: *Cue fight mucic***

 **What happens when four Huntresses with plot armor meet four Grimm with plot armor? Only good things, I can assure you. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully. 3900 word chapter, not counting author's notes. For your information, this is more or less the length I'm going for at the moment. Anyway, I already talked about everything I wanted to talk about in the first author's note, so let's go ahead to Reader Responses.**

 **Guest: That's not gonna happen, for a couple reasons. Most of them I'm hiding behind some pretty big spoilers, but the one I can expand on is that Kassidy doesn't recognize it as that big a deal. People have been mean to her before, so why should this time be different? But why can't she shake the strange feeling that this is somehow different?**

 **Captain marvel 36: Well, I promise that there's not going to be a whole lot of that this story. Also helps that I have this thing planned out to a ridiculous degree, to the point where I know the general idea for each and every chapter this story will ever have. Glad to hear you think so highly of my writing skills.**

 **James: Do not worry, friend, plenty more darkness to come. As for your questions, without delving into spoiler territory, yes and hell yes.**

 **Akshka: Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much.**

 **Tykene: Believe me, I tried VERY hard to punch Russel through my computer monitor as I was writing that. As for the weapon/aura... that's a secret to be revealed much later.**

 **narysowany: Glad to hear I didn't go so long it started turning people off. Hopefully the slightly shorter chapters that I'm actually trying to write (like this one) is still enough to keep you interested.**

 **Iron-ninja: There are few problems that cannot be solved by shotgun to the face.**

 **Chilltexan: Welp, you got your wish, though due to an oversight on my part the cat got out of the bag a fair bit earlier than I was hoping it would be. Glad to hear you're liking Kassidy's story, though TBH I'm a big fan of well-done OC's, so those tend to be the stories I tend to gravitate towards myself.**


	33. V1C32: Huntress Killers

**Chapter 32: Huntress Killers**

 **AN: Holy hell you guys are lucky I like you all. The amount of work it took me to get this ready for you guys while having all my crap ready… I'm not looking forward to any repeats of that. Excuse me while I go forget that technology exists after I'm done with this chapter. At least the author's note is a reasonable length this time.**

 **Speaking of which, apparently people REALLY liked the Saturday upload, which shattered the record for most views and most visitors in a day, and Sunday did the same thing. As such, I'm gonna take this opportunity to test Saturday/Tuesday uploads. Which schedule do you guys prefer, Saturday/Tuesday or the original Sunday/Wednesday? Or maybe something else?**

 **Alright, enough talking. ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?!**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

 _Well, they do say that no plan survives contact with the enemy. Tonight sure went to hell in a handbasket quickly._ Kassidy spared a few moments to look at the scene evolving around her. Behind and to her left was Weiss, holding Myrtenaster curled under her chin in the guard that had come to be her signature. The slight tremble and choppy breathing revealed that the normally calm heiress was, to put it mildly, not comfortable with their current situation. Behind and to her right, Yang bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, staying loose and readying herself for the fight. Blonde hair flowed out and tickled Kassidy's arm, while the shallow but even breaths painted a picture opposite of Weiss'. Surrounding them, three Hunter-Killers stalked around their prey, apparently trying to decide how best to approach the trio of Huntresses.

Yang spoke in a hushed manner, "If anyone has a plan, I'm open to suggestions."

One could almost hear Weiss' scowl. "We need to, uh…" Weiss, normally composed, was currently having a minor breakdown as to how to handle their current situation. Kassidy couldn't blame her, though: as someone used to relying on her aura for everything, Weiss was new to a situation where her greatest strength in battle was now her most glaring weakness.

Kassidy noted, with a minor degree of surprise, that only three seconds had passed by this point. Yang had said those words nearly instantly whenever they got circled, when she had just begun her observations. It only took Kassidy another four seconds to consider facts and come up with a half-baked plan. _Okay, facts. These things absorb aura and are a complete bitch to fight when you let them power up. Weiss can't take a hit worth a damn, she needs to be kept safe and out of the fight. Yang can probably go toe-to-toe with one of them. Get out of the kill box, get Weiss out of the line of fire, cut one off from the others and take it down fast. Weiss keeps the other two from joining in, me and Yang pulverize the target, rinse and repeat. Easy, right?_ Seven seconds had now passed from when they had gotten surrounded. It still sometimes surprised Kassidy just how fast she could think when she wanted to.

"Um, anyone?" Yang was definitely sounding worried now. _Yes, that's how I want to do this. Assuming Weiss doesn't freeze me to the ground… again… we can probably blitz one of the Hunter-Killer's down before the other two can respond._

Without Ruby to coordinate grand strategy, Kassidy took this opportunity to step up to the plate. "Freezerburn!"

The response took half a second. After recognizing what was just asked, Weiss and Yang sprang into action. Weiss flourished, spinning Myrtenaster's dial to ice Dust, before burying it in the ground and letting a thin sheet of ice coat the grass. Meanwhile, Yang leapt up, cocked her fist back, and dove back down to punch the earth. Between the fire Dust, Yang's strength, and her fiery Semblance, the frost evaporated into a flash of steam and smoke. On demand smoke screens tended to be quite useful to the whole staying alive business, and it was Kassidy that had suggested this idea.

"Weiss, get out to the sides and try to pin them down with your glyphs. Yang, we're taking the southern Hunter-Killer. Let's soften it up a bit before we go for the kill. Ruby, please say something."

Weiss used a glyph to backflip out of the smoke-filled fighting area, then starting firing Dust barrages at where the Grimm were the last time she had seen them. Yang and Kassidy could both barely make out the form of another Hunter-Killer, and opened up. Between Ember Celica and the Garand's explosive ammo, the Grimm in question disappeared in a series of explosions large enough to put an Ursa Major down. _If only killing it would be that easy._

Meanwhile, it was taking Ruby a distressing amount of time to respond to the request. After what seemed like forever, but in reality only took another five seconds, the team leader replied. Not by talking over her earpiece, oh no. Instead, Ruby decided to respond by flying right over their heads and impacting face first into a tree trunk. A growl off to the side of the main fighting area caught Kassidy's attention, and its source was none other than the fourth Hunter-Killer. As it leapt through the air after Ruby, Kassidy could notice that it was emitting a black smoke from… somewhere, and that it was a good deal faster than its brethren. The last two explosive rounds in her current clip made sure that the newest arrival missed its leap onto Ruby.

"Kassidy, duck!" Ruby's panicked shout was all the excuse Kassidy needed to throw herself on the ground as a quartet of claws sailed through the air where her head used to be. _Thank god for that warning. I have zero intention of finding out if straight up decapitation would be lethal._ Leaving her rifle on the ground, she pulled her sword from out of its sheath on her back and brought it around in a rising diagonal slash across the Hunter-Killer's torso. Unfortunately, all it really did was scratch its bony armor. However, that proved to be of little issue. As it growled and made to swipe at her again, a red blur shot over her head and the blade of Crescent Rose impacted with the creature's neck. Metal fought bone, but in the end it was the Grimm's balance that was defeated as it was swiftly drug behind Ruby.

Kassidy took stock of her surroundings. Weiss was using a combination of her glyphs and a generous amount of ice Dust to prevent the other two Hunter-Killers from joining the fight. Ruby had taken one somewhere, though it wasn't really clear where somewhere was. Yang was currently fighting in the heavyweight boxing championship match with a Hunter-Killer emanating so much smoke it was difficult to tell where the creature itself was. For her part, Yang's Semblance had started to kick in also, small licks of flame beginning to dance in her hair.

After a few more punches, a devastating backhand knocked Yang backwards a good twenty feet. _Now's a better time than any._ "Yang, blacksmith on your guy!" The blonde brawler blinked and looked in her direction, before giving an authoritative nod and started firing high explosive shells at the Hunter-Killer in front of her. As it raised its forearms to block the barrage, Kassidy shrugged her backpack off and left it next to a tree, hoping that none of these guys were smart enough to realize she kind of liked having it around. She closed the gap, got her sword in a two-handed grip, and started slashing like a mad woman at the Grimm.

Without the shells from Ember Celica giving it a reason to shield its front, the Hunter-Killer instantly turned its attention to the annoying, scraggly girl scratching its armor with a metal stick. Lightning fast claws were barely ducked in time, a vicious chomp met nothing but air, and the metal stick found its way to the back of its neck, sinking a half inch into the bone before its momentum was arrested and it was removed.

Kassidy did not like the fact that she could do little more than tickle this guy. Being forced to backpedal from more swipes, she took a second to look at just where its armor was damaged. _Cracks mostly on the forearms. See if we can't chop off those claws it has._ Ducking under a haymaker intent on taking her head off, she planted her feet and threw her entire body behind a rising slice that impacted with a jarring force. For the briefest of moments, Kassidy was afraid that her sword was going to snap in twain, but it was instead the monster's body that gave. Burying itself an inch, then two inches, then further, the sword plowed through bone, punched through and started separating muscle fibers, and finally came to a stop after running into the bone plate that covered the other side of its arm.

The sword was violently – and literally – punched through the rest of the arm as Yang came flying in with a straight that obliterated what was left of the Hunter-Killer's right forearm and continued on to leave a spider's web of cracks splintering across its chest. The Grimm went flying back as the two blondes regrouped next to each other. It was Yang who spoke up with an idea. "The armor on its legs doesn't seem to be as thick as on its arms. See if you can't get to work on cutting its hamstrings or something. I'll focus on finishing the job I started on its chest."

"Yang! Kassidy! Take this!" Weiss' call made them look back as the heiress fired a dull gold string at them, landing on the ground in the form of a ticking clock. As the glyph took effect, Kassidy started seeing the world in slow motion, and not a moment too soon. Yang had shot off at the Hunter-Killer the instant the effects manifested themselves, and the Grimm was already growing in power. The extra speed from the time dilation glyph would be absolutely necessary if she wanted to keep up with the monster's further increasing strength and speed.

For its part, the Hunter-Killer was putting up a very respectable defense, considering that not only was Yang hasted, but it was also missing a forearm. Still, even with its continuing rise in power, it was just barely maintaining a stalemate, and it would only take a small bit to shove the fight into Yang's favor. Kassidy sprinted behind the Grimm and emptied her pistol into its back before hacking away at its armor. The distraction was all that Yang needed. As the Grimm made to slash Yang while using the momentum to swipe at Kassidy also, Yang quite literally beat it to the punch and finally broke its guard. Devastating punches too fast for the eye to track rained on its torso, with the seventh blow shattering its armor as the fist buried itself in the monster. The smoke cleared, its eyes glazed over, and it toppled over before slowly dissolving.

The two blondes took a moment to catch their breath, before Kassidy tapped her earpiece. "Kassidy to team. One down, three to go." She and Yang shared a quick high five before moving to get back in the fight.

"Hope you blonde dunces are ready for more. I'm bringing two to you." True to her word, Weiss used a glyph to speed up to them, dashing past and digging her heels in to keep from overshooting too far. The pair of Hunter-Killers she had been squaring off against skidded to a stop in front of the three Huntresses. They exchanged glances at each other, then started circling around either side. Weiss stepped next to Kassidy and Yang, leaning heavily on Myrtenaster and panting from the exertion of using her Semblance so much in so short a time frame.

Knocking her fists together, Yang ran after the one closest to her, fist reared back in a punch that met an equal blow from the Hunter-Killer. Meanwhile, Kassidy emptied another pistol magazine at the second to get its attention, before holstering it, grabbing her sword in a two handed grip, and slowly stalking her way over. In an unprecedented and unexpected move, the Grimm stopped and cocked its head at her, as though trying to determine what the girl walking to her was. The curious gesture didn't last long, however, as it licked its lips and dropped to all fours in a more ready stance. Bewilderingly, it seemed content to let Kassidy make the first move. She couldn't decide whether the Hunter-Killer's stance was borne out of respect, curiosity, or overconfidence… or, what was more likely, she was looking far deeper into its motives than necessary.

Nevertheless, Kassidy decided that straight up obliging the Grimm could only end poorly. She circled around it, being slow and patient as the Hunter-Killer before her did the same. _It must not realize I'm going for my rifle. Fine by me._ After a solid thirty seconds, she finally reached her firearm. One last glance at her opponent, and she dropped her sword, while simultaneously snatching her rifle from the grass and grabbing a clip of ice ammo to shove in. As she knelt to retrieve her weapon, the monster seemed to have gotten tired of waiting, and it pounced at her.

Rolling under the white mass snapping at her head, Kassidy completed the reload on her way up and sent shots flying after the Hunter-Killer. In her haste, she missed the first shot. The second shot connected with its right elbow, and the third with its right shoulder. The next four shots covered its torso in ice, and the eighth and final shot exploded on its face. It reared back and tried to scrape the ice from its body, but she didn't let up on her attack. Swapping weapons again, she ran forward and started swinging at what parts of its torso wasn't covered in ice.

 _You know… its times like these that can make someone think about what all they're thankful for. And right now, I'm thankful for a few things. Such as Glynda's friend for hooking me up with a weapon that can actually hurt these guys. Or Glynda and Weiss training me in how to use a sword so I don't chop my own arm off. Or Nora helping me with strength training, so that I'm capable of doing damage with this thing. And I am really, truly thankful for not having an aura, because this guy is a complete bitch to fight without any nearby aura making him stronger as it is._

Kassidy backpedaled from a swipe, got a few feet of space between her and her opponent, and brought her sword up in a mimic of Weiss' guard. _Hey, if it's good enough for Ice Queen, then it's good enough for me._ The Hunter-Killer in front of her had mostly freed itself from the ice she had covered it in, but gouges in its armor showed that it was worse for the wear. Kassidy was about to be impressed that – dare she say – she was making this look manageable. That hope was swiftly dashed, however, as she realized that the right arm that had been frozen was now back in the fight with a renewed vengeance. As quickly as she had gotten the upper hand on the Grimm, so did it gain the upper hand on her. _Alright, this is bad, very bad. I need an out, and fast._

It was Weiss that provided that out. "Kassidy, bring it to me. I've got enough aura left for one last burst, it should be enough to put it down." Not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, Kassidy dodged back from a lunge, then promptly returned to the time honored tactic of running away. Looking for her teammate, she saw Weiss bracing herself against a tree, Myrtenaster pointed out as the last of her aura pooled into one final glyph. A turn of the revolver, a quick dive to the side, and Weiss lunged out, sending what could be best described as a small iceberg towards the Hunter-Killer in hot pursuit.

Weiss collapsed against the tree from the effort, barely being able to remain upright. Kassidy returned to the scene of the crime, finding that the half ton block of ice was indeed enough to finish off the Hunter-Killer. Sighing happily and exhaustedly, she picked up her rifle and went to rejoin Weiss. "Kassidy to team. Two down, two to go." She grimaced after peeking over Weiss' shoulder at the Scroll showing her current lack of an aura level. "Weiss only has one percent aura left, she needs to stay out."

Weiss and Kassidy perked up at the sound of a loud report, with screaming following it. Turning around to try and find the source of the noise, Kassidy had something plow into her back and knock her over. Grumbling about how unfair this world was to her poor back, she looked up to find Ruby face down in the dirt, with Crescent Rose a good ten feet away from either of them. She had a minor panic attack before the team leader coughed a bit and rose to her hands and knees.

The group had worse problems to deal with, however. Weiss cried for help, and Kassidy shot to her feet just in time to watch the Hunter-Killer chasing Ruby take an interest in the heiress. Weiss tried her best to fend off the beast, but at this point her best amounted to little more to getting Myrtenaster swatted away before she got backhanded into a tree. She tried to get up, but only managed to cry in pain at the fact that her left leg had been snapped from the impact, in addition to probably having some broken ribs. Kassidy shot at it to get its attention, but all that did at this point was piss it off more.

"Ruby? K? Weiss! GET AWAY FROM THEM YOU MONSTER!" Yang's guttural roar could have probably been heard for miles, as the forest around the blonde brawler was immediately incinerated. The Hunter-Killer she had been fighting, already gravely wounded, was blasted back before getting straight up turned into roadkill by dint of being between Yang and her team.

Now, after six years of having two different planets at this point trying to kill her, Kassidy did not scare easily. Sure, there was the whole paranoia deal. But true, bowel-voiding fear? Kassidy thought she felt that when she saw Yang with a full powered Semblance screaming across the forest floor towards the last remaining Hunter-Killer. And with a multitude of large gashes in its armor no doubt caused by Crescent Rose, it wouldn't take more than a good punch or two from Yang's current state to turn it to gibs.

No, Kassidy felt true fear not when she saw Yang moving to finish the fight. She felt it when an ear-splitting roar filled the forest. Similar to the Hunter-Killers', but deeper. Yang's battle cry had issued a challenge, and, as though answering the challenge, a fifth Hunter-Killer came tearing out of the brush to engage her. Kassidy felt her jaw hit the forest floor. Damn near the size of an Ursa, covered in spikes, and eyes shining with a malevolent intelligence… this was an Alpha.

Yang, in her enraged state, thought of no other possibility than facing this new threat head on. Rearing back with a punch, Yang swung at the Alpha Hunter-Killer for all she was worth. Seeming to absorb aura faster than its smaller kin, the newly arrived Grimm responded in kind. The fists colliding sent a shockwave that splintered the nearby trees and released a sound that made it seem as though the world would split apart from those two punches. As the dust cleared, the three Huntresses watched as Yang fell to her hands and knees, aura shattering. They brought their hands to their mouths in shock and horror as the Alpha pulled back the bloody stump that used to be its arm only to swipe a massive paw at her, claws scraping deep gouges into her back and sending her flying towards the group.

Kassidy threatened to shut down. Her partner, for all intents and purposes torn to bloody ribbons, was face down in the dirt a few feet away and unmoving. Weiss' leg was snapped, and she didn't have any aura left. Looking to her right, she saw Ruby… poor Ruby. The team's leader had a look of pure shock and anger at the scene before her. So much, in fact, that for the briefest of moments, it appeared like those strange silver eyes of hers started glowing. Shaking her head, Kassidy attributed it to reflected light before thinking about how to salvage what was left of this situation.

It turns out she didn't need to, as the two Hunter-Killers – including the Alpha that should definitely not be here – let out startled yelps, turned around, and tore through the forest with their tails literally between their legs. Ruby and Kassidy shared brief looks, and the pain in Ruby's eyes told all. _Ruby's too shocked to deal with this. Alright, time for a reset. Survival in a forest. I know this, I've done it for six damn years._ Kassidy shakily made her way over to her partner, hoping for the best but fully expecting the worst. _Weak pulse and shallow breathing. She's alive. Barely. Barely is good enough for now._

Weiss snapped back to reality at this point. "What do we do now?" Ruby did her best impression of a fish as tears continued to stream down her eyes. The heiress scowled in thought for a moment, before her face lit up. "Kassidy, get Ozpin on the line. He'll be able to help us, right?"

Leave it to Bob to be the bearer of bad news. "No can do, Princess. My transmitter got damaged in that fight, so I don't have a way of directly connecting with Beacon Academy. We don't have Scroll signal this deep into the forest, either."

Ruby looked up. "Does that mean…?"

"We're on our own," Kassidy finished. "Ruby, grab Weiss. I'll get my stuff and drag Yang along. We can't stay here."

Between hauling around a fifty pound backpack and dragging a bleeding, muscle-bound blonde – Yang was too heavy and awkward to carry – to call the short trip arduous would be putting it lightly. To be honest, Kassidy didn't know what she was looking for. All she knew was to not be where they just were. She and Ruby were a couple minutes into their travel when the sudden absence of something became immediately obvious. Panicking, she checked to make sure before dropping her pack. "Ruby, stop! Stop!"

"What is it?"

"Yang's not breathing."

* * *

 **AN 2: Holy crap. Because I wasn't frazzled enough Monday evening, I decided that having this chapter being one giant fight scene couldn't possibly be that bad an idea, could it? It was pretty darn hard to write a 3700 word long fight scene from one person's perspective without getting lethally boring. Tomorrow is proofreading and editing to check that it isn't boring and actually reads well. At least Discrete Math and Theater exams won't be too hard. Time to apply Murphy's Law to my own life here for a moment: What's the worst that can happen?**

 **Alright, I've got sleep to get, an exam to take, homework to do, programs to finish up, and a chapter to reread. I'm writing these reviewer responses and then hitting the sack.**

 **James: Thank you my man, I shall endeavor to do so.**

 **Chilltexan: Do not worry my friend, all that and more shall be taken care of next chapter.**

 **Iron-ninja: Shit balls indeed. Especially when we have a major character on the verge of death here.**

 **Baconlord53: Glad you enjoyed it, I was actually pretty concerned about the idea of Hunter-Killers. Dunno, it seemed to be a bit too convenient from the Grimm's side of things. But, if the readers are enjoying it, then apparently I did something right.**

 **Matt Cyr: You're right! On both counts! And yes, something did indeed give this chapter.**


	34. V1C33: Family Obligations

**Chapter 33: Family Obligations**

 **AN: Well, author's notes that are half as long as the rest of the story seem to not be happening for a little bit, don't really have a whole lot to say. Big thing is me putting up a poll on my profile to see what people want for an update schedule. So go vote and let me know when you want your twice-weekly infusions of this story.**

 **Also, warning, don't go listening to Cold while reading this if you value your tear ducts. Had me in a fit of tears, and I know how the damn thing's gonna end.**

 **In this special Ruby-centric chapter of Team RWKY, Kassidy fights for Yang's life, then has a conversation with Bob that gets the young team leader thinking.**

* * *

(Perspective: Ruby)

 _No… not Yang… don't you leave me too…_

Having fallen to her knees, Ruby looked at the scene before her with Weiss sitting to her side. After finding out that Yang had stopped breathing, Kassidy had dumped everything and set the brawler face up on the ground. After popping her knuckles, Kassidy had started with CPR, pumping on her chest and ducking down to try and force the air into her partner's lungs.

 _You said… you said you'd never leave me. That I'd never be alone…_

"C'mon, blondie! Breathe, damnit!" Kassidy, having not found what she was looking for, started pumping on Yang's chest again. Ruby almost jumped at the hand that suddenly found itself on her shoulder, and looked through tear-filled eyes at her own partner, Weiss Schnee, doing her best to console her. The comforting touch was just enough to send Ruby over the edge, throwing her arms over Weiss and bawling into her shoulder.

 _You… you're not allowed to leave. You can't die on me. Not like that…_

"How am I doing for time, Bob?"

"Another ninety seconds before she starts suffering permanent brain damage."

"FUCK! Listen up, partner. No dying without permission, got it?" Kassidy started throwing her entire weight behind the chest pumps, becoming almost violent in her attempts to resuscitate her partner.

"She-She'll be alright, Ruby. I know she will be. She's stronger than this." Weiss did her best to comfort the brunette in her arms, but now feeling completely out of her league in addition to being horrified. Ruby twisted her head back to watch Kassidy continue her work.

 _You can't join Mom! Not yet! We still have so much to do together! So many… so many adventures to have. That's what you always wanted, right? The adventure? We still need to do those! COME BACK!_

"We only have time for two more attempts, Kassidy."

"I'm acutely aware, Bob."

 _No… Yang…? Please come back…_

Through her own panic, Ruby almost missed the fact that instead of continuing CPR, Kassidy had leaned down and started talking to Yang. She had to fight to hear the words.

"Now listen here, Yang. You're not allowed to go like that. You hear me? Ruby's over there crying her eyes out because of you. I can't fight these guys alone. Your sister needs you. For fucks sake, I need you. I can't let you die like this…" Kassidy broke down into tears herself as she finished. "I can't let you die like Matthew did… I can't. I don't… I don't think I could take it. Which is why I'm going to do this one last time, and it's why you're going to breathe, damnit."

 _Yang… please… don't leave me…_

As Kassidy got to work on what would either way be her last round of CPR, Ruby held her choked breath. Weiss was bawling her eyes out at this point as well, trembling so hard she and Ruby almost fell over. Neither of them watched. Suddenly, a quiet gurgling sound came from Yang. Ruby and Weiss' heads snapped up, and saw Kassidy pause in her compressions. The pause lasted almost for a moment however, as she bodily flipped Yang on top of her, balled her fists together under her partner's ribcage, and started pulling.

Weiss and Ruby were both infuriated at what appeared to be Kassidy trying to hurt Yang even more while the brawler was on her deathbed. It was Weiss, however, who was able to form words at this point. "W-What do you think you're doing?! Isn't she hurt enough?"

"It's called a Heimlich. Clears the lungs and air passages of blockages. In this case, the blood that had been pooling in Yang's lungs and preventing her from breathing in the first place." As if to accompany Bob's explanation, Yang started coughing up blood. Kassidy kept jamming her fists under her partner's ribcage.

"C'mon, you blonde bitch. You're a fighter. Fight for Ruby." Almost as though answering her partner's challenge, Yang finished coughing up blood and painfully heaved great breaths, before remaining unconscious and resuming her breathing in a far more sedate manner. Kassidy rolled the injured blonde off of her, face down into the grass, before making sure she could still breathe and letting out a deep sigh. "Oh thank every god in every religion ever. Both on Earth and on Remnant."

"Is… is Yang…"

"She's breathing for now, Ruby. But that's just the start of my work." Sliding a hand down her face, Kassidy crawled a bit to drag her gigantic backpack over and started digging through it. "Can the leg wait, Weiss?"

Weiss put more pressure on the cloth she tore from her dress to use as a bandage, before hissing in pain. "It hurts, but I can manage. I can keep the bleeding down for a while."

"Good, because Yang can't wait." Kassidy triumphantly pulled out an unmarked bottle from her bag, before dumping out a tablet and swallowing it. "Alright, step one: antacids. Step two… water. How much do I have in my canteen again?"

While Kassidy fiddled around with her water supply, Ruby had crawled over and held her sister's hand in a death grip. Tear-filled eyes carefully watched the pathetically weak but present breathing, the giant and still bleeding gashes in her back, and the paling skin that was far colder to the touch than the young girl was familiar with.

 _Come on, Yang… stay with me… please…_

Another hand on Ruby's shoulder made her turn around to see Kassidy looking at her, eyes full of grief and concern as well as conviction. "I know, Ruby. I know this is hard. But right now, I need you to do a couple things for me."

"Anything!" Ruby yelled before she broke down crying again. "Please, just save Yang… please…"

A hand lifted her chin up, and brought Ruby's gaze back to Kassidy's. "I'll be damned if I don't, I promise. But I need you to go get some water for me. Think you can find a river or something, and fill this up?" Ruby looked down to an old copper pot that Kassidy had pulled out of her bag. She didn't bother asking why she was carrying that in her backpack of mysteries.

"Y-Yeah. I think I saw a creek not far from here. I'll be right back." Using her Semblance, Ruby wasted no time in searching for a source of fresh water, before indeed finding a creek and filling it with water. Meanwhile, her hyperactive brain was busy trying to have around seventeen different trains of thought at the same time, and failing at keeping them all separate. Zipping back to where her team was, Ruby skidded to a stop over Kassidy pulling some strange blue gloves out. "I got it. Is she still…"

Kassidy looked up and took the pot of water. Motioning for her to kneel, she began to explain. "Look, there's no easy way to say this, and I'm garbage at sugar-coating things, so I'm just gonna say it."

"Bu… no! Yang! Come back!" Ruby fell on top of her sister before getting dragged back up by Kassidy.

"Relax, she's the same way you left her. Which is a problem." Ruby's eyes began tearing up again, but she wiped them away and sniffled before looking expectantly. Kassidy sighed, then continued. "Right now, Yang's alive. Barely. There's still blood filling her lungs, and a bunch of major blood vessels got absolutely ruined. It's gonna take a lot of impromptu surgery for me to get the bleeding under control, hence the water to keep everything cleaned up."

"But she'll get better, right? She has to. She said she'd never leave me. That she'd never leave me alone. She promised! She can't die!" Ruby broke down again after shouting at Kassidy, before looking up and regretting that she didn't.

Kassidy looked like she was on the verge of breaking down herself. She looked down at her open hands, before pulling Ruby into a tight hug and shuddering. Ruby bawled into her shoulder, just as she let Kassidy cry on hers for a moment. Her sister's partner spoke through choked sobs, "Ruby… I know EXACTLY what you're feeling… and I swear to you on all that is holy… if there is a way to keep Yang alive, I will find it. I WILL find it."

Ruby tried to choke out a 'thank you', but her sobs kept it from being spoken fully.

"I need you to do something else for me, okay?" Kassidy held Ruby out at arm's length by her shoulders, waiting for Ruby's nod. She gave it, and Kassidy sighed. "Like it or not, our fight's not over. If not those Hunter-Killers, then there's enough negative feelings here to draw in Grimm for miles. I'll be too busy with Yang to keep an eye out, so you'll need to keep watch for me. Can you do that?"

Kassidy quickly found herself pulled into a strong enough hug to rival one from Yang herself, as Ruby clutched on for dear life. "Just bring Yang back. I'll take care of everything else. Just bring her back. Please."

The two ended their embrace, and Kassidy shot off a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am. Oh, and one more thing… don't panic if I start throwing up. My stomach's weak to blood and gore too, not just flights." Ruby and Weiss looked at her incredulously, and Kassidy looked sheepish. "Alright, time to get to work. You probably don't want to watch this."

At that, Ruby stood up and left Kassidy to her work. She could her the blonde talking to her computer about walking her through what needs to be done, but her thoughts were focused on two other things. _I failed them. I'm supposed to keep my team safe, to make the right calls, and I failed. I didn't even make any calls, Kassidy had to do that. And now Yang's fighting for her life because of me… Dust damnit!_ In a fit of rage, she unfurled Crescent Rose and took her frustrations out on an adjacent tree, cutting it down more easily than any lumberjack. The trunk fell with a crash, and she sat upon the stump to begin her watch.

 _Those Grimm are out there. Those… things that tried to take Yang from me. If I see them again, I'll… I'll…_

She jumped when something brushed against her leg. Looking down, Ruby saw that Weiss had drug herself over to the stump and rested her back against it. Beady blue eyes looked up at her, still shining with freshly cried tears. "Ruby, I'm so sorry about Yang. Maybe if I'd-"

"It wasn't your fault, Weiss." Ruby looked wistfully out at the forest she once gazed at in wonderment at the beautiful landscape. Now, she cursed all the red for masking the telltale red glow of a Grimm's eyes. "I failed as a team leader. I wasn't there to make sure you guys were okay, I wasn't there to make the right calls, I wasn't-"

"Don't do that to yourself, you dolt!" Weiss' quiet screech drug Ruby out of her self-loathing monologue and brought her attention to the heiress. "If I recall – and I do recall – you had gotten jumped by the second largest Hunter-Killer there. Well, not counting that Alpha that came out of nowhere and we had no idea even existed. Then, you went and drug off what was the largest Hunter-Killer from its fight with Kassidy. You fought two of the things one-on-one, and you've come out of it better than any of us, it seems."

Ruby was about to reply, but a retching sound behind them told the story of Kassidy losing her dinner while working on Yang's injuries. She took another sweep through Crescent Rose's scope to distract herself from the sound, and was pleased to see that, for some reason, there was still a complete lack of Grimm near them.

"I'm worried about Kassidy. Whenever we get back."

"How come, Weiss?"

"I mean, I get that she's upset about this. What kind of cold, unfeeling person wouldn't be upset at having their partner torn up, and having to close the wounds themselves? But… she's showing so much emotion. So much more than I thought she had in her."

Ruby shrugged. "She never does show a lot of emotion, does she? But like you said, it makes sense now."

"Does it? She's taking this personally. Remember the only two things she took personally? Really took personally?" Weiss scowled as Ruby shrugged again, and went on to explain herself. "The first time was when you were getting bullied by Cardin and his cronies. She shot them all, and threatened them with murder. The second time, she had those nightmares, spent the following day being a complete wreck, and drunk herself to sleep that night." Weiss shook her head to clear it. "If she's showing this kind of emotion again… I can't help but wonder what she's going to do this time."

Ruby's mouth opened, then closed, then her brow furrowed in thought. "Whatever she does, I hope she goes to Yang. They've always been looking out for each other however they can. It's even kinda cute sometimes, isn't it?"

Weiss looked off into the distance, scowling. In a few moments, however, her expression lightened. "They do seem to work well as partners, don't they? It seems like they were fortunate to be paired up together in Initiation."

"Yeah." She looked back at Kassidy hunched over her sister's body, frantically working with what looked like some sort of gauze cloth. "Do you think there's anything to the rumors about them dating? I mean, I know that Kassidy's been insisting there's nothing between them, but she's been awful indulgent of Yang's habits these past couple weeks."

"I wouldn't think so. Kassidy's been out of it for most of the month. I'd think her tolerating Yang's antics is more a lack of energy or desire to do anything about it. Besides, think about it: if they were going to get 'together-together' as Nora would put it, the most likely time would be after they shared a bed that one night. But no, they just got up, we all did our thing, and they pretended as if that never happened."

Suddenly, Weiss hissed in pain, and Ruby looked down to see the cause. Apparently, Weiss had just shifted her leg and made the bones shift. The next hour was spent mostly in silence. Incredulously, there wasn't a sign of any Grimm at all. No Hunter-Killers, no Ursai, no Beowolves, not even a Creep. Ruby looked down, and saw Weiss whimpering in pain. Apparently, her leg was starting to get to her.

"Hey, how are you two doing?"

Ruby jumped at Kassidy materializing behind the two of them, before instantly wrapping her up in another hug. "Is Yang doing better?"

The uneasy silence that followed had Ruby breaking down into tears, before Kassidy swallowed thickly and brought Ruby's gaze to her own. "It's not looking good. I did what I could, I managed to patch up most of the major blood vessels and fix the tears in her lungs, but… there was just so much damage."

"No… no… Yang…"

Weiss was in a similar state of grief. "She's still alive, right?"

"For now." Kassidy joined Ruby on the stump, and sighed. "But she's not in good shape. I even gave her my emergency blood bag, but it wasn't enough."

"Wait, you gave her a blood transfusion? Without even knowing what her blood type is?" Weiss was beside herself. "Do you have any idea what you could've-"

"Don't need to know her blood type. Mine is O negative, universal donor. She'll be fine." Kassidy shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Either way, it won't be enough. She needs more blood, as well as medical procedures I can't give her. I've bought her some time, but… there's nothing more I can do for her. At this point, it all depends on how quickly the folks at Beacon find us."

Ruby trembled, her silver eyes wide and filled with tears yet again. "Can I… can I stay with her?"

"Not only can you, but you should. It's starting to get cold out, and she's losing body heat fast. Hypothermia's going to be a problem soon. You stay with her for a while, try and keep her warmed up. In fact," Kassidy paused as she took of her jacket, "take this with you as well. It'll help."

"Why not just build a fire?"

"Because, Weiss, as late as it's getting a fire is going to attract every kind of predator out here, Grimm or otherwise. Body heat's gonna be the best hope Yang has." Kassidy slung her rifle off her shoulder and loaded a clip of what looked like explosive ammo. "Go stay with your sister, Rubes. I'll handle watch now. See if I can't get a little work done on Weiss' leg also."

* * *

Ruby woke up in the middle of the night with a start. For the briefest of moments, she was confused as to why her vision was nothing but yellow, but then the events that had taken place before she nodded off came back. She stayed pressed into Yang's front, trying to give as much warmth to her sister as she could. Taking her sister's hand, Ruby felt only cold. _This is really bad. Yang's never cold. Her semblance always keeps her ridiculously warm._ After checking to make sure Yang was still breathing, Ruby ducked her head out from under her cloak that was laying over the two of them to look around them.

Weiss was a short ways away, buried under Kassidy's coat as well as her own. Her broken leg was covered in duct tape, keeping a makeshift splint in place. The heiress shivered, but otherwise looked fine. On the stump, just where she left her, Kassidy stood her vigil. Ruby took a few moments to look over the girl that fought so hard to save her sister's life. The tension that her bun put on her hair, almost looking like it would straight pull her hair out of her head if it was any tighter. The myriad of scars running up and down her arms, even more numerous than before due to no longer hiding under her jacket. Her hunched shoulders, slumped in defeat. And… _singing? Is she singing?_ Ruby focused harder on the words, barely being able to make out a peculiar song she's never heard before.

"Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey. Livin' like we're renegades."

"If you want, I can pull the audio file up for you so you can stop butchering the tune." Bob's interjection nearly made Ruby jump.

"Nah, you need to save your power for tryin' to get communications back up." An uneasy silence followed for a good thirty seconds. "That was Matt's favorite song, y'know. Said it applied to the two of us perfectly."

"How so?"

"Just two kids, the best of friends, goin' out and causing some good-hearted trouble. Seeing what all we can stir up, havin' fun, and every now and then even gettin' back before it was dark." Ruby furrowed her brow at the funny accent Kassidy was using, before realizing that this was what Kass had called a 'southern drawl', whatever that meant. Her attention was regained, however, at Kassidy's next words. "I've made a pretty big mistake, Bob."

"That being?"

"I started carin' too much."

"Since when was that ever a mistake?"

 _Yeah, like Bob said. Since when was caring a mistake? And… she does care about my sister? Maybe there is something to the rumors?_

"You wouldn't understand. She just… Yang reminds me so damn much of Matthew. And when Ruby kept breakin' down… I went and broke down too. I couldn't let her die like that."

"I'd be pretty appalled if you did let her die like that."

"Survival's a numbers game. You should know that better than anyone."

"And what numbers are you drawing from presently?"

"Time and supplies spent givin' Yang even a chance to survive. The smart decision would've been leavin' her and Weiss to die."

 _The… the SMART decision?! Why? Why does she think leaving her partner… and mine… would be a good idea?!_ Ruby's rage festered shortly before the conversation continued.

"And yet, you didn't do that."

"Just because I said it was the smart decision don't mean it've been the right decision. But the fact remains I've gotten soft. Weak."

"Does it?"

"Now ain't the time to be talking in riddles, Bob."

"Running is easy. You've been doing it for the past six years. Leaving Yang and Weiss behind as bait for the Hunter-Killers would've been the easy way to ensure your and Ruby's survival. But like you said, it would also be the incorrect choice. You would be robbing Beacon of two of the best first-year Huntresses it has, Ruby of a big sister, and the Schnee Dust Company of an heiress. And that's just the easy stuff. I haven't even gotten into running simulations and making predictions of their impacts on the future."

Kassidy shook her head and let out a snort. "Maybe you're right. Either way, I'm gettin' too attached to the girls. Need to be more careful of that."

"Is that to do with your crippling fear of your emotions, or your half-hearted attempts to dissuade the current rumors surrounding you?"

"Now'd be a real good time to shut up, Bob."

"One last thing, how come you alter your speech patterns so much when you're around people as opposed to just by yourself?"

"Just cause pickin' up new accents is easy, don't mean keepin' 'em is easy. That Valean accent of theirs tears my throat up somethin' good. Louisiana – or at least my excuse of a Louisiana accent– that's what I grew up on, and it's what's easiest. I'm also pretty darn sure that such an accent as mine don't exist here."

The conversation died there, with Kassidy humming a tune to herself as she kept her vigil over the rest of the team. Ruby ducked her head back down over her cloak. Yang slept on, pained but alive. _Okay, so Kassidy's focus, first and foremost, is survival. If she's been doing that for most of her life… and she's scared of getting close to people… that actually explains a lot about her. She's so afraid of dying that she never lives, and she doesn't know how to do it. If – no, when – we all get out of here, I need to spend some time teaching her how to be a kid again. Yang always did say Kass seemed like that she grew up way too fast. Maybe a couple cookie-eating marathons. Yeah, that'll do it._ Already forming plans about what the team would do when they all got back, and how she'd make things up to everyone, Ruby drifted off back to sleep.

* * *

 **AN 2: So, the return of Matthew, that mysterious boy from Kassidy's nightmares, and Ruby thinks that Kassidy's afraid of relationships because she grew up too fast. If only she knew that things aren't always that simple. And if only she didn't forget that Kassidy** _ **hates**_ **sugar. Coming up: Round two, fight! Anyways, Reader Response time.**

 **Baconlord53: Plot twist indeed. How does RWKY perform at half strength? Guess we're about to find out.**

 **Akshka: Glad to see you're still enjoying things. And don't worry, I have no plans to quit anytime soon.**

 **AgentDraakis: Well, Yang's not dead… yet, anyway. Still up in the air if the duffs back at Beacon decide to be competent for a change.**

 **annjames: She's alive, for now. May or may not change next chapter.**

 **James: I aim to please. And if I can get people cussing me out when I leave them on a cliffhanger, I'm gonna have to pull a George W. Bush and call that "Mission Accomplished".**

 **Tykene: I know, right? These girls really need a vacation soon. Except I'm evil and throwing a couple more things their way before they get the chance to relax. I see that you liked Sundays/Wednesdays, but I still felt putting a poll up to get more opinions would be a wise option. Sorry.**


	35. V1C34: The Bigger Monster

**Chapter 34: The Bigger Monster**

 **AN: Two chapters in three days. Don't expect this to happen again. But with the Monday/Friday schedule being the winner of the poll, figured it would be wise to start today. Again, don't get spoiled, and don't expect a two day writing time to happen again.**

 **So, Thanksgiving Break. Means a couple things. First off, I have about nine days of no work to do. It also means I have two weeks of classes before final exams, which will be two weeks I'll be horribly busy with studying and paper writing and a whole bunch of crap I'd rather not deal with while also writing a story. So I'm not going to do everything at once. Let's find out just how many chapters I can get written over these nine days, eh?**

 **In tonight's chapter, the Hunter-Killers return to finish the job. Can Ruby and Kassidy protect their partners and put the beasts down? Or will these new Grimm live up to their title? Will Yang pull through her injuries? All that and more, in these 4000 words.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Kassidy mulled over their current situation as the very first rays of dawn stretched through the forest of Forever Fall. Two facts had made themselves known over the course of her watch: firstly, that the Hunter-Killers weren't too eager to leave them alone. For the past three hours, the non-Alpha had been stalking around the very edges of where it could watch her, looking for a weakness while also apparently aware of the fact that she was watching it as well. Secondly, the other Grimm were afraid of the Hunter-Killers, which became obvious as the previously mentioned specimen tore apart a Boarbatusk that decided getting close to it was a good idea. _Well, at least they've kept company away. Hooray for small miracles._

Some rustling a bit behind her and to the left caught the briefest moment of her attention, before she decided it was Weiss. Too small to be that Alpha, and Ruby was trying to keep Yang warm over her right shoulder. Never keeping her eyes off the Hunter-Killer that was suddenly interested in a staring contest, Kassidy waited for Weiss to drag herself closer before talking quietly. "How's the leg doing?"

"It's not infected, at least. And most of the bleeding's stopped. I still lost more than I probably should have, though. I feel a little light-headed if I jerk around too much."

Kassidy winced. "Yeah, sorry about that. Yang was worse."

"Speaking of which, where did you learn to perform expert field surgery?"

Despite the situation, Kassidy chuckled slightly. "You mean that abomination of modern medicine that would make any competent doctor faint from how poorly it was done? I didn't learn how. But having downloaded the entirety of my people's equivalent of the RemNet means Bob knows basically everything there is to know. He told me how to do everything, I just provided the steady hands and weak stomach."

Weiss gave an impressed hum. "Is there anything that computer of yours can't do? Besides speak civilly, I mean."

"Nope. I'm omnipotent and omniscient."

"He also can't get that ego of his in check. Seriously, I'm not even sure how I coded in an ego for him." The Hunter-Killer lost their staring contest, giving a tell as its eyes flicked to the right. A quick turn of the head to overtly look over revealed the Alpha had tried sneaking up on them, and aiming her rifle at it got it to begrudgingly back off. "Could you get Ruby up?"

Having to keep her attention split among both monsters was more difficult, and the Hunter-Killers knew it as they grew bolder and crept maybe a third closer. There was only a good a hundred fifty feet or so separating the Grimm from the Huntresses. A bit of rustling and mechanical clinking told that Weiss had returned with Ruby and Crescent Rose in tow.

"You've been up all night? And aren't you cold?"

Kassidy shrugged at Ruby's questions. "Not the first all-nighter I've pulled, nor will it be the last. And I like the cold. How's your sister doing?"

"Yang's same as she was last night, mostly. A bit paler and colder, though. Any luck getting through to Beacon?"

"Nope. Alright, let's focus, both the Hunter-Killers are smelling blood in the water, and they're getting tired of waiting." Crescent Rose unfurled in all its red, black and silver glory, blade being planted in the ground as Ruby took aim at the smaller Grimm. Kassidy instantly nudged Ruby to dissuade her from starting to shoot. "We gotta play this smart. We're down two, don't forget."

"Yeah." Ruby looked up from her scope and stuck her tongue out in thought. "I really don't want to ask this…"

"I'll take the Alpha, if that's what you're about to ask."

"Are you sure?"

"Depends. Weiss, do you think you have enough aura to give me a haste glyph or two?"

"Maybe enough for one." Weiss stuck Myrtenaster in the ground and used it to prop herself to sitting on the stump as well.

"Okay. That fight went from suicidal to just a bad idea. I can handle that."

"Alright. I can take the smaller one easily enough." Ruby seemed pleased with the plan until her eyes went wide and she gasped. "What about Yang and Weiss, though? We'll be leaving them wide open if any other Grimm come!"

"I've been watching the Hunter-Killers over the course of the night. The other Grimm are even more scared of them than we are, which is probably why you three got a good night's sleep. Still, you're right in that Yang and Weiss are going to be targeted. If we're fighting them and get knocked aside or something, they'll tear into our partners in a heartbeat."

"Yeah…" Ruby thought for a minute. Meanwhile, the Alpha had started stalking off towards where Yang was lying, and it took another few seconds of posturing to get it to back off to where it was. "I suppose I should probably hang back and let the smaller guy come to me?"

"And fight it right on top of me and Yang? Gee, thanks you dolt." Weiss huffed and crossed her arms.

"Not to mention you'd be letting it take the initiative, which is never a good thing." Kassidy snapped her fingers in a eureka moment. "Weiss, have I ever taught you how to fire the Garand?"

"No, you haven't."

"Well, congratulations, you're about to learn how to use my rifle. Ruby, can you make sure those guys don't get too frisky while I work with your partner?"

She spent the next five minutes showing Weiss everything she would need to know about using the rifle: how to aim, how to reload, how to adjust the sights, and how to clear a jam. Fortunately, Weiss was an excellent learner, and took no time at all to learn the subjects. After digging around in her backpack for the entirety of her Dust ammunition, Kassidy swapped out the standard ammo in her bulletproof vest with the specialty ammo before pulling it off and pulling it on Weiss. Of course, the heiress was quick to voice her complaints about how Kassidy would need it, but the frayed Kevlar fibers would provide little in the way of protection against something like the Hunter-Killers' claws.

"Hang on a moment! You're just going to fight them with your sword? Don't take this the wrong way, Kass, but I don't think that's going to be enough for you." Ruby did raise a fair point. Even with only one arm, and even with the benefits of a haste glyph, this was easily going to be the most dangerous fight Kassidy will have been in up to this point – and she's going into that fight with no meaningful firepower.

"Yeah, that might be a problem. Still, Weiss needs my rifle to cover herself and Yang… that's it!"

"What's it?"

"Ruby, could you do me a favor and get the right half of Ember Celica for me?"

"Wait, what?" Weiss evidently wasn't pleased with the idea. "Do you even know how to use it? Not to mention the recoil will obliterate your arm without an aura to protect it!"

"I can't do that fancy little flourish reload Yang does, but I can manage it sitting here before the fight. It'll be more of a last resort weapon if I absolutely need that kind of firepower. And besides, don't forget how fast I heal. Even if I do destroy my arm using it, I'll just need a bunch of food and twelve hours to fix it back up." Ruby returned with the requested weapon and a clip of high impact ammo. Kassidy knew full well that Yang's explosive ammo was even more potent than her own after she gave the other blonde the recipe for the special thermite mix she used. In the close quarters she would be in, that kind of explosive power was suicide, ridiculous biology or no. "Yeah, this'll do nicely."

"Alright, so I'll take the small one, Kass'll take the big one, and Weiss will use the rifle to keep them honest. What if Beacon gets here, how will we be able to contact them?"

"How about I leave Bob with Weiss? I'll kinda be busy fighting for my life to tell them all about what kinds of trouble we're in and what I did to Yang."

"I can manage that if you keep those things off me. By the way, they're getting closer." Kassidy and Ruby raised their heads at Weiss' warning, and sure enough both Hunter-Killers were getting bolder.

As Ruby fiddled with getting Ember Celica clipped onto Kassidy's wrist and getting the shells loaded, she voiced a final concern: "Are you sure you're up for this, Kassidy? I'm asking an awful lot of you."

"Be worried for that Alpha, not for me."

"You're feeling awfully confident about this fight. Care to explain why?" Weiss had an air of disbelief in her question.

As she loaded a shell into Ember Celica's firing chamber, Kassidy brandished her sword while standing up. She snarled, "They'll wish they never met me." At seeing Ruby's and Weiss' shocked glances, Kassidy elaborated. "What, you thought Yang was the only one with anger issues? I'm fuckin' pissed right now. I'm going to demonstrate to this guy the extent of my anger issues. I'm going to beat him to a bloody pulp, and make sure this Alpha lives exactly as long as it takes to regret attacking me and mine. Sometimes, you need a monster to kill another monster. And I'm the biggest monster there is."

Ruby swallowed thickly and brought Crescent Rose around for a fight. "Uh, yeah. I'm ready on my end."

"Ready."

"Ready."

"Alright. Let's show them what we've got, team!" Ruby fired behind her and used the recoil, plus her Semblance, to rocket into the fight. Kassidy took heavier, more menacing steps towards her opponent. _Gonna need every advantage and then some for this one. Psychological warfare it is. Intimidation is always a good way to start._

Predictably, the Alpha Hunter-Killer wasn't exactly intimidated, as it started striding out to meet her. As the two opponents slowly closed the gap between each other, Kassidy tapped her earpiece. "Weiss, think you can hit it a couple times to start things off?" In response, a trio of bullets flew uncomfortably close over her shoulder. The first two did a marvelous job of detonating that hedge, but the third found its target and actually managed to be a headshot, no less. As the Alpha reared back in the pain of having something blow up on its face, Kassidy leapt in to plunge her sword into its bloody stump.

Her triumph at doing damage to it was short lived, as its intact arm came swinging in so fast that she had to leave the sword buried in its stump as opposed to pulling it out. However, as the momentum swung the beast around, she darted around behind its back and retrieved her weapon before hopping back. As it growled at her, she took note of where its armor was compromised… which happened to be a whole lot of nowhere. Its left arm was mostly nonexistent, but there wasn't a way to turn the bloody hole into a fatal wound. It swung at her, and she ducked under it before swinging for the hamstrings.

The sword clattered off the still thick armor, and Kassidy had to backflip to avoid a kick that would've taken her head off. Well, a backflip was what she attempted, but her lack of flexibility lead to her instead faceplanting into the dirt in front of it. As the Alpha moved to finish her off while she was on the ground, a series of bullets left icy payloads on its body, with the extra weight causing it to be off balance and it missed its swing.

Using the opportunity to take a stock of the fight in general, Kassidy wasn't happy with what she saw. _These things are learning how to fight us._ Indeed, the smaller Hunter-Killer seemed to be focusing the entirety of its absorbed power in durability, strengthening its bony armor to where Crescent Rose did little to it. The Alpha she was fighting was even more devious. As seconds dragged to minutes, the head monster made no attempt to guard its left side, and little effort to be aggressive. It knew she didn't really have anything that could hurt it, and kept forcing Kassidy to be on the attack, drawing her into exposing more and more of herself. Still, however, the fight was not completely one sided. Small scratches added up into noticeable gashes, as more and more strikes from her sword found their way to the beast.

 _C'mon, Smith, you're better than this. And you're definitely faster than this fucker is. Turn up the heat._ Feinting to its left, she dove under a right straight and came up slashing at its legs. Predictably, it went to kick her again, which she jumped aside of and swung her sword at the back of the knee joint. Yet again not accomplishing much, Kassidy ducked a backhand and swiped three times at its torso. She missed the knee raising into her ribcage, and nearly got carried off her feet by the force. Stumbling backwards, she clutched her midsection while holding her sword out in a pathetic guard. _Alright, who needs a ribcage? I don't need a ribcage. Let's see how it likes the bait._

The Alpha seemed to like the bait a lot, and it abandoned its passive mindset in favor of ending the fight immediately. It launched itself into the air, and snapped its jaws only to bite down on air. Bracing her arms as she ducked, Kassidy drug the sword along its chest, letting the Hunter-Killer's momentum do the work. She was rewarded as a deep wound was gouged into her opponent. Her ribs let loose a wave of agony, however, and she dropped to a knee while holding her ribs again. For its part, the Alpha was far more hesitant to fall for the bait again.

"How're you guys holding up?"

"Can't talk, too busy fighting!"

"Ruby is rather occupied. I'm doing well enough, I suppose. Still no contact with Beacon. How about you?"

"Stalemate, but I can't hold it much longer. Got a good shot on my ribs."

"Do we need to switch?"

"Absolutely not, Ruby. Even with only one arm, this guy will tear you apart if you give him an aura to feed off of."

"Please tell me you have a plan."

Kassidy suddenly had to dance around the Alpha engaging her again, trading blows as she dug a furrow a bit deeper into its hide while getting a nice gash in her stomach. "I could really use that haste glyph right about now. I can't keep trading blows with this guy and come out on top."

"You better make this work. I don't have enough for a second one."

Weiss' warning came as a ticking clock manifested underneath Kassidy just as the Alpha pounced again. As it was only a few feet away, time slowed substantially. _Oh, yeah. Let's do this shit._ Again, she brought the sword up and followed the same gash she cut earlier, this time getting the sword to draw blood as it barely pierced the bone armor. While the Hunter-Killer was still flying past here, she ran back and started chopping like a madwoman at the beast before it had even hit the ground. Her body screamed its protests as pain flooded her senses, but she ignored it in favor of making the most out of the glyph.

 _Simple physics. Mass times acceleration yields force. And I have a lot more acceleration now._ Not giving the Alpha time to pick itself up from the ground, Kassidy kicked its head and sent it sprawling on the ground, before slashing at its exposed back. More slices, more furrows, deeper and deeper each time. The monster managed to scramble to all fours, but she kicked it again and got to work on its front. Blood was being drawn as the Hunter-Killer failed to fight off her crazed assault. Fighting through pain, fighting through its defenses, Kassidy felt like she could do this forever.

The glyph could not last forever, though. As Kassidy continued her attack, time felt as though it were returning to normal, and her slashes had less and less force behind them. Thinking quickly, she quickly twirled the sword around, pointed it straight down, and aimed it straight at a gash that crossed over where she guessed its heart was. Throwing her whole body behind it as well as the last of the glyph's energy, she went for a final knockout blow. A final knockout blow that missed. As the sword clanged off the bony armor, she wasn't able to get out of the way of a punch that sent her flying backwards and the sword flying out of her grip. Waiting for the world to stop spinning, Kassidy could hear more chatter over the communications.

"Weiss, if I bring it closer to you, can you hit it a bunch with the rifle? I've almost gotten through its armor!"

"You're going to… have to bring it pretty close. I'm… getting tired after that glyph."

Coming back to, Kassidy's eyes widened at a set of claws going to decapitate her. Thinking quickly, she brought up the only thing she had that could block the attack: Ember Celica. Claws rasped against steel, and once again she praised Nora for helping her with strength training. The tips of the nails scraped tiny scratches along her face, but did no more. In a gambit to buy herself more time, she threw her fist forward and fired a blast from the shotgun gauntlet. In addition to the glorious sound the weapon made and the pained howl the Alpha gave, a very distinctive snap and jolt of pain manifested in her forearm.

Kassidy stood up and looked at her broken arm. It was already starting to bruise in multiple places where the recoil fractured the bones. However, the pain also started dying down as Kassidy's second wind kicked in. _Looks like my body's finally realized it's in a bad enough situation to really let loose the adrenaline and painkillers._ Staring the Alpha down with a feral glare, Kassidy walked forward with renewed conviction. _You tried to kill my partner. You tried to kill my team. You tried to kill me. I will take EVERYTHING from you._ Recognizing an unexpected bounty, she ducked under another paw before firing again with a punch that sent it to the ground. More pain, more damage to her arm, and more adrenaline and painkillers. A perfectly vicious cycle.

As the blonde straddled over the Alpha's chest and started pumping fist after gauntlet-powered fist into it, it truly did become a fight between monsters. One punch, two punches, three punches went into its right shoulder before she got kicked off with deep gashes carved into her chest. Kassidy stood back up, not caring about the bleeding, not caring about the fact that her arm was practically unrecognizable. After the damage to its shoulder, the Hunter-Killer wasn't much better as its remaining arm now hung limp from its joint. Realizing her opportunity, she roared an animalistic roar and charged her opponent. Dodging its snapping jaws, she buried her fist into its chest as Ember Celica gave another loud report. Another yell, another punch, and another shot. The spider's web of cracks across the Grimm's torso would give after one last hit. Kassidy cocked her fist for that one last hit, before watching the golden gauntlet simply slide off her arm, revealing a pulped forearm. The repeated recoils had caused so much damage, her arm had so little structural integrity left, that there was simply nothing left holding the weapon where it was. The bloodlust left Kassidy long enough for her to watch the Alpha lick its lips as it kicked her away into another tree.

 _Well… there goes my arm… and the rest of my ribcage… and probably most of my internal organs, for that matter._ She could tell that it wasn't fatal damage – the CPH4 that was her body's last means of survival and that always triggered in the event of her sustaining fatal injuries never released. Still, with her sword still lying a couple dozen feet away, and with a pistol that even still had zero chance of penetrating its armor, Kassidy was defenseless as the Alpha Hunter-Killer closed in for the kill.

The killer was not it, however. A flash of red, so fast that even without blinking she was sure she missed it, heralded the Alpha falling into two separate pieces. Exhausted eyes looked around, trying to find the source before a loud boom echoed around her and a pressure wave knocked her over. From her now prone position, Kassidy smiled. Ruby apparently knew how quickly it would absorb aura to make her attack impossible, and simply went faster.

Ruby Rose just broke the sound barrier.

"Hey, Rubes," Kassidy called weakly. "You there?"

"Yeah. We did it." Ruby's reply was just as weak. It likely took every last drop of her aura to go that fast.

"Awesome. Knew you could do it, Scythe Girl." The two giggled for a little bit. "Hey, Weiss, you there?" Kassidy became more concerned at the lack of a reply. "Princess? Hello?" Fearing the worst, she fought to her feet, wondering what that sudden, dull roar was. A firm set of hands pushed her back down, however. Instincts told her to start shooting, and she drew her pistol. Like hell she was going to go down without a fight.

"Kass, relax, it's me!" Blonde hair danced near the top of her vision. _Yang? No, too short, too dark._ Blue eyes poked out next.

"Jaune? The hell are you doing here?"

"We just found Bob's distress beacon, and got here quick as we could. Weiss and Yang are already on the Bullhead, Narud's tending to them as we speak." The boy took stock of her injuries, before looking over his shoulder. "Guys, Goodwitch, Oobleck! I've got Kassidy and Ruby over here! Kass is hurt really bad too, someone help me!"

A pair of strong hands lifted her up, and Kassidy felt herself being carried a ways before being lifted further and staring at a metal ceiling. Fighting to a seated position, she glanced at Weiss sitting opposite her with a syringe of sedatives and painkillers being injected by a medic, while Narud was on the floor with a still bleeding, still unconscious, but still alive Yang. Another medic hovered in her vision, pulling out some cloth and trying to work on her injured torso. Kassidy tried to wave him off, to tell him that her teammates needed the help more, but the adrenaline high she'd been riding for the past ten minutes crashed hard. Through darkening vision, Pyrrha helped Ruby onto the craft while everyone else got on board.

 _Alright, everyone's safe, good. Got the job done. Yay team. And ow does everything hurt._

 _Sleep. Cures. Everything._

* * *

 **AN 2: Shame on you guys, thinking I would sink the Yang x Kass ship literally the chapter after it's announced to be the official ship.**

 **Alright, teasing out of the way, holy crap that was harder to write than I thought it would be. So ends the Hunter-Killer story arc, with two out of four members critically injured, another with a broken leg, and an exhausted Ruby piling onto the escape ride. Coming up next, team RWKY recuperates. Surely, with Yang in need of such intensive care, everything will go according to plan, right? Right?**

 **There's more that needs to be said, but it would probably be more appropriate to talk about it next chapter, so let's finish things off with Reader Responses.**

 **Guest 1: It's more along the lines of what she can do. And what she can do is pretty much limited to shooting well, running well, and doing computers well. Everything else can pretty much be chalked up to Bob helping her cheat.**

 **Guest 2: That would be a good idea… if I didn't already have something in mind for that. A very big, very important something.**

 **Baconlord53: You don't even know the half of it.**

 **annjames: Yang lives! Glad to hear you enjoyed the chapter so much, I must admit to being kinda proud of how I wrote that one.**

 **Tykene: Kassidy and Bob definitely have some interesting interactions, and more are on the way.**

 **James: If you think this is lots more info, then prepare your anus. The next major arc tells all.**

 **Iron-ninja: Yeah, I've been pretty mean to her, haven't I? Don't worry, she'll be better come next chapter.**

 **Guest 3: Lucky for you, you will only need to wait for exactly one hour and thirty two minutes. Had a good chuckle at the timing myself.**


	36. V1C35: Bedridden Bedlam

**Chapter 35: Bedridden Bedlam**

 **AN: Alright, first things first. This chapter was HEAVILY inspired by the first half of FiercesomestDefenestrator's story,** **Road to Recovery** **. Shameless plug alert, I'd recommend checking their work out, I've been thoroughly entertained by what they've written.**

 **Initial plans were there to only be this one chapter between major arcs, but then I realized that I would have been skipping some pretty major story points in Volume 1 with that plan. So there's three chapters between the Hunter-Killer arc and the next one.**

 **Ruby, Weiss, Kassidy, and Yang return from their mission to remove Hunter-Killers from the forests of Forever Fall. Yang is severely injured, Weiss has a broken leg, and Kassidy… let's be honest, if she's not dead then she treats it as if it wasn't a big deal. It's up to Ruby to ensure her team's safe recovery. And everything went exactly to plan.**

 **Hah. Yeah, no.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

"Weiss Schnee. Fractured left tibia and fibula." Dr. Narud glanced up from his clipboard to give the heiress in question a calm smile. "Hopefully that cast should assist in your recovery better than the makeshift splint we found you in." That last comment made Kassidy cringe in her bed. _Oh come on, my work wasn't THAT shoddy._

"Kassidy Smith." Kassidy gave him a half-hearted glare. She wasn't too mad at him, really she wasn't. But from hearing him talk, one would think that she was the worst field doctor ever. "Fractured – I'm sorry, pulverized – right arm, and severe migraines resulting from concussion. Noted regenerative abilities overtaxed from repairing internal organs and cannot be relied on to expedite further recovery." She scowled at her arm, knowing that he was right. The twenty four hours since the conclusion of their mission saw her only able to recover from her pulped gut, before her body decided it'd had enough and stopped fixing itself. That train of thought was instantly banished by a crippling headache that saw her head trying to bury into the pillow to hide from the world, or at least from the pain.

"And now for the Goliath in the room, Yang Xiao Long. Punctured lungs, damaged spine, and severe tissue damage. Blood loss has been attended to, but an eye should be kept on that situation regardless. You got lucky, girl. We'll be putting you on an especially potent round of medications to ensure your timely recovery."

"Finally, Ruby Rose. Fully recovered from the side effects of Aura exhaustion. As both team leader and the healthiest member of the team, you'll be charged with overseeing the final week of your team's recuperation. Which starts today." As Narud talked to Ruby regarding how to take care of them, Kassidy took some deep breaths to center herself. A wheelchair being brought in for Yang was what caught her attention next.

"Alright, Ms. Rose, you may take your team to your dorm room now. All of your personal effects that we've recovered have already been delivered there." With that, a bustle of nurses started moving to get the Huntresses mobile again. Kassidy, having the most freedom of movement among the three injured, had no trouble standing up from her hospital bed, though instantly regretted it as the overzealous air conditioner assaulted her bare legs. Green t-shirt, and a previously unworn pair of black shorts that Yang absolutely demanded she own a pair of back during their shopping trip. Shaking the shock off, she helped a nurse get Yang into the wheelchair (much to the brawler's protests) while another helped Weiss onto her crutches.

The trip back to the dorm room took a while, but they managed, and soon the four teens were figuring out how exactly this was going to work. Ruby, as always, had a plan. "Alright, Weiss can keep her bed. Um, Kass, you mind if Yang has your bunk while she's recovering? I don't think she'll be able to manage the top bunk."

Kassidy shrugged her shoulders. "Sounds good to me. Looks like I get the top bunk."

Weiss gave a nervous look out of the corner of her eye. "Are you sure that you'll be able to handle the top bunk either with that arm of yours? It is a good five feet off the floor, after all."

"Pfft. Of course I can, watch." Cue three minutes of Kassidy hilariously failing to pull herself up to the upper bunk with only one functioning arm, falling multiple times and only stopping at Ruby's insistence that she not make her concussion worse than it is.

"Alright, now might be a good time for you to stop. Hmm, is there a way we can get the mattress on the floor or something?"

"Nah, I got it covered." Going back to her retrieved backpack, Kassidy rolled out her bedroll only to watch it rip in half, the years of abuse coupled with the months of disuse finally being more than the tattered mat could stand. "Well, crap. Looks like I get the bare floor now."

"Ah, that's nonsense! I'm sure we can find-"

Ruby was cut off as what sounded like a Beowolf growled from behind them all. Turning around, they saw Yang blushing furiously and grumbling at her traitorous stomach before meekly saying, "I guess I'm kinda hungry."

As if on cue, Kassidy's own tyrannical organ gave its own grumble. She sighed, rolled her eyes, and exclaimed, "Lunch sounds great right about now. Meet you down at the cafeteria."

"Uh, you sure you okay to be walking around that much, Kass?" Ruby awkwardly poked her fingers together, a telltale sign she was nervous.

"Nonsense, of course I'm fine. Now let's ow OW OW!" In complete mockery of her prior statement, Kassidy's migraine flared up, painful enough to leave her doubled over. Only Ruby's diligence kept her from impacting the floor.

"Didn't we kind of just said something along those lines?" Weiss replied curtly from her seat in front of her desk.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Princess." Growling at the pain, Kassidy pushed herself to a chair and sat down. "Go ahead, Ruby. I'll catch up after this clears up."

"Not happening." Kassidy chanced a look up at Ruby's unusually authoritative statement, and the team leader had her hands on her hips to emphasize the glare. "You're in no condition to go anywhere. I'll bring you some lunch."

"I said, I'm fine. Just let me get –"

"Just nothing. You're staying here, team leader's orders." Kassidy groaned and walked over to lean on her bed. Ruby got a notepad and pen. "Alright, is there anything in particular you guys want?"

"I want… I want a hug." Three pairs of eyes went wide at Yang's surprise statement, and a strong arm went reaching out for a victim. By dint of being that closest object, Kassidy felt something grasp her wrist before being forcefully yanked down onto her bed and being claimed by the other team's blonde.

"Yang, wha-? Let go! You're lucky you're not crushing my arm!" Kassidy fought the ironclad grip briefly while sporting a massive blush. _Well, gee, this isn't familiar at all._ She was about to argue further before getting the breath squeezed out of her.

"Shh, bad snuggle buddy. No words. Just sleep." And just like that, Yang was out like a light, prior hunger forgotten as she snored rather loudly. Kassidy rapidly found the means to blush harder.

Ruby was a helpless fit of giggles for a bit, while Weiss refused to wipe that smirk from her face. After a good minute, Ruby got her composure back. "Okay… hug attacks aside, what else do we all want?"

"Yang repellant," was Kassidy's simple answer. "Oh, and a sandwich. Don't really care what kind, as long as it's not tuna."

"I do believe I'll be joining you on your excursion, dear leader. It would be rude of me to interrupt those two, after all." Weiss' smug grin remained plastered on her face as she got her crutches under her.

Kassidy grumbled, "Traitor. Also, if you don't drop that stupid rumor I'm going to need to put my boot so far up your rear you'll be tasting leather for the next week."

Suddenly, a knock sounded on their door. Ruby opened it to admit the Junipers. In the manner that could only be Nora, the visitors announced their presence. "WASSAP, TEAM ROOKIE!? Guess who brought some…" Four blank stares looked yet again at Kassidy's bed.

"I need help. I've been viciously attacked by a brutal animal with no regard for my wellbeing." Kassidy's face was currently redder than Ruby's cloak, as this time she correctly guessed as to what insinuations one could draw from her current situation.

"Oh, she'll be fine." Ruby waved the situation off before grabbing the bag being offered by Jaune. "What's this, guys?"

"Nothing much," Jaune replied. "Ren felt like doing some baking to celebrate you guys doing so well, and we all pitched in with some movies and video games you all might like while most of you are stuck in beds, and stuff like that."

"That's… rather kind of you. I won't have much use for these personally, but those two over there might appreciate it."

"Weiss, I swear to god you've got to be half the reason these rumors keep circulating." Kassidy suddenly found herself yanked into a face-full of hair.

"Well… with that out of the way, Weiss and I were about to head to the cafeteria to get everyone some lunch. Want to join us?"

Shortly afterwards, Kassidy found herself once again alone in the dorm room, with her partner tangled with her on her own bed. _If this is going to become a recurring thing, kill me now. At least this week can't get that much worse._ That line of thought was broken up by yet another headache that made her bury her head into the closest thing she could hide in – which in this case was Yang's shoulder. _Just had to tempt fate, didn't I? Yeah, this week is going to suck so badly._

* * *

 _Day two of recovery. Yang has ceased her attempts to smother me, but another problem has presented itself. We've all been excused from classes for the duration of our recovery. Normally a good thing, except that the hyperactive, cookie inhaling speed demon known as Ruby Rose needs some way of entertaining herself. Unfortunately, she decided I was going to be her entertainment._

Kassidy's internal monologue was silenced by a forceful tug on her hair, followed by Ruby squeaking an apology. She rolled her eyes and asked, "Remind me again why I agreed to let you braid my hair?"

"Because I promised to find a better solution for you than that bun, that's why!"

"Also because a bored Ruby is a dangerous Ruby," Yang called from her bed. The brawler was currently sprawled out and playing some fighting game on her Scroll. Something about a soaring ninja winning called out from the device, and she growled in frustration. "Bob, stop cheating!"

"Oh come on, how is me having perfect knowledge of game mechanics and a couple thousand times better reaction time cheating? Just think of this as the most difficult game mode possible. You did say you wanted to beat your uncle at this game, right?"

"Would you dunces keep it down over there? I'm trying to study! Just because we're out of classes for the week doesn't mean we're excused from our assignments."

Kassidy was about to shoot off a snide remark, but her migraines returned in force to banish any thought of argument. As she tried to burrow her head into the mattress that had been set up in the middle of the room for her, her teammates watched with a healthy dose of concern. Ruby was evidently getting worried about the whole situation. "So, uh, remind me again why we can't give you some Aspirin?"

"Because painkillers don't work." Kassidy grumbled a bit more into her makeshift bed before someone knocked on their door. Ruby opened it to a nurse bearing syringes of Dust-infused medicine.

"Good morning, girls. Are we all feeling better?" A trio of various responses led to her setting the day's treatments on the desk and turning to Yang. "This day's treatments also contains a dose of sedatives. Doctor Narud was insistent that you all got some good rest these first few days."

"I've been doing nothing but sit in a bed in some capacity for the past forty eight hours. I think I've gotten enough rest." Kassidy grumbled until something flicked her in the forehead and Ruby giggled a bit.

"That doesn't change the fact that you need to be taking it easy. Here, let me get this to you first. It seems like you've been particularly suffering from those migraines."

As the nurse approached with the syringe, Kassidy cringed and scooted back across the mattress. "Um, there's no way that can be administered… not by syringe, is there?"

"Um, you okay partner?"

"Oh dear, I was afraid of this." Eyes went to Bob as he explained, "Kassidy's developed a couple phobias over the years. One of them being needles."

Meanwhile, Kassidy was sweating bullets and scooting until her back hit the bed currently occupied by Yang. "Uh… let's not do anything drastic guys. There's gotta be another way to do this, right?"

Suddenly, a series of restraining glyphs materialized and held her in place. Her eyes instantly went to Weiss lazily pointing Myrtenaster at her. "Oh, quit being such a baby, Kassidy. Do you want to recover or not?" As the medicine was injected, Weiss dropped the glyphs and went back to studying, which did not help the fact that Kassidy went and passed out from the wholly, definitely, absolutely traumatizing ordeal of getting treatment for her injuries.

"Kass? You alright?"

"Oh, she'll be fine sis. I think we just needled her a little too hard about it, that's all."

* * *

 _Day four of recovery. Arm tissue largely regenerated, however still waiting on structural integrity to be re-established before I can ditch the cast and sling. Unfortunately, migraines have yet to improve. Ruby has been focusing most of her time and efforts on her sister, which does me well since neither of them are on my case anymore. Weiss continues to focus her efforts on study, and as such I have been mostly left to my own devices, which has led to Bob gaining improved communications management protocols. The she-devil that keeps coming in the morning to stab me continues to be the bane of my existence._

Another painful prick, and Kassidy shuddered yet again. _So of course, Juniper has to come and ruin my solace this evening after classes got out. I thought Ren would take it the easiest on me, but he's quickly become the person on that team I despise the most. He thought it would be a good idea to use acupuncture to simultaneously help me recover from migraines and to try and get me over my COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY LOGICAL fear of needles._

"You really shouldn't be moving like that. It's imperative I get these needles in the proper positions so I can ease your headaches. Traditional medicine such as this has multiple benefits I'm sure you would be fascinated in."

"The proper position for those needles is really far away from me. Literally the only reason I haven't punched you yet is because Nora would turn me into a grease stain if I did."

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad, can it?" Kassidy levelled the fiercest glare she could muster at the blonde who said that, before Jaune gulped and revised his position. "Alright, so maybe needles aren't your favorite thing in the world."

"And that should be the last one." Ren sighed as she winced at the final needle being pressed into her. "Now it remains to magnetize them. Pyrrha, if you could?"

"Don't worry, Kassidy, this will be over before you know it." Pyrrha offered a small smile before reaching out and letting a black glow cover her hand. Kassidy shuddered again as the hundred-odd needles wobbled slightly in their place before remaining still again.

"There, we've almost finished with the treatment. All that remains is to remove the needles in reverse order. Which means we start with this one…"

Kassidy waited while the damn things were thankfully removed, though at far too slow a pace and in seemingly random orders. _I'm pretty sure this is closer to some ancient Chinese torture technique than actual medicine._ After far too long a time, however, the last needle was pulled out and she sat up from her position on Ren's bed. "Jaune, the next time Ren gets a bright idea on how to help me, do me a favor and smack him a couple times."

"Here, drink this." A cup of green goop was instantly shoved into her hands by a now apron-clad Lie Ren. A quick sniff revealed it to be a mixture of herbs, plant juices, and algae.

"Uh, is this even edible?"

"I guarantee that this potent blend of herbs and vegetables has nutrients vital to your body's well-being, in addition to being completely edible." Remaining unconvinced, Kassidy regardless plugged her nose and chugged it as fast as she could. Her stomach rebelled, but by sheer force of will she managed to keep the concoction down. Ren seemed pleased with is work. "There. I'm certain you'll be feeling better before you know it."

That statement was followed up by the worst headache Kassidy has had yet. After a solid five minutes of trying to hide from the world, she eventually came to and looked woozily around her. "Ren, whatever you did made my migraines worse, not better."

"That's… not right. Let me see this diagram real fast." Ren looked at the diagram in question, before putting it down with a confused expression. "Odd. There's no reason for it to have made your condition worse. Perhaps we should try again…"

"How about no?" Stretching her muscles, Kassidy was eager to be away from the needle-wielding fiend that was Nora's partner. "I think I'll risk it at this point."

"Hey team! Training got out early so I thought…" Suddenly, the subject of everyone's worst fears stumbled into the room. Kassidy had been promised that Nora would be gone, so there should have been no concern that the hyperactive grenadier, famous for her love of pancakes and overprotectiveness of her partner, would walk in on the scene. That scene being her on Ren's bed in shorts and a tank top (which she had been told was the best attire to be in for his treatment), with the aforementioned man sitting on the side of the same bed putting away his needles. Terrified for her life, Kassidy stayed as still as possible. _I think I remember reading somewhere most predators rely on movement to see their prey. If I don't move, Nora can't see me, right?_

The mechanized unfurling of Magnhild told otherwise. A menacing growl sounded from the front of the room. "Alright, Kassidy here has exactly five seconds to explain why she's the way she is in Ren's bed." As the remainder of JNPR tried to talk her down, Kassidy curled up into a ball and waited for the pain to begin.

 _Is it strange that I'm more scared now than I was when fighting those Hunter-Killers?_

* * *

 _Day six of recovery. Still thankful Nora got talked down from murdering me. Body's healing processes returned in full force yesterday. Arm is back to normal, migraines have died down to a dull ache when they do come back. Yang has become incredibly dull and moody recently, somewhat concerning. Pretty sure I'm banned from Juniper's dorm room now._

It was good to be back to her normal happenings. Glancing up from her Applied Chemistry notes that she really needed to catch up on, Kassidy chanced a look at Weiss also studying across the table at the library. The two rarely agreed on much of anything, and indeed they still seemed to argue the instant something worth arguing over came up, but if there was anything they could agree on it was appreciation for work ethic.

 _That's odd, she's been twitching a bit this afternoon. Is her leg bothering her?_ A cursory examination revealed no additional hints of pain on Weiss' part. Paranoid instincts returning in force, she scanned the room for potential threats. Of course, everyone was a potential threat – that was just the nature of being a student at Beacon Academy. Still, she was pleased, if not necessarily surprised, to come to the conclusion that there wasn't an active danger causing Weiss discomfort. _Which makes her continued twitches concerning._

"Something the matter, Weiss?"

Weiss getting startled and nearly jumping out of her skin was wholly uncharacteristic of the normally composed heiress. _Very concerning indeed._ Recomposing herself, Weiss gathered her thoughts. "No, just thinking about things."

"Must've been some pretty enthralling things you were thinking about, for my question to have startled you so."

"It's just…" Weiss trailed off, unsure of what to say next. Eventually, she closed her book and leaned in. "Ruby's getting worried about you."

Kassidy raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Weiss sighed, before explaining herself. "She's afraid that you've started hating her – us. She mentioned how impersonable you've become over the past couple days, and she's scared that you don't want anything to do with your team anymore."

 _Not exactly that, but getting close to you guys is a bad idea._ "Weiss, I've never been the most engaging of people. To be honest, I thought you of all people would understand when I don't spend every waking moment trying to figure out how to entertain the rest of the team."

Weiss scoffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger, I'm just telling you what she told me. Still, Ruby's taking it pretty hard… do you think maybe you could try and be a bit more friendly so she'll get off my case?"

Kassidy sighed, "No promises, but I guess I can see what I do." _Damn that girl for trying to get me more attached to everyone. That attachment is clouding my better judgement._ When Weiss still hadn't opened her book back up, she decided to ask the obvious question. "What else is on your mind?"

"Well, out in Forever Fall I woke up in the middle of the night and overheard the ending of your conversation with Bob. If mimicking our accent hurts your throat so much, how come you keep forcing it?"

"Because being able to fit in is a good attribute to have. And I'm pretty sure I'd stick out like a sore thumb if I used the accent I'd like to."

"And what, pray tell, would that accent you'd like to use sound like?" Incredulous at Weiss' curiosity, Kassidy silently asked why the sudden inquisitiveness. "I'm just curious is all."

Deciding to indulge her curiosity, Kassidy closed her eyes and cleared her throat, before bringing her drawl back. "It'd sound somethin' like this, darlin'. Born and raised on the outskirts of a town by the name of Baton Rouge. You ain't heard of it. This is the kind of accent I did all my growin' up with."

Weiss furrowed her brow in thought. "Well, you're not wrong that you would do a bit of sticking out what that kind of accent." Opening her book, the heiress ducked back down into he studies. "Thanks for showing me."

"Not a problem." Kassidy returned to a Valean accent while digging into her book as well. _Actually, might be a pretty big problem if I need to be on the run for any reason and you can recognize me based off that accent. Hopefully, it never comes to that._

* * *

 **AN 2: And on the seventh day of Recovery, RWKY gave to me, an emo Yang in need of counseling.**

 **Time for Reader Responses. Or, at least it will be when the prior chapter goes up and there's actually reviews to reply to. Bad part of writing these chapters so far ahead, I guess.**

 **annjames: Well, if you could see the chapters the instant I finished writing them, you'd need to wait for about ten hours. Hooray for having zero responsibilities. Still, though, I have a schedule to maintain. See ya on Friday.**

 **Baconlord53: You and me both, man. You and me both. Also, CONGRATS ON GIVING THE HUNDREDTH REVIEW! For such an auspicious prize, I bequeath… a boot to the head. And one for Jenny and the wimp.**

 **mcd3424: Thanks a lot, it really means so much that so many people are enjoying the story.**

 **James: Ruby's settled on more indirect methods for now. Still, though, an actual confrontation is going to happen. Three confrontations, actually. So don't be disappointed just yet.**

 **AndJrew76: Damn, that sucks about the tablet. Glad to hear that situation's been resolved. Molotov Cocktail's my name for the ship, but I wouldn't be surprised if/when people come up with their own name. Holy shit, talk about a vote of confidence thinking I'm as good as those guys. And glad to hear you enjoyed the cliffhanger.**

 **Tykene: Sleep does indeed cure everything. In my case, it cures spending fourteen hours a day looking at a computer screen.**


	37. V1C36: Kindling the Flame

**Chapter 36: Kindling the Flame**

 **AN: Well, I've certainly been keeping myself busy. Three chapters in two days. Hooray for no responsibilities.**

 **I will always be the first to admit mistakes, and I apparently made another big one last chapter: I had no intention nor idea that the whole Molotov Cocktail ship teasing would be such a big part of the chapter. Honestly, I was going for more of the slice of life/general shenanigans stuff to play the prominent role there. So… yeah, I fucked up there. So for my attempts at repentance, you get… more Molotov Cocktail ship teasing! Though this time, it's from the two that are actually in the ship, and it's intentional this time.**

 **In today's Yang-centric chapter, a certain blonde brawler is threatening to turn Yangsty on us. It's up to her partner to out-emo her, before the two have a heart to heart and Yang starts shipping Molotov Cocktail along with the rest of us.**

* * *

(Perspective: Yang)

Yang woke up in a cold sweat. Sighing and running her hands down her face, she checked the time on her Scroll. _One thirty on Saturday morning, and the third time I've woken up tonight. This is getting ridiculous._ Rolling her head over, she caught a glimpse of a couple of her teammates. Weiss, as prim and proper in sleep as when awake, made no noise as the back presented to her rose and fell gently with each breath. Above her, her dear sister Ruby continued to be adorable. Tiny little snores escaped from her lips from time to time as the team leader sprawled out under her covers. Moving to stare at the bed above her, Yang considered the partner she had swapped beds with resting above her. Kassidy tried to be as stealthy and paranoid in her rest as in her regular life. Deathly silent, only the briefest rise and fall of her chest to indicate she was still breathing, and she slept so lightly that it only took the slightest noise to wake her up. Rolling over with a huff, Yang pulled the covers tighter around her and tried to will herself back to sleep. Her traitorous brain, on the other hand, refused to stay still.

Whatever medication she was taking for her recovery was so strong it left her in a stupor for the majority of the time. The only times she felt fully sober were those blessed short times in the morning before the nurse came with their medication. _Or that impromptu cuddle session with Kassidy… which I'm pretty sure we both enjoyed more than either of us would admit._ Still though, ever since Yang had felt well enough to do more than laze around in bed, she had started prying her teammates about what had happened. Weiss didn't offer anything truly useful, and Ruby wouldn't talk about it. Kassidy was content to outright ignore her as much as she could, and so there was only one option left. After all, Kassidy's paranoia led her to record everything she saw and heard, and Bob kept all those recordings. It took a bit of prying, but eventually she got the computer to open up and show her what all had happened that night.

And so Yang watched. Yang watched as she blindly rushed to fight the Alpha that had come out of nowhere. She watched as she wasn't strong enough to finish the job, and nearly got killed for her recklessness. She watched as Kassidy and Ruby carried them to safety. She watched as her partner fought to save her life. She watched as Ruby was getting torn apart by her condition. She watched as Kassidy nearly killed herself finishing the fight she had started. That was bad enough.

The worst of it was when Yang watched, or, more appropriately, listened as Kassidy confided in Bob. As she talked about how leaving Yang to die would've been the smart decision – a move that, as much as Yang hated to admit it, would've indeed been the smart decision. As she talked about how she was getting too close to the team, and needed to separate herself from them. As she talked about how much better off she'd be without Yang. Of course, those words were never spoken or even hinted at, but that was the conclusion Yang had drawn.

Their constant coddling only served to reinforce her opinion that she was dead weight to the rest of the team. Weiss tolerated her as long as she didn't keep her from studying. Ruby was so focused on helping her that she was falling behind in her own studies and responsibilities. And Kassidy seemed to be outright avoiding her. _Maybe I am dead weight. If I can't protect my friends, then what am I good for? I need to be looking out for them, but they're wasting time looking out for me now. If I can't punch a measly Grimm, then how am I contributing to the team?_

Sighing, Yang gave up on sleep. Terrorizing a punching bag or five was always a good way to get her thoughts in order, and it wasn't like she was going to be getting some rest anytime soon anyways. She was supposed to be fully released from treatments later that morning, so surely she was fine now, wasn't she? Taking great care to try and not wake Kassidy, she grabbed her gym bag from the corner and left the room, heading towards the gyms and being thankful they were one of the few campus facilities that were open twenty four hours a day.

As she padded along, Yang's thoughts continued to run wild. _And to make matters worse, Kassidy's been doing her level best to not be anywhere near me all week. Probably because I left her to clean up after me as well as the whole dating thing we're not doing. Oum, she's been practically walking up walls from how much stress she's been feeling with this whole rumor thing. Yeah, I definitely need to talk to Rubes and Ice Queen about that. Like she'd even want a failure like me anyw-_

"Was wondering when you'd get here." The sudden voice nearly made Yang fall over in shock as she entered the gym. Looking to her left, she saw Kassidy put the bar down as she finished a set of bench presses. "Starting to think you would just mope around in bed until the end of time."

"Hey, partner, I thought you'd be asleep. What are you doing here?"

"Mostly waiting on you."

Yang was genuinely shocked. "How –"

Kassidy cut her off with a disappointed expression. "Look, Yang, I know why you're here. I'm a pretty damn observant person, and I can tell you're having issues. The thoughts about how you're not good enough, that you don't deserve those around you?" Nervously, Yang gave a nod. "I know what you're going through. And I'm here to snap you out of it."

Yang sighed, before trudging off to the corner with the punching bags. "Maybe later, partner. I'm not really in the mood right now." She was stopped when a pair of boxing gloves hit her in the face.

"Nope. You not being in the mood is exactly why we're doing this now. Besides," Kassidy gave a cheeky grin, "Live targets are more fun to hit. So get those gloves on and get in the ring. Let's go a few rounds."

With no small amount of trepidation, Yang made her way over to the fighting ring in question. Kassidy had already gotten her gloves on and started bouncing in place and stretching out to loosen her muscles. _Woah, she's pretty serious about this. Is this her form of payback for me leaving her to take care of my problems that weekend?_

"Wow, we're that far into the pity party already, huh?" The sudden question jolted Yang back to her senses. "Alright, this fight's gonna be a little different."

"I'd hope so. You haven't been out of recovery for much longer than I have been. Last thing I want to do now is hurt you in a spar." Stretching out her own muscles, Yang could tell she was still stiff from the past week of inactivity as well as from injured muscles that still needed that little bit of time to finish the healing process. She was startled, however, when Kassidy chuckled.

"Oh, you think this is a spar, how cute." The chuckle got replaced with an incredibly serious face as her partner got in a fighting stance. "For a multitude of reasons, you've decided you're not good enough for the team. I'd like to think I know you pretty well, and I definitely know the thought process behind that notion, so I'm not going to even bother wasting my breath by telling you that's a false notion. Which, by the way, it's a false notion. So, in light of that information, here's how this fight is going to work: we're going to march to the center of this here ring, take a few swings at each other, and then I'm going to kick your ass." Yang's eyes widened even as she gave an involuntary snort at the bold claim. "I don't care if you have an aura. I'm going to kick your ass, and I'm going to keep kicking your ass until you're done with being sorry for yourself and start kicking my ass instead."

Yang was rather taken aback by her partner's commanding tone. Sure, Kassidy usually made her mind up quickly and wasted no time in following through. But straight up taking charge was something she almost never did, preferring to let someone else tackle the bigger issues. Her ruminations were ended as she needed to duck a left hook thrown by her partner. That, however, was just what Kassidy was looking for as she buried her other fist into Yang's gut. Her aura flared angrily to absorb the blow, but it didn't stop her from folding over the glove. Her shoulders were grabbed and Yang got half-thrown, half-shoved into the middle of the ring.

 _Well, if it's a fight she wants, I guess I better oblige her. Maybe she'll be able to learn a few things._ This wasn't that spar the first week of school where Kassidy didn't even know how to throw a punch without hurting herself. Nora's weight training had been paying dividends; she still wasn't putting muscle on quickly, but her strength was leagues ahead of where it used to be. Kassidy was faster, smarter, reacted quicker, had a better reach, and she could fight for longer. At this point, Yang's only advantages were her strength, her aura, and vastly superior skill.

Those advantages were only enough for Yang to keep in the game. Sure, it didn't help that she was still stiff and sore, but Kassidy wasn't here to play around. Taking full advantage of the fact that her aura would prevent any real damage, her partner laid into her with all the force she could muster. Meanwhile, she kept weaving around everything Yang threw at her. Quickly giving up on landing anything more than a glancing blow on her partner, Yang focused on keeping a solid guard up.

Kassidy didn't like that answer, as she grappled Yang and tried to break her guard that way. _Really, partner? Come on now, we both know that you're nowhere strong enough to shove me around like that._ Though it seemed like shoving her around wasn't Kassidy's intentions as a foot swept Yang's legs out from under her before sending her sprawling with a roundhouse kick.

"Quit telling yourself that it's the stiff and sore muscles that's letting me beat you. It's not the stiff and sore muscles. You're holding back on me. Quit holding back!" Kassidy emphasized the last statement with a right jab into the breadbasket, making Yang give more ground. Yang was about to stand there and let Kassidy continue to wale on her before thinking for a moment. _Kassidy has always been a very deliberate person. Is she really so sure that my muscles aren't to blame?_ Deciding to test the theory, Yang interrupted her partner's beating on her guard with a punch that laid Kassidy out. A brief panic attack subsided when her partner quickly shot up and got back in the fight as fierce as ever.

Yang felt more confident in both her own body's abilities and in her partner's ability to eat a punch, and started putting more force into the fight. Keeping her guard up to eat punches, she pressed forward and started working in her own offense. None of her punches connected, however, as Kassidy sped up herself. She gave up on trying to outmuscle Yang, instead settled for a faster if weaker pace, trying to dance around her guard and land blows on her sides. Yang decided she'd humored Kassidy enough, knowing that she'd be vulnerable to a well-timed hook right about… now.

What Yang didn't expect was for Kassidy to grab her arm, twist it behind her, and shove her into the mat. Kassidy stood over the top of her, pressing her harder onto the surface of the ring. "You have zero excuse to be losing this fight. If you put forth this little effort the next time we're in trouble, you're going to find yourself down some teammates real damn fast." Her eyes flashed red at the insinuation that she would just leave her friends to die. With a pulse of Aura augmenting her strength, Yang broke out of the hold she was in and threw Kassidy to the other side of the ring.

Yang decided to up the pressure some more. Pressing forward and seizing control of the initiative, she started really letting the punches fly. Kassidy found herself on the defense now, ducking and weaving around Yang's attacks and seldom getting a chance to retaliate. Right straight, left uppercut, roundhouse kick, right jab. Yang felt she was back in her groove, and she kept the heat up. Right up until Kassidy was a bit too slow and ate a particularly hard punch with her face. She stumbled back in a spray of blood, clutching at her nose. Yang instantly rushed forward, regret pooling as she realized what she'd done. _Because it wasn't bad enough I let everyone down last weekend. I had to go and hurt my partner again. Ugh, why can't I get my act together?!_ Her train of thought was interrupted when she got punched in the face herself.

"I'm not some delicate piece of crap. You like solving your problems by hitting them until they give up? Alright, then. Hit me!"

She decided she was done with playing around for the night. If Kassidy wasn't smart enough to stay down before she got really hurt, then Yang would need to make her stay down. They both strode forward, and Yang opened up instantly, no longer holding back. As they dodged and weaved around each other's strikes, Yang noticed that while Kassidy was quick in her reactions, she was significantly less quick on her feet. _Maybe related to the fact that she's not very flexible? That's as good an advantage to press as any other._ Getting more mobile, Yang pressed Kassidy into the corner, forcing her to eat more and more punches. Kassidy dodged as best as she could, blocked what she could, but was sorely outclassed and knew it. Sinking to the ground after a final haymaker, her partner elected to hold a hand up in surrender rather than getting back up to keep fighting.

"There we go. There's the Yang I partnered up with." Taking the offered hand, Kassidy padded at her nose with a cloth before taking a draft from her water. "How're you feeling now?"

"I'm feeling…" _How do I feel? Hitting something felt nice. The fact that Kassidy was cocky enough to stay that long in the ring with me while talking trash the whole time means she can't be too mad at me, right?_ "Doing better. Still feel like shit for failing so hard last weekend."

"Ugh, for the last time, you didn't fail jack in that fight." Kassidy rolled her eyes before chucking the canteen in Yang's direction. "In case you've forgotten, you killed two of them, then gave the Alpha the crippling injury I needed to even have a chance against it. You did everything you possibly could have and then some. Even if there was a failure, it wasn't yours."

Yang shook her head in mild awe. "Wow, you're a lot better at this whole 'cheering people up' stuff than I thought you would be. Ever thought of going into counseling?"

Kassidy made her way over to a bench with Yang following her, before collapsing on the bench and sighing. "No, I'm not good at it. I just have a trick up my sleeve in that regard."

"That being?" A severely conflicted look crossed Kassidy's face. _Alright, something ain't right here._ "C'mon partner, if something's wrong you know you can talk to me. You've put up with my crap tonight, least I can do is put up with your crap."

A small, sad smirk manifested before Kassidy sighed miserably. "Would you care to take a guess as to how I knew that you were having trouble sleeping? How I knew that you would come to the gym to take your frustrations out on a punching bag or five? How I knew exactly what was going through your head? How I knew that you were so distraught that I actually had a chance of winning a fistfight against you – at least for a little bit?"

Yang shrugged. "You aren't exactly stupid, and I'm not exactly subtle."

"My intelligence and your blatancy has nothing to do with how I knew all that." Rubbing at her face, Kassidy leaned back. "Bob told me you had him show you what all went down after you got knocked out. How you obsessed over the conversation I had with him." A panicked look shot across Yang's visage before Kassidy held a calming hand up. "You seriously think my computer can keep secrets from me for any meaningful length of time? Anyways, I know exactly how you reacted to that conversation. You felt that I wanted nothing to do with you, that I would be better without you. That about right?"

 _Alright, this is starting to get a bit creepy how she's exactly guessing what I've been going through._ "On the nose. That's pretty perceptive for you."

"The reason I know…" Kassidy sighed deeply. "Is because I'm talking from first-hand experience."

"Um… you mean you've been through this before?"

"I've been through exactly this before. Well, not exactly. Last time, I couldn't save him. I let him die…" Kassidy wore a wistful expression. _The return of Matthew. Who is this guy that his mere mention eats you up so?_

"Still not talking about him, I assume?"

"Matt dying was the last straw for me. I couldn't take it anymore, and my mind broke."

"Uh, you seem pretty sane to me."

"Then boy do I have you fooled. You haven't been sleeping well the past couple days, have you? The guilt, the shame, and the constant coddling didn't help either I bet. That's part of the reason why I've been staying away from you for the past couple days. I knew that until you were ready to do something about it, anything I could say would've only made things worse."

"I wasn't that bad, partner. I mean, yeah, I was pretty bummed for a couple days, but I was fine."

"No, you weren't that bad. You were worse, and getting even worse than that."

"What makes you say that?"

"You were turning into me."

Yang shrugged. "I'm not convinced that's such a bad thing. You don't seem to be that bad a person."

Kassidy chuckled grimly. "Oh, how bliss ignorance can be. But getting to the point, turning into me would've been very bad for you. The bad sleep you've been getting? The first stages of insomnia."

"And you would know that how?"

Kassidy stared a hole into a wall over to the side, no longer willing to make eye contact. "You know how I only get six hours of sleep a night? Well, it's not a good six hours. It's light at best, and I wake up often. It's more like a four or five hour catnap than anything."

Yang thought of how would be best to try and convince her partner things weren't that bad. "You seem to be plenty rested –"

"Did you know that before I came to Beacon, back when it was that bedroll instead of an actual bed, I only got three hours of sleep?"

"I'm sure –"

"This morning will start the fourth day since I last slept." Yang paled at the thought, as Kassidy shrugged. "I don't feel tired. I mean, sure, there's the sluggishness you would expect, but my body's not telling me that it absolutely needs sleep. It used to be worse, you know. When it started, I'd go for weeks at a time before my body just finally collapsed from exhaustion."

"I had no idea…"

"Of course you didn't, I did my best to keep it hidden. You're a strong person, and a good person. You deserve better than having to deal with my problems. And I do have problems, Yang. Paranoia, insomnia, anger issues… and that just rounds out the top three."

 _She used to deal with all of that? I mean, sure, she's still a bit paranoid and she hasn't been getting any sleep lately, but dear Oum. I'd go crazy if I had to go through it._ "How did you deal with it?"

"I didn't." The simple, bold declaration made Yang's eyes bug out. "I just try and keep the worst of it to where nobody else can see it. And when it truly gets bad… well, you've seen my drinking problem, hell I made the stupid decision of making you put up with it."

"K…" _This is still her life? A living hell? Nobody should have to go through this…_ "You don't need to keep going through this, you know. You can get help. Let me help you. Let US help you. We're a team, K. Your problems are our problems too."

"I'm past helping. If others can be happy, and if I can keep people like you from dealing with the stuff that I do… that's good enough for me." Suddenly, Kassidy clapped her hands together. "Enough angst for one night, though. Or, should I say Yangst?" She gave a grin that Yang mirrored. _Must be feeling better if she's cracking puns._ "Off to bed with ya, I've kept you up late enough as it is."

"You first, partner."

"No can do, Yang. I've still got work that I want to get done. Just need to be careful that it's not something that'll snap my neck if I go and drop unconscious in the middle of my workout." Worry crossed Yang's face before Kassidy smirked. "That was a joke, by the way. Now out, ye varmint."

Giving up, Yang slowly stood up, though she did take her sweet time to watch Kassidy. _Need to make sure my partner is really okay, after all. Not sure if she should be doing squats in her current state… not that I'm complaining about the view._ It might've been a joke earlier, but it wasn't a lie: Kassidy did make small look good. It also helped that her leggings accentuated her well-endowed posterior just fine. _No, bad Yang! No ogling over your partner! Still, I won't say no if she decides to start wearing shorts more often._

Shaking her head to banish those particular thoughts, Yang made her way out the door and started walking back to the dorm. Her brain decided to return to her partner, however. _How much have you been through, K? How strong does a person have to be to go through what you have, and come out of it more annoyed than anything else? Man, how I wish I could be that strong for Rubes._ Being careful not to wake Weiss or Ruby up, Yang crawled back into the lower bunk she had been staying in and tried to drift off to dreamland. _Still, though. Even the best of us are only so strong. If this is K starting to crack… I don't care what she says, she needs help. She can't handle all that alone._

 _You're not alone in this, partner. I'll make sure of it._

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Kassidy waited a good ten seconds after Yang left to ensure she wouldn't return, before racking the weights and collapsing on the nearest bench. _Stupid! You got way closer to her than you needed to! You didn't need to go to that extent to make sure Yang didn't follow the same path you did! Sure, she needed help, but that doesn't excuse you from chatting her up! No matter how hot she… wait, what?_ Snarling at the unwanted and unexpected thought, she toweled her face of its sweat before looking at one of the side rooms and raising her voice. "We didn't scare you that much, Professor, did we? Yang's gone, if that's the problem."

"Not a problem at all, I just wanted to provide the two of you what privacy I could." Professor Goodwitch came back into view and walked over. "Though I must admit to being surprised you saw me."

Kassidy chuckled lightly. "You have to be pretty good to sneak around me. And those heels of yours aren't exactly quiet. Has Professor Port's recovery been going well?"

"He just finished up his physical therapy yesterday, actually. Do you have a few minutes to talk?" Kassidy motioned to the opposite bench, and Glynda sat down. "Ms. Smi – Kassidy, you know there's no such thing as being past help, right? Whatever your issues are, I'm sure that we'll be able to get through them, if you'll allow me."

Kassidy scoffed. "Did you suddenly get a psychology degree when I wasn't looking?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." Kassidy looked up in surprise before Glynda smiled softly. "Why don't we continue this in my office? You definitely won't be able to sleep if you keep working out like this."

"I don't need sleep, I need to get better. Stronger, faster."

"And I have little doubt that will continue to happen with the amount of work you put in. But for now, come up with me." Glynda put a hand on her shoulder. "Even if you're not ready to talk just yet, I was hoping to catch up with you anyway. I was writing an updated report on these Hunter-Killers from your encounter with them, and there's a few details I was hoping to clarify. And I can promise the seats are more comfortable than this bench is."

 _Well, that spar with Yang did manage to take away my desire to spend all night working out. Ah, what the hell. As long as she knows that she's not getting me to talk._ "After you, Professor."

* * *

 **AN 2: And just like that, one half of Molotov Cocktail begins to believe in the ship. Also, consider this your confirmation that Kassidy has a Bellabooty. Well, unless I can think up of more crap to talk about between when I wrote this and when this gets published, let's just skip straight to the Reader Responses.**

 **Coming up next: Black and White isn't so black and white anymore, and the fourth member of the original cast makes her appearance.**

 **Guest: There won't be anything big like that, though the rumors will get tamed just in time for the ship to get out of visual range of the port. Still, no dice on the Matthew request, his part in the story has yet to come.**

 **mcd3424: Glad to hear it, my man. Here's to hoping I can keep entertaining.**

 **Kassidy: Alright, let me first say thank you for the review. I am incredibly sorry that you had to go through that, and here's to hoping you get your friendships patched up and life continues well for ya.**

 **I also want to thank you for making me really think about what kind of impact the kind of teasing I'm writing in might have on a person. Given the closest thing I've ever had to a relationship is with my computer, this is real uncharted territory for me. I've already written up until halfway through chapter 40 at the time of writing this reply, and believe me when I say that your review has made me really rethink and rewrite substantial parts of the story to truly consider the impact their teasing would have.**

 **One more time before I embarrass myself, thank you for the review, thank you for the eye-opening perspective, and here's to a great life and a great relationship for ya.**

 **Tykene: Well, you would be right! Mostly.**

 **James: I may have failed to mention Yang's mostly unconscious/delirious state for the majority of that week. Fret not, that gets reaffirmed here.**

 **AndJrew76: I appreciate the compliments, glad to hear you guys think I'm doing so well.**


	38. V1C37: Arrivals and Arguments

**Chapter 37: Arrivals and Arguments**

 **AN: So it turns out that the story got something like 1200 views in twenty four hours when last chapter got put up. Seems like you guys are really enjoying it, here's to hoping I can keep providing the entertainment.**

 **Also, I'd like to extend a massive thanks to kaiju62 for being willing to proofread several of my chapters. Shameless plug alert, you might know him from his stories like** **Clubbin'** **,** **Friends and Loved Ones** **, and more recently** **Just Across the Hall** **. If you're into the slice of life types of fanfics, I highly recommend checking him out.**

 **Back to the main story! Preparations for the Vytal Festival are in full swing, and the girls decide to head to downtown Vale to take in the sights. Yeah, I'm pretty sure you can guess what's going to happen this chapter. Or can you? *cue Twilight Zone intro music***

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Festive music. Balloons freakin' everywhere. Some old shopkeeper hanging up a sign declaring 'Welcome to Vale'. Whatever this Vytal Festival was, it was pretty darn important to the city. Heck, it wasn't even here yet and there were so many decorations she had given up counting a few minutes into their trip to the town. As Team RWKY continued down the streets, Kassidy had to suppress a yawn. The worst of her insomnia was returning in full force, making the past two weeks a haze. _Seventeen days without sleep. Starting to get close to my record. Wonder how much longer I can keep everyone in the dark for._ Suddenly, she noticed her eyes had started drooping, and she failed to fight back another yawn.

An elbow softly dug itself into her ribs, and Kassidy looked to see Yang giving her a small smile. _Yang has been really going out of her way to do what she thinks would make my life easier. Hell, she even managed to talk everyone into dropping that damn rumor finally. Really, it's times like these I'm glad to have gotten her for a partner._

"The Vytal Fesitval! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!"

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss. It's kinda weirding me out." _You and me both, Ruby. You and me both._

"How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world!" _Well, at least with Weiss taking up her role as the team's walking infomercial, learning up on this Vytal Festival should be a breeze._ "There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!"

"Pfft, you really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring." While some people might say Yang had a more direct and crude definition of entertainment (with those some people possibly having the last name of Schnee)… the brawler was right. _I mean, sure, I'm as big a geek as the next girl. Doesn't mean I get all excited about background paper pushing._

"Quiet, you." The girls rounded a corner and arrived at the Vale docks.

"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon at the stupid docks?"

"Ugh, they smell like fish." _Well, that's what happens when you are at a location that fishing boats tend to offload their catches at._

"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo should be arriving by ship today. And as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom." _Yeah, sure you do Princess._

"That sounds… rather fishy. You sure it's not to do with your desire to gain an advantage over our competition in the tournament by observing them?" Yang and Kassidy shared a high five as Weiss wheeled on her.

"Ugh, you can't prove that!"

"Hey, I didn't say that I blamed you."

"Woah." Ruby's simple statement caught everyone's attention as they were drawn to a busted up storefront. "What happened?"

"Robbery. Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle." The investigator in question walked back to the storefront to continue his search. _Could it be that my old friend Torchwick is back in business? Or has he remained in business these past few months and I simply haven't been paying attention?_ Yang made an offhand comment about how terrible it was, before the other investigator exclaimed how all the money got left again. "Yeah, it just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?" Kassidy's eyes went wide at hearing that. _Stealing Dust instead of money… this isn't a petty robbery. There's something else going on here._

"Yeah, I dunno. You know what I mean?"

"You thinkin' the, uh… White Fang?"

"Yeah, I'm thinkin' we don't get paid enough."

"Hmph, the White Fang." The girls all turned to Weiss' unexpected outburst. "What an awful bunch of degenerates."

"Alright, just to clarify: White Fang is that Faunus rights organization that's started taking to more criminal means in the past five years, right?"

"They're criminally insane, Kassidy."

"That's a rather bold declaration. From what I've read, 'misguided' is a more apt descriptor."

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!"

"So then they're very misguided. Either way, that doesn't broach the real issue here: why is a group like the White Fang robbing Dust stores left and right, and just leaving the money?"

"Hmm… Kass has got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy we ran into a few months ago. Maybe it was him?"

"That doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat and steal." _I'm sorry, what?_

"Woah there, Weiss. Way to define an entire goddamn species by its worst examples."

"Hey, stop that Faunus!" _Alright, that wasn't even ironic foreshadowing on my part, Mr. Mystery Shouter!_ The girls ran in the direction of the shout, to watch as a blonde guy with a monkey tail got chased off a boat. "You no good stowaway!"

Kassidy watched as the Faunus in question climbed a light pole, hung from it by his tail, and started eating a banana. _Wow, way to reinforce the stereotypes there._ "Hey, a no good stowaway would've gotten caught. I'm a GREAT stowaway!"

"Well," Kassidy shrugged, "he's not wrong."

The two detectives from earlier walked up to the boy. "Hey, get down from there this instant!" The bearded fellow got a banana peel tossed into his face for his trouble, before the Faunus started running up from the docks. _Oh, lovely, he's coming this way. Eh, not my problem, I've done worse than be a stowaway after all. Here he comes, and…_

 _Did he just wink at me? Did that seriously just happen?_ Kassidy stood stunned for a moment as the detectives passed them to chase after him.

"Well Weiss, you wanted to see the competition. And there it goes."

"Quick, we have to observe him!" With Weiss' bold declaration, the team took off to follow the scene. So engrossed was she in the chase that Weiss completely failed to notice the pedestrian she bowled over as she rounded a corner. "No, he got away!" _And apparently still so engrossed she ignored the fact that she just ran someone over._

"Salutations!"

"Um, hello."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking."

"Do you… want to get up?

The girl in question… _or was it a girl? This seems very familiar…_ thought for a moment, before declaring, "Yes." She shot up and stared unnervingly at them, causing the team to collectively take a step back. "My name is Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Hi, Penny! I'm Ruby."

"I'm Weiss."

"Kassidy."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" _Nice tact there, partner._ A quick elbow jab made Yang remember her manners. "Oh, I'm Yang."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"You already said that."

"So I did!"

Kassidy stepped away from the group for a moment to whisper with Bob. "Bob, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That this particular AI's speech protocols are worse than mine are?"

"Something along those lines."

Weiss barging in front of her brought her out of her ruminations with her computer. "Now, where did that Faunus riffraff run off to?"

Suddenly, that Penny girl materialized in front of them. "What did you call me?"

Yang rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't think you heard me." _Alright, what the hell happened back there for the five seconds I wasn't paying attention?_

"No, not you." Penny stepped forward to come face to face with Ruby. "You!"

"Me?" Ruby started squeaking quickly as her brain tried to process the situation.

"You called me friend! Am I really your friend?"

 _Oh boy. No, Ruby, don't be friends with the poorly programmed AI masquerading as a teenage girl._ Weiss and Yang obviously had similar thoughts. Ruby, of course, ignored them all. "Umm… yeah, sure! Why not?" _Ugh. You are far, far too nice for your own good._

"Sensational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!"

"Oh… was this what it like when you met me?"

Weiss, for her part, appeared next to Ruby. "No. She seems far more coordinated."

Yang elected to defuse the newly created tension. "So… what are you doing in Vale?"

"I'm here to fight in the tournament!"

"Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?"

"I'm combat ready!" _If this AI is simply roaming the streets with zero social skills and no handler, I'm actually inclined to believe that._

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."

Kassidy decided to take the bait. "Says the girl wearing a dress."

Weiss remained unfazed. "It's a combat skirt." Unexpectedly, Ruby of all people came to her defense, and the two shared a low five. _They've certainly been getting along better than since the start of the semester._ "Wait! If you're here for the tournament, then do you know that monkey tailed… rapscallion? That filthy Faunus from the boat!" _WOAH, WOAH, WOAH! That's it, I've heard enough racism for one day._

"Penny, dear, if you wouldn't mind leaving us be, I need to have an argument with my teammate right about now." Blatantly ushering the suspected android away, Kassidy wheeled on Weiss. "Alright, Princess, what's your problem? 'Filthy Faunus', really?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Should I stop referring to the trash can as a trash can, or this lamppost as a lamppost?"

"Those arguments aren't equivalent. Not all rectangles are squares, and not all Faunus are criminals."

"He clearly broke the law! Give him time, he'll probably join with those other Faunus in the White Fang."

"Hitching an illicit ride on a boat is hardly on the same level as robbing Dust shops in the heart of downtown. What is your problem with the White Fang? So what if they have a couple bad eggs? That doesn't change the fact that, publically at least, they're a force for equality." So focused on the argument was she, that she failed to notice a certain black and white clad girl across the street stop and sit at a park bench, watching them as the bow atop her head twitched in their direction.

"My problem is that they're terrorists!" Weiss, showing an unusual amount of emotion, took a few steps forward and sighed. "And, contrary to your little explanation earlier, they've had criminal tendencies for more than the past five years. The Schnee Dust Company has always been a target for violent extremists, almost all of whom came from the White Fang. Trains would get robbed. Mines and processing plants would get bombed. I've seen family friends disappear, and board members executed." Drawing up to her full height (which barely crested Kassidy's chest even with the assistance of heeled boots), Weiss did her best to snarl in her face. "You want to know why I hate the White Fang so much? Because they're nothing but a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"

Kassidy closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and kept a calm and even tone. _Need to get this right to get Weiss to see the point. Especially when she's more right than I'm willing to admit._ "You have every right to hate the people that have been targeting your family. I know I would. But don't take the actions of a couple radicalized terrorists using a larger organization as a useful scapegoat, as the behaviors and desires of an entire species."

"But it is the desire of all the Faunus! You have no idea-"

"Does Velvet Scarlatina want you dead?"

"What?"

"Does Kurt from Applied Chemistry want you dead? Does Kojak from Grimm Studies want you dead? How about Fayette or Stark from Combat Training?" Weiss' glare lessened as she thought, and Kassidy continued her argument. "Weiss, if an entire species wanted you dead, then you wouldn't have made it longer than a week here. I understand where you're coming from, I really do. But don't extrapolate the actions of some psychopaths to an entire species." Putting a hand on her shoulder, she concluded, "I'm not asking you to suddenly be every Faunus' best friend ever, hell I'm not even asking you to like the Faunus. But if you're going to hate someone, then dear god please find a better reason than 'someone that shares vague physical traits with them is a bad person'."

"I hate to put a damper on this lovely conversation, but we've started to attract spectators. Perhaps we could continue back at Beacon?" Bob's announcement caught the girls by surprise, but sure enough more than one pedestrian had ceased their travels to witness the argument.

"There's no further argument to be had. Unless you have anything to add?"

"Yeah, we've conveniently ignored the Goliath in the room: who's been stealing all this Dust, and what would they need with it? I've got a really bad feeling about this…"

"I'm sure it'll be fine, K. The police have it handled. Probably."

"Well I'm not so sure, Yang." Kassidy dug her computer out of his perch on her back. "Bob, establish new task."

"New task established. Awaiting pertinent information."

"Gather all information on all Dust robberies as of my arrival to Remnant on March 5, and try to draw what conclusions you can. I want a full report by the time I'm done with dinner."

"Task set."

"Alright, then. Are we good, Weiss, Kassidy?"

Kassidy shrugged. "I've said everything I needed to."

Weiss' brow furrowed for a moment. "I… still have some things I'd like to discuss." Kassidy was about to argue some more before Weiss brought her hand up. "I'm done arguing, for what it's worth. You've given me a lot to think about; I'm not so arrogant as to insist I'm right if I happen to be completely wrong. I just need some time."

"Well, that's good enough for me."

"Okay, Team RWKY is back to its normal self!" Yang winced at Ruby's declaration, before shooting a glance over at Kassidy giving a large yawn. "Let's head back to Beacon and get some dinner!"

At this point, Bob got her attention from her earpiece. _Apparently there's something he doesn't want everyone else knowing about._ "You see that black and white girl with the bow across the street?"

Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Kassidy easily made out the girl resting on a park bench. "Yeah, what's up?"

"From what I could make out whenever the iris cam passed over her, she's been rather intently watching the argument from the beginning. And not just staring at you either, this one's good at hiding where her attention is at. Should I be concerned?"

"Probably not, but I wouldn't be me if I weren't paranoid."

"What're you whispering with Jarvis about, partner?"

Kassidy at this point didn't even bother rolling her eyes at Yang's pet nickname for Bob. "Nothing much. Hey, you girls mind holding up for a bit? Something caught my eye across the way, want to go see what's what."

"Alright, let's go, then."

"Not necessary Ruby, I shouldn't be long. Go ahead, I'll catch up." Her teammates grumbled for a bit, and Ruby and Yang shared concerned looks, but they did start slowly making their way down the street.

Kassidy crossed the street, taking care not to outright look at the girl that's apparently been watching her. _Alright, let's establish some basic facts. Female, a good three to four inches shorter than me, only slightly more muscle than me. Eyes are… strange. Heeled boots with an outfit that allows ease of movement. A Huntress, maybe? She seems ready for a fight, despite being unarmed. Nose buried in her book, except for how she still has great field of vision by peeking over the top. Whoever this girl is, she's almost as good as I am about being sneaky. Almost. Alright, let's see how she reacts to a bit of contact._

"Hey, is that you? It's been a while, huh? How've you been all these years?" _Okay… and she's the one who initiated contact. Wants to talk. Smile is forced, vague mention to knowing me. She's real good._ The woman cleared a bag off the bench and cleared space for Kassidy to take a seat, which she took.

"Well, Kassidy Smith is the same as she ever is. Mostly referring to herself in the third person." They laughed at the inside joke that they most definitely did not share. Kassidy leaned back mostly to ensure her pistol was where it always was; if this girl was as good as she let on, then anything as obvious as moving an arm to pat her back would give the firearm away. "And how is my friend?"

"Changed my name, believe it or not. It's Blake Belladonna now." Leaning in, she was now talking barely above a whisper. "Didn't realize I was so obvious with my interest in your conversation with the heiress."

"Don't fret, dear. I'm just a bit paranoid is all." Stretching her arms behind her, Kassidy decided to get to the bottom of things quickly. "So to what do I earn the pleasure of your attention?"

"It was really admirable, how you stood up for the Faunus. Not many are so open-minded."

"Not really open-minded. I just have a low tolerance for racism. In my opinion, if you're going to hate someone, then chances are there's a better reason for you to hate them beyond 'they look different from me'."

"It's really refreshing hearing from such a like mind, you know that right?" Blake shook her head, her smile having long been schooled into a neutral expression. "I'm also surprised you know so much about the White Fang. Not everyone is so accommodating towards them."

"I've actually heard scarce little, I'm afraid. But equal rights is a worthy goal, as long as they can keep the nutcases in check."

"Yeah, it's such a shame that there are those willing to muddy the reputation of not just the White Fang, but Faunus everywhere by committing such cruel and senseless acts." _That was the slightest bit forced. You might be good, Blake, but I'm better. So what are you hiding, I wonder?_

"Well, just goes to show that being a scumbag doesn't depend on which species you are, doesn't it?"

"That it does. Did I hear right you're a student at Beacon?" Kassidy nodded, and Blake smiled softly. "I'm visiting for the tournament myself. Perhaps we'll be good friends after all."

"Perhaps indeed. Sorry to cut this short, Blake, but I better get going before my partner blows something up. Again." The two girls shared a quick laugh, before getting up. "Another time?"

"Of course. It's been great catching up!" The two went their separate ways, each wondering who got the most out of that probing conversation.

* * *

"Ugh, this day was sure a handful. If I can't get some sleep after this, then I'll probably accept my fate of being permanently awake until I die from exhaustion."

Kassidy found herself in the library after dinner, double-teaming with Bob to sift through the information the computer had managed to acquire. _Was it illegal to break into Beacon and Vale Police Department servers to get every last bit of data? Eh, it's only illegal if I get caught. And as far ahead as Bob is… I'm not getting caught._

"Document number 074 has yielded no new information," Bob reported. "Hold on, receiving message. Ruby wants you back at the dorm for a team meeting."

 _Ugh, Ruby's been trying to corner me all week. Alright, get ahold of yourself, Smith. More than enough has happened today that this probably isn't the reason for it. C'mon, you got this._ "Keep working in the background. Let's go see what Lady Reaper wants."

"Lady Reaper?"

"My new little nickname for Ruby. Hey, it fits."

After padding up to the dorm, Kassidy paused to rub the fatigue from her eyes and yawn before unlocking the dorm. _I really do hope I can get some sleep tonight. I don't think I'll be able to keep a lid on this much longer._

The door opened to… Ruby, Weiss, and Yang in their pajamas, waiting on the lower beds expectantly. Ruby tossed her nightclothes at her before saying, "Change, then sit." _You don't do a very good job of sounding stern, you know that right? And I knew I shouldn't have come up here._ After doing what she was told, Kassidy took a seat on her bed.

"Alright, what's up?"

"What do you mean what's up?" Weiss glared at her from across the room, arms crossed. "You've been a wreck these past two weeks, and we want to know why. You're always tired, you barely stay awake in class, you've fallen behind Jaune of all people in Combat Training, and you're yawning constantly!"

"I dunno what you're-"

Yang placed a comforting hand on Kassidy's shoulder before speaking softly. "K, remember when I told you that you don't have to deal with this alone? I'm not kidding. We're your team. You can talk to us. Please, as your partner, as your friend, please tell us what's bothering you."

"Nothing's bothering me. I just don't sleep as well as you guys do. I never have."

"Sleeping for six hours and being up by four thirty is not sleeping well. Not getting any sleep at all for seventeen days is a really big problem." Ruby's knowing that shocked Kassidy, and the team leader poked her fingers together. "It takes me a bit to get to sleep. I've heard every time you left the room."

"Alright, so I haven't slept well for a while now. What's the big deal? I'm still getting everything I need to taken care of and then some."

"Except you're not. Do you not remember when you nearly got flattened by that Boarbatusk during our last training mission because you were too tired to get out of the way? You're lucky I put that glyph up when I did."

"You're not doing okay, so don't even try to tell us that you are." Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a quick side hug. "If we go out for our missions tomorrow and you collapse from exhaustion, what are we supposed to do? Dust, I've getting better marks in class than you recently. I mean, I'm not stupid or anything, but let's not even try to pretend I'm anywhere as smart as you."

Kassidy shook her head and sighed. "Look, guys, I appreciate what you're trying to do. But I just can't get to sleep. And I don't know how to get me to go to sleep. Trust me, if I knew how, I would've dropped like a stone weeks ago."

"We know, which is why we took the liberty of setting up an appointment with Doctor Narud."

Kassidy looked incredulously at Ruby. "Alright, first off, why? And second off, when?"

"Well, we've already talked about why. And for when, it's, uh, tonight."

"His office closes at eight, right? We'd better hurry."

Bob corrected her perception of time. "It's 9:45, actually."

"That's a perfect example! You can't even keep track of what time it is!"

"Alright, Weiss. Since we've already missed his office hours, surely you have a grand plan for how we're supposed to have a meeting with him tonight?"

As if in reply to Kassidy's question, someone knocked on the door. Ruby bounced up and opened it to reveal the man in question. "I suppose it's a good thing I still make house calls." After being welcomed into the room, he pulled out a chair and set a carpet bag on a nearby desk. "Alright, I've been told you've been having a serious case of insomnia. How serious are we talking about?"

"Nothing too bad-"

"It's been seventeen days since she last slept."

Narud's eyes widened to comical proportions, before prompting Kassidy to confirm it. "It's not like this is the longest I've gone without sleep before. Twenty three days is my current record."

"Dear Oum, this has to be the most severe case of insomnia I've ever heard of. Give me a moment." He got up and put a palm on top of Kassidy's head, which freaked her out a bit before he started talking again. "A combination of minimal levels of prolactin and severely elevated levels of cortisol." Taking off his hand and seeing inquisitive glances, he added, "My Semblance allows me to identify physical maladies with great ease. I was training to be a Huntsman before extenuating circumstances pushed me into medicine."

Yang nervously asked, "Is there a way to help her sleep, doc?"

"It's funny, Kassidy's body has taught me more about how human biochemistry works than all my classes on the subject. You really are a strange one, you know that?"

"Yeah, figured it out a while ago actually."

Narud got a good chuckle. "Alright. I do believe I've figured out how your chemical resistance works, and how to sneak past it. I have a sedative here that should work well for tonight." Kassidy's eyes widened and she tried to hide behind Yang, which prompted Narud to laugh more. "No needles this time, I promise. Just a couple pills here. But still." He paused, and got their attention to show how serious he was. "The chemical imbalances you're currently experiencing can only be caused by extreme stress. I don't know what the source of that stress is, and I won't ask. But you need to do something about it. That level of stress does more to the body than just make it hard to sleep." Finishing his lecture, the good doctor left the girls alone in their room.

"So, are you going to take them or not?"

"I dunno, Weiss. Even assuming it does work like he says it will, being forced unconscious? What if something happens and I can't wake up to respond to it?"

"If that happens," Yang boldly declared, "First off I'll tell you to stop being paranoid, and second off I'll punch it. Nothing's going to happen to you if I can help it."

Kassidy looked at Yang as she said it. _She actually means it, doesn't she? It's incredible, really. Just being around her makes me feel safe. Well, safer._ "Oh, I guess." She was about to get up for a glass of water before rose petals delivered one to her. The water sloshed dangerously but remained in the cup.

Ruby giggled, before standing up in a not-quite-authoritative pose. "Alright, that settles it! You'll get some much needed sleep tonight, and after tomorrow's mission we'll make sure you relax properly!"

Not wanting to interrupt the girl's wild train of thought, Kassidy barely paid attention to the wild ramblings of spas and shopping trips and a bunch of stuff that definitely wouldn't happen. _Well, she's certainly excited about this. At least there's a decent chance I might actually get some sleep this weekend._

 _Wait, is Ruby whispering now or is it just me? No, just me, things are getting darker. What did Narud even put… in… these…_

Falling unconscious, Kassidy had no chance to correct her position of falling asleep right into Yang's lap. Weiss was the first one to get over her surprise. "Well, those sedatives sure worked quickly."

Ruby took a step forward and starting cooing. "Aw, she's so cute! Why can't she sleep this well normally?"

Yang, however, did her best to attribute the light red flush gracing her visage to being a side-effect of her Semblance. "Yeah, yeah. In case you forgot, K really needs her sleep. Let me just…" She tried to get her partner off her, but Kassidy subconsciously snuggled deeper into the comforting source of heat. Blaming the blush on her Semblance was no longer a valid option. "Alright, no. That's WAY too adorable. You've been teaching her, haven't you Rubes?" The younger sister giggled.

"I don't think I've ever seen her so relaxed. It's kind of nice, actually." Weiss finished her bedtime rituals before climbing under the covers. "Well, aren't you going down for the night Yang? If you keep me up, I swear I'll-"

"I don't think I'm currently allowed to leave the bed…"

"Looks like you get more hugs from Kassidy after all." Ruby wore a smug grin, before yelping and dashing out of Yang's reach in the nick of time.

"You are the worst!"

"Don't wake Kass up! Go to bed!"

* * *

 **AN 2: The longest chapter to date. Holy hell did I go overboard. And do I really need to make Kassidy continue to go through these kinds of things? Yes. Yes I do. I hope you enjoyed the final bit of fluff for a good while now. Shit's about to get real.**

 **Coming up next: The final arc of Volume 1, and the chapter that damn near gave me a nervous breakdown wondering how you guys take it.**

 **Anyways, Reader Responses next. Eventually.**

 **Akshka: Don't worry, I've already made more after this so I don't have to spend final exam week writing instead of studying. We've got enough content to get us through the rest of the semester lined up.**

 **James: Glad to hear it, I was rather proud of how I wrote that myself. This ship will be continuing nice and slow for a while now, there's more important issues to deal with than Yang and Kass fluff.**

 **Tykene: Sorry to disappoint, but that conversation kinda gets glossed over. Long story short: Kassidy talks with Glynda about the Hunter-Killers, then Glynda tries and fails to get Kass to talk about her problems.**

 **LizInABlizzard: Thank you for the compliments, my man/woman/Apache attack helicopter! I'll do my best to keep up the quality, and best of luck in your own writing endeavors.**

 **Kassidy: Believe me, I'll do my best to keep it in mind. As of now, the rumor's basically dead. Not to say the teasing is dead, but from here on out it'll actually be earned. And sorry, Adam's staying out of the picture for… basically until the end of the story. Not to say I won't try and work him in here and there, because I will.**

 **FloriteFlower: Welcome on board, thanks for the compliments! Updates are Mondays and Fridays, usually at 7pm CST. Hope I can keep providing you with an entertaining read.**


	39. V1C38: Project Colossus

**Chapter 38: Project Colossus**

 **AN: Here we are. The final six chapters of Volume One. And honestly… I am super nervous about how this chapter goes. This can go real bad real quick, and I really hope I write this well enough that you guys like it.**

 **In fact, I think I'm going to stop talking now and get to the chapter. Actual author's note is at the end.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Glynda blew a sharp whistle and brought the duel to a close. "And I'm going to need to pull you out of the fight before any real injury occurs, Ms. Smith. Still, though, your swordplay has measurably improved, and you managed to bring Mr. Bronzewing's aura down to 53. I'd advise working on your footwork, and your guard."

The first day of June smiled brightly on Kassidy Smith. After getting the go-ahead to start using the training weapons in Combat Training class, being able to beat up one of the CRDL meatheads was just the latest of a series of fortunate events, even if she lost yet again. She'd never admit it, but that weekend of forced relaxation actually did wonders for her mood. Her insomnia was brought back under control, her grades shot back up just in time to ace a couple tests, her extra training with Weiss was going splendidly, and the whole team even earned a tidy sum of 2500 Lien each for exterminating the Hunter-Killers.

Her schoolwork wasn't all that was looking up. Ruby finally stopped pestering her to socialize more; sure, the brunette was still a pain from time to time, but at least it was reasonable now. Weiss was far more open to her, in fact the two girls had mostly stopped arguing even. Debates, on the other hand… _well, those are quickly becoming my new favorite pastime. Helps that Weiss is such an excellent debate opponent. Almost makes me feel bad when I use Bob to, ahem, enhance my knowledge on a subject._ And then there was Yang, the blonde brawler that had finally seemed to find a pleasant middle ground of helping where she could without drawing unnecessary attention. Hell, even that damn rumor has seemed to have run its course. Relations with JNPR go well, with Nora no longer glaring at her whenever she could, and Bob even saw a multitude of program updates head his way.

Thursday meant Algebra, and Algebra meant she could literally sleep through the class and still get everything right. However, this time she wasn't sleeping. Hunched over Bob and typing furiously, she almost missed Yang leaning over. As per usual, Yang was probably bored out of her skull. Kassidy couldn't blame her, obviously; this professor did a terrible job of teaching the subject.

"So, what're you up to nerd?"

"Again, geek. And you remember that encrypted hard drive that I got talking with Ozpin about after our first training mission?"

"That was the one you said, how did you put it? 'Came from a German mad scientist', I think? Yeah, what about it?"

"Bob finally got around to taking a crack at it, and holy shit did the guy spare no expense in keeping whatever was in this thing locked up. Figured I'd help out where I could since we're in the worthless class on our schedule. Been a while since I've had to dabble in cryptography, nice to flex those muscles again."

"Ugh, if you like your computer so much, why don't you marry it?"

"Jealous, Xiao Long?" It took most of Kassidy's self-control to not bust up laughing at Yang's sputtering. _Finally, a way I can tease Yang back. Well, other than her obsession with her hair, of course._

"Not funny, partner."

"Actually, getting serious again, you know what's not funny? This kind of encryption." As Yang silently asked the obvious question, Kassidy explained herself. "I know Bob's kinda famous for basically ignoring your guys' security systems, but that's not unique to Remnant. Back home, he was the best computer by a lot, too. Do you have any idea when was the last time it took him more than five minutes to crack any system?"

"Probably been a while."

Kassidy shook her head. "It hasn't happened before. And yet, Bob's a couple hours into this and he's barely made a dent in the thing. Which has got me wondering what the hell's in it that's worth this kind of protection. You get what I'm saying?"

"Ms. Smith, since you're obviously too smart for this class, surely you can give me the inverse of this function." Kassidy looked up from her work and gave the problem on the board exactly five seconds of thought before blurting out the answer. The professor huffed and grumbled after failing to catch her off guard yet again. _If this is life now, then this is something I can get used to._

As the final class of the day ended, there was an unusual buzz in the air as everyone rushed to the auditorium. As Team Rookie made their way to the building in question, Ruby was the first to ask the obvious question. "What do you think Headmaster Ozpin's announcement is going to be about?"

"I think I heard earlier that the school recently got a new piece of technology to augment its training program. Not sure what, but it's obviously pretty big if the channels I keep up with in my father's company are talking about it." Weiss flipped her hair over her shoulder and continued to walk in the perfect image of poise and properness. At this point, the four girls had entered the auditorium and speculation was brought to an end. It didn't take long for Ozpin to take the microphone and begin his announcement.

"I will keep this brief. As we come upon the last month of your first semester at this school, all of you have made strides towards honing your craft and acquiring new skills. You have made friends, battled Grimm, and begun working with your team as one cohesive unit. In short, your education at Beacon Academy has begun splendidly. However, not all aspects of being a Huntsman can be learned from a textbook or from clashing with Grimm in the wilds outside this school. A true Huntsman must be able to fight not just the monsters outside, which threaten to tear down and consume our bodies, but also the monsters inside, which threaten to tear down and consume our very souls.

"As part of your Combat Training course, you will learn how to fight the monsters on the inside. Normally, starting tomorrow, specialized one-on-one sessions would begin to ensure this part of your education runs smoothly. However, I am pleased to announce that, thanks to the hardworking people at Atlas and the Schnee Dust Company, in addition to recent breakthroughs in computing technology, Beacon Academy has as of today been outfitted with a state of the art simulation room.

"This simulation room is capable of building artificial environments as realistic as any you may come across on Remnant, and can create nearly anything we can program into it. While in the future, it will be used to assist in training students in real-world scenarios, starting tomorrow you will each individually enter a fantasy world of our choosing. From our analyses and judgements based on your performance these past three months, we will make you face that which you fear most.

"Make no mistake: this is not a trivial lesson. Every Huntsman must be able to silence the monsters inside them if they are to successfully defend society from the monsters on the outside. We will not take this lesson lightly; I suggest you do not either. Be prepared. That is all."

Everyone filed out of the auditorium, and RWKY made their way back to the dorm. JNPR decided to join them, and rather than get ready for extra practice the four girls decided to lounge around with friends for the remainder of the time before dinner. A tense silence descended upon the eight before Kassidy decided to broach the obvious topic. "Alright, so it's pretty obvious what's on all our minds now. How're we feeling about tomorrow?"

Weiss curtly answered, "I'm a Schnee. I can handle anything they can throw at me."

Yang was just as confident in her reply. "I'm pretty sure I already know what they're gonna have me see. I'm not too worried. Rubes I'm a bit concerned for, though."

"I'll be fine, Yang. Promise." Ruby gave a small smile, and Kassidy glanced around the room at their guests. Ren and Nora were busy exchanging silent, worried looks. _Pretty sure that they know what they're about to see. Pretty sure the other's gonna be playing a lead role in it, too._

"Well, I mean, I'm a pretty simple guy. There's a lot I'm scared about, that's just me. But nothing truly life-shattering they can really draw from, you know?" Jaune put on his best fake smile to try and inject some confidence back into the room.

"Whatever gets thrown at us over these coming days, I'm sure we'll all be capable of dealing with it." Pyrrha seemed a little unsure herself, but still put on a brave face for the sake of her friends.

"How about you, K?" Kassidy looked up to see Yang looking at her with concern. "You think you'll hold up alright?"

"There's nothing Ozpin can do to me that's worse than what I've already been through, guaranteed." The next half hour flew by as the teens talked about classes, the new arrivals visiting from the other academies, and the upcoming festival. _I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm feeling pretty fucking good about life. Ozpin has no idea how to really go about scaring me. Head in, pass his little test, then we're on the home stretch to final exams._

"Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I've just managed to break the encryption on that hard drive, Kassidy."

"Three and a half hours? Holy crap that took forever. Alright, pull it up and let's see what was worth that kind of protection."

"Analyzing… um. Um. My god…"

That reaction was somewhat concerning. "Talk to me, Bob. What're we looking at?"

"This shouldn't be possible…"

"What shouldn't be possible?"

"Establishing group call with Ozpin, Glynda Goodwitch, and Doctor Narud."

"Wait, what? Why are you calling them?" Jaune's question put the new mood in the room perfectly into words.

Ozpin's voice rang clear. "Kassidy, this is unexpected. May I ask why you deigned to call all three of us?"

"Headmaster Ozpin, this is Bob. Remember that encrypted hard drive from a few months back that was our best lead into the situation with Kassidy's Aura?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Am I to understand that you've decrypted it?"

"I have, and… well… how quickly can the three of you join Kassidy in a meeting?"

"I happen to have Glynda with me right now, actually. Are you able to join us, Doctor Narud?"

"Yeah, you caught me at a good time."

"Excellent. Bob, does you and Kassidy meeting us as soon as you can sound agreeable?"

"Yes it does. I'd rather not say more over a Scroll connection… but you need to see this. All of you. That means you too, Kassidy."

"Any reason you set up a meeting as opposed to just telling me?"

Glynda sounded over the call. "Wait, you mean to tell me Kassidy had you set up a meeting she didn't even know was going to happen?"

"No, I set it up for her. I'll make sure Kassidy is up shortly." Terminating the call, Bob whirred as his processors hit overdrive. "I promise, I'll reveal all. But let's not keep the professors waiting."

* * *

"Ah, glad you could join us, Kassidy. Now, Bob, for what purpose did you request that we gather here?"

"Before I show you what I'm about to show you, I want to make it clear that Kassidy has seen none of this beforehand, nor did she know about it. Also, I'm cherry-picking the information that's relevant to us as a whole; there's obviously far more in the hard drive than what I am about to show you."

"Gotta admit, Bob, you're freaking me out a bit with all this secrecy." Kassidy fidgeted in her seat.

"I'm sure we'll do our best to keep that in mind. Now, shall we begin?"

"Of course. Kassidy, would you be so kind as to plug in the projector I had you bring up?" After a few moments of playing around with the device and pointing it at one of the walls, Bob spoke up again. "Beginning video file playback."

The scene displayed upon the wall was reminiscent of a science laboratory. The camera was focused on one man: hair graying from age and splayed out in all directions, a lab coat and pair of spectacles the only visible parts of his attire.

"No…" Kassidy's whisper at the sight of the man drew some raised eyebrows, but she didn't care. This was him.

"Alright, let's get things started. This is lead genetic engineer Klaus Schmidt, working on assignment for DARPA. This video report and all subsequent reports are classified above top secret. If you're watching this, you're fired."

"That seems to be a rather extreme level of discretion," Glynda remarked dryly.

Ozpin replied with a hum. "Indeed. This does bode for interesting viewing."

The video message played on. "Now that the regulated warning is dealt with, allow me to proceed with the briefing. This is video report one for Special Weapons Project 31187, designated 'Project Colossus'. There are many reasons one might say Project Colossus was set up. Those reasons might range from a simple super-soldier project to applications of weaponizing genetic research. However, I like to put it in a broader, more awe-inspiring fashion: what are the limits of the human body? If we were to look billions of years into the future and look at our offspring, at the apex of the evolutionary process, what would they be capable of? While some might call Project Colossus a look into weaponized humans, I prefer to look at it as a look into 'unlocked' humans: people who have had the potential in their genes, their biology, and their chemistry unlocked and stand at the pinnacle of human physiology."

"This shouldn't be possible." Three pairs of eyes turned to Kassidy at her bold claim. "I mean, don't get me wrong, we had some pretty fancy toys, but genetic engineering at that kind of scale… it just didn't exist."

"Evidently it did," Narud said plainly.

"After billions being sunk into the program by our generous and wholly mysterious benefactor, Project Colossus has developed two working models… oh dear lord how I hate that. Do I seriously have to keep referring to them as 'working models'? No? Great." Recomposing himself, Schmidt tried again. "This series of reports focuses on Special Weapons Project 31187 Model 2, hereafter referred to as 'Kassidy Smith'."

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that filled the room. Slowly, all heads in the room turned to the person in question, pale as a sheet and trembling. "I-I-Impossible. N-N-Not possible…"

"At the time of this initial report, Kassidy Smith is twenty nine days of age, and already bears significant fruits. Not even a month old, and she is fluent in a basic vocabulary. She can count to five and understand and obey the most simplistic of verbal commands. In addition, she has begun to put especial effort towards gaining control over her motor functions."

"Quite the resume for a child that would have only been a week or two out of the hospital." Ozpin's offhanded remark did little to ease the atmosphere. Suddenly, the video disappeared and got replaced by a different clip.

"… This is video report seventeen for Special Weapons Project 31187 Model 2. Firstly, I'd like to express my concerns about the father. He believes that he's been dropping her off at a daycare, though I'm afraid he's developing some suspicions that are probably fed by errant comments from his daughter."

An offscreen voice interrupted him. "'Errant comments from his daughter'? I thought you ensured that Model 2 would have no recollection of her sessions with you."

Klaus sighed. "Firstly, I did not ensure that she wouldn't have recollection, I ensured that I would do my best to allay suspicions. Secondly, you know as well as I do that sensory and memory manipulation are technologies still in their infancy. And even as young as Kassidy is, we're still dealing with one of the most powerful minds in human history. I'm sorry, two of the most powerful minds of human history."

The offscreen voice interrupted again. "Did you just suggest that Model 2 has two brains?"

"Her name is Kassidy, and I did not suggest it. I outright said it. Now, if you would allow me to continue on with my briefing, that was actually the subject of today's report. Ahem, anyway, Kassidy turned six months old today and continues to display an intelligence beyond extraordinary. She flawlessly recalled today's date – December 31, 2023 – and has mastered addition and subtraction up to and including two digit numbers. Her vocabulary is approaching fifth-grade level, and while her physical development lags far behind Model 1 it is still on par with others her age. I have come to the conclusion that her intelligence is a side-effect of one of her augmentations. Before I begin, I would like to reiterate for the benefit of those watching that the primary purpose of Kassidy's augmentations were to push the boundaries of human mortality."

"Explains why I'm so damn hard to kill, I guess."

"Quite. Like I said, you've taught me more about human biochemistry than all my studies on the subject. You're a veritable treasure trove of information on the subject. It's almost a shame that common morality and decency forbids me from using you as a surgical playground." At her incredulous glance, Narud reaffirmed, "I said almost a shame. I still have principles, after all."

The report continued. "The augmentation in question left Kassidy's spinal cord with a nerve cell density more than triple that of the average human's. So many nerve cells, in fact, that her spine is capable of functioning as its own sentience. With the human brain such a vulnerable organ, one of the first priorities of this project was to make it less of a vulnerability, and a backup organ was the obvious solution. In this way, Kassidy – and any future models with this augmentation – no longer require an intact brain for continued existence, and in theory might even be able to survive outright decapitation. The side effect I was speaking of earlier is that her body has figured out how to leverage both intelligences to simultaneously process information. This is where I believe her vastly increased intellect comes from."

As the video skipped forward again, Glynda had a moment to voice her opinion on the matter. "Is this even real?"

"I do believe it is, unfortunately." Bob resumed playback after his answer.

"… This is video report twenty three for Special Weapons Project 31187 Model 2. The subject of tonight's report concerns Kassidy Smith's biochemical defenses. By modifying the appropriate genetic sequences, we have effectively replaced Kassidy's immune system with a more… aggressive variety. Her phagocytes react negatively to any and all foreign substances, isolating and destroying anything not specially marked with a unique marker protein with extreme prejudice.

"Today's sessions were spent analyzing the effectiveness of her modified immune system, and the results are incredible. Her cells destroyed everything from smallpox to curare to some other, more exotic poisons. In light of keeping this brief, Kassidy Smith is resilient to both disease and toxins. However, an unanticipated side effect is that her cells also attack and destroy foreign chemicals as well, without prejudice. The same system that protects her from poison also prevents any sort of sedative or painkiller from functioning, and severely hampers medication of any kind. If she were to contract an illness or poison, then there would be nothing we could do to save her."

Ozpin furrowed his brow in thought. "That seems to be less beneficial than he's making it out to be."

"Good thing the last time I got sick was when I was three, then."

Another skip, another video. "… This is video report thirty for Special Weapons Project 31187 Model 2. Today was Kassidy's first birthday. So, of course, I was ordered… to determine the effectiveness of the most complex of her augmentations: cellular regeneration. On the record, it's this kind of shit that's making me start to lose my patience with the program. Cutting up little girls on their birthday was not what I signed up for."

The same offscreen voice from earlier spoke up again. "You signed up to augment a pair of human embryos and determine the effectiveness of said augmentations. This was included in that job description."

"Don't lecture me on duty, General! Ahem, anyways, the way Kassidy's regeneration works is not wholly understood, but in a word: cancer. We gave the girl cancer."

"That can't be right. There hasn't been the slightest hint of a tumor in your body from what I can tell." Narud frowned at this insight.

"He's not talking about actually giving me cancer. I think I actually know where he's coming from with this."

"It's amazing what stem cells are capable of, and I'm truly thankful that research into them was resumed. After modifying Kassidy's yellow bone marrow to produce stem cells instead of store fat, well… we're not really sure exactly what happens. What we do know is that when Kassidy suffers an injury, once her body stores enough energy it will begin producing stem cells at an alarming rate. The cells are ferried to the location of the injury, where they attach and begin replicating out of control, similar to how cancer behaves. However, unlike cancer, we've figured out a way to prevent the cells from replicating when the original structure is replaced."

The offscreen voice seemed annoyed this time. "You're trying to tell me that Kassidy's most complex augmentation, the one that cost us nearly a billion dollars in research individually, allows her to heal faster from a papercut?"

"Of course not. Injuries that take weeks to heal instead take days. Broken bones are fused together. Muscles knit into their original structure. Hell, the stem cells are even capable of replacing whole organs or repairing brain damage."

Nobody dared say anything as the video clips switched again. "… This is video report eighty nine for Special Weapons Project 31187 Model 2. This is also the final video report for Kassidy Smith. Suddenly, and unexpectedly, our funding has been cut and our project shut down. I'm a bit torn on this, actually. On the one hand, the opportunity to continue my research has likely now disappeared forever. On the other, the things we did to the poor girl… but I digress. A small team is being set up by the CIA to observe her discreetly as we speak.

"As a final note, rumors of difficulties regarding the augmentation process have been circulating. Allow me to confirm those rumors. While simple genetic manipulation was possible, the amount needed to yield Kassidy's augmentations were mysteriously being rejected. After a lengthy bit of research, there was some… I don't even know how to describe it other than 'unknown force'. One particularly green scientist had the gall to call it her soul. Either way, it prevented us from modifying her DNA past a certain extent. Long story short, an incredibly precise dose of a particular poison, one which could bypass her defenses and was just shy of killing her, eliminated this unknown force preventing the augmentations. Details are provided. This is Klaus Schmidt, signing off."

As Bob turned off the projector, silence reigned for a good few minutes. Eventually, Ozpin cleared his throat. "Well, I do believe we've found the cause of the damage to Kassidy's soul. Doctor Narud, you said you needed to know the cause of the damage to fix it. Was that enough?"

"It depends. Bob, can you send the specifics to my Scroll?" Narud rifled through the data for a short time, before furrowing his brow. "This is an incredibly complex and intricate process they used, a far cry from the 'inject with poison and hope for the best' method they hinted at. Still… I am the best in my field for a reason. It will take me a while, but I'm sure I'll be able to come up with a remedy."

Glynda, however, was focused on something else. "Kassidy, are you alright?"

Kassidy was barely able to breathe. In twenty minutes, her life went from the best it had been in years, to crashing down around her. Eventually, she let out a sigh and spoke painfully. "I'm a goddamn science experiment. A biological weapon grown in a test tube to satisfy some bureaucrat's curiosity…" The three adults exchanged worried glances, but said nothing. "Well, I guess now I know what you guys are gonna make me see in the simulator."

"Miss Smith." Ozpin's tone managed to grab her attention. "I want you to know this in no way makes us think less of you. You obviously have a lot to consider. If you need to talk to any of us, do not hesitate to let us know. Even if you don't, I strongly advise talking with your team. Our friends are often those best able to help us deal with situations such as these. Take the evening off, take time to examine yourself, and draw strength from the connections you have forged."

Kassidy nodded. "If you'll excuse me, I need to… take care of a few things." After being dismissed, she stepped into the elevator and began the long ride down. _I'm a monster. And not just the monster circumstances made me to be. I'm an actual goddamn freak of nature grown in a beaker._

 _They can't know._

* * *

Kassidy opened another bottle and watched the night sky. The combination of five beers and the beautiful scenery was the only thing that could even attempt to calm her nerves. She had long ago lost track of how long she had been on the roof of the dorm building.

"This again? Really, partner?" Yang plopped down beside her and yanked the bottle out of her hands. Kassidy made a move to get it back, but gave up after a few failed attempts. "What's up this time?"

"What if… what if everything you thought your life was, was a lie?"

Yang blinked at the horribly slurred words before finally processing them. "I dunno. Where's this coming from? You thinking your life's a lie now?"

Kassidy tried to scoff, but it wound up as a hiccup instead. "I already knew my life was a lie. But I just found out that lie was in itself a lie. A lie within a lie."

"And where does that leave you?"

"Fucked."

Yang sighed, before suddenly pulling her into a hug. "I don't know what you're going through, or even if you can understand everything I'm saying at this point. But we've got your back. I've got your back. You're not alone, K. You're not alone."

Through a drunken stupor, all of Kassidy's inhibitions failed as she decided 'screw it' and started bawling into Yang's shoulder. Losing track of reality, Kassidy cried herself into an alcohol-induced slumber.

 _This is one thing you're wrong on, partner. For this, I've got to be alone. I've always got to be alone…_

* * *

 **AN 2: Holy shit. What's up with me insisting on long chapters lately?**

 **Anyways, I think I've already mentioned how nervous I am about this chapter, seeing as I'm considering this a real "sink or swim" chapter for the story. I'm a quivering wreck writing this author's note right now, and believe me when I say this is going to get at least a dozen revisions before I put it out. Good thing I got it written a couple weeks before it actually gets published.**

 **So, shit got real. I finally gave some firm definitions as to what exactly is up with Kassidy, and what she can and can't do. Obviously, this revelation left her a complete wreck, and on the day before the big "face your demons" test too! Don't go just yet, things are about to get wild.**

 **On a final note, congrats to GramVeyZahkrii for being the 100th follower of the story. For such an auspicious occasion, I bequeath… a boot to the head. And another for Jenny and the wimp.**

 **Coming up next: Matthew revealed.**

 **Well, after some Reader Responses, that is.**

 **Akshka: Done and done.**

 **AgentDraakis: Please, don't feel the need to apologize to me. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so much. I see a distinct possibility of Kassidy becoming friends with Penny. Bob getting a permanent body? Haven't decided yet, but if it does happen that is a LONG way away. As for Blake… spoilers. Sent you a PM about your question.**

 **James: Yeah, sorry about that. Wrote the first half or so of the story watching along with V1E15 to make sure I got all the lines right, guess I didn't even consider that most people wouldn't automatically recall the episode to remember who's saying what. There won't be a repeat of that, I promise. And yes, Blake does play a more important role later on.**

 **FloriteFlower: Oh boy, I definitely don't want to be responsible for a spontaneous combustion. All four seasons? Ehhhhhhhh. I'm definitely doing through Season 3. I suppose whenever we reach the end it all comes down to whether or not you guys can talk me into going past that.**

 **winddemon199: I can understand that viewpoint, and I honestly didn't even think about the whole OC instead of Russel deal. I'd still like to think I made the right call in regards to that specifically, but I'll consider myself duly warned and I'll put more thought into future chapters. Thanks for the feedback.**


	40. V1C39: Ghosts of the Past

**Chapter 39: Ghosts of the Past**

 **AN: Well, you guys definitely seem to have taken last chapter well enough, which is a huge stress off my shoulders. Okay, now that we're out of the heart-attack-for-the-author-inducing chapter, back to the story.**

 **Yang's point of view again. She's been trying so hard to make sure Kassidy felt like part of the team, but last night she relapsed. Now it's the big 'face your fears' test, and obviously our paranoid gunslinger is first in line. Time to find out just what's wrong with Kassidy.**

* * *

(Perspective: Yang)

Fucked.

Her partner's final word last night perfectly described the situation as Kassidy's name was called to take the test first. As of twenty hours ago, one would think that Kassidy believed the simulator to be no big deal. Her partner was so sure that Ozpin could do nothing to her that could concern her. Ever putting up her front as a bastion of strength, keeping her own problems shoved into the corner so nobody would have to even realize she had problems.

But then, last night happened. Bob decrypted the drive, then panicked. The computer organized a meeting with the higher-ups at Beacon, and Kassidy went to the newly scheduled appointment. Kassidy came back down, ignored the seven of them, then ditched her stuff for a trip to Vale. She didn't think anything of it at first, but when Kassidy failed to show up for dinner, questions were asked. A cursory search found her nowhere on campus. Fearing the worst, Yang went back to the roof to indeed find her partner imbibing of the alcohol again.

Their time as partners had its ups and downs, but the past two weeks were such an up. Kassidy had come out to the training mission with renewed fire, and the girl didn't even let her team see any combat. The Garand cracked like mad, Beowolves and Creeps falling left and right as she cleared the Grimm around them with an almost religious zeal. A day and a half with good food, good friends, and good times did wonders for her mood, and by that Monday, there was no mistake: Kassidy Smith was back with a vengeance. Over the past thirteen days her grades had shot up, her training was going so well, and she even started interacting well with their little circle of friends. For the longest time, Yang had felt like a failure of a partner for being unable to make Kassidy feel comfortable. Recently, her partner didn't just look comfortable, she looked… happy.

It only took twenty minutes to take it all away. Kassidy was found drinking herself to sleep again, Bob refused to say anything at all, and neither Glynda nor Narud were willing to discuss the matter. When confronted, Headmaster Ozpin only said that something unexpected came from the girl's past that profoundly affected her. Because that really narrowed down the field of possible causes.

After ensuring that Kassidy got plenty of water for breakfast that morning, Yang did her best to cover for her partner while she recovered. Fortunately, Port's stories were both as boring and as useless as they always were, and Chemistry didn't have a whole lot going on at the moment. Kassidy finally seemed to get better around lunchtime, but she sure didn't cheer up any.

For now, though, it was time for Kassidy to enter the simulator. Upon hearing her name, she merely muttered, "How did I see this coming?" before dumping her backpack with the group, taking only her rifle, sword, pistol, and vest with spare ammo. Walking up like a doomed person walking to their execution, she stopped in front of Ozpin. The Headmaster gave no emotion, only wishing her luck before the simulator door opened.

"Oh, I hope she does okay. I'm worried about her." Ruby tugged her cloak nervously.

"Me too, Rubes. Me too."

Weiss flipped her hair over her shoulder as she always did. "What even happened this time?"

"Dunno. Couldn't get a straight answer from anyone."

The three Huntresses watched as the fourth member of their team walked through the door, before it instantly slammed behind her. Almost immediately, the device activated and started warming up. Interestingly, Ozpin seemed concerned about this. "Glynda, I didn't ask for you to start just yet."

"This isn't me, I've lost control of the simulator. Someone's in the system and won't let me access the controls."

Nervous grumbling sounded around the room, before mechanized shifting sounded. _K's in trouble. If someone locked her in the simulator and the Professors can't control it… I need to get her out._ Ember Celica fully deploying, she was about to leap in and bust her partner out before Weiss threw an arm in front of her. "Last I checked, you don't have the means to pay for a new simulator."

"We can't just leave her there, Weiss! We have to do something!"

"Your teammate is right, I'm afraid." Ozpin calling up to her got her distracted from trying to punch the simulator open. "While I'm sure we'll have the situation back under control shortly, I don't suppose Bob would be able to help us in that regard?"

"I just checked, Professor." Ruby was tapping on the tablet in question in a frustrated bid to get it to do something. "Her computer's in the middle of a bunch of updates right now. Um… estimated time until completion… two hours plus change." Her voice deflated with the last four words as she sank into her seat.

A loud humming came from the simulator, and the class' attention was fixated on a scene being created. Kassidy was standing on a road leading into a burning city. Right in front of her, a sign read 'Welcome to Baton Rouge, Population: ', with the population number being not attached to the rest of the sign. Kassidy sighed heavily, before loading a clip of ammunition into her rifle. "Welcome home, indeed." Bringing the Garand up, her partner started stalking along the road into the city.

Ruby tilted her head to the side and asked, "That's her home? Why is it on fire?"

"This is supposed to bring out her worst fears. It's probable that her home got attacked, and she's now reliving the moment." Weiss let her hand rest on Myrtenaster, the only sign she ever gave to tell others she was nervous.

Kassidy was stalking through a war zone. As she rounded another corner, she was forced to dive back as a machine gun tore up the road she had just stepped on. The source of the fire was an old, beat up pickup truck with a heavy gun mounted on the back in a haphazard manner. The guy manning the gun seemed to be shooting at nearly at anything that moved. A deep rumbling filled the air, and Kassidy actually seemed to relax at the sound. Suddenly, a gigantic explosion caused the truck to disappear in a cloud of smoke and shrapnel. Her partner ducked out again to see the cause of it.

"Wow. What'd you think it'd take to make that happen, Weiss?"

"I don't know, Yang. There's not many guns of that large a caliber, but possibly – oh my Oum…"

The entire class gasped at what could only be a gigantic bunker on treads rolling through the street. Mounted on it was the largest cannon anyone had ever seen outside of a capital airship, and the metal monstrosity continued to drive through the city. Kassidy chuckled grimly to herself. "Oh, boy. The M1A3 Abrams, sixty-five tons of depleted-uranium-plated pure badassery. How do I not miss getting shot at by you guys." After waiting for the tank to pass, she continued along the street. Occasionally, differently uniformed men would cross her path. Street clothes, military uniforms, everything in between, it didn't matter. Kassidy shot them all.

Ruby whimpered, "Why's she shooting everyone, Yang? Surely some of them are the good guys, right?"

"If you asked her, there wasn't such a thing as a good guy where she came from. Maybe she's just defending herself."

"Fancy meeting you here, Kassidy."

Yang was shocked. "Weiss, how could you forget that K's in the simulator?"

"I didn't say that…"

Looking back, the source of the familiar voice revealed herself. Kassidy was in the middle of the street, with Weiss Schnee walking up to her. However, Weiss was wearing a business suit and being escorted by nearly a dozen Atlesian Knights, which quickly surrounded her partner.

Yang audibly growled. "Weiss, what are you doing?"

"I don't know!"

"Didn't expect them to let you into the simulator, Weiss. Or for you to change into a business suit all of a sudden."

"I am a businesswoman, and I am here on business. I must admit, when I first heard of Project Colossus, I was skeptical."

"How did you learn about that?!" Kassidy raised her rifle on Weiss, only to have twenty Gatling guns aim at her. Reluctantly, she lowered her rifle, but still maintained a fierce glare on the heiress.

"I have my sources. It seemed too good to be true: a program dedicated to weaponizing humans, and in you, the star child of the project, we have a perfect test subject. You could be exactly what we need to push the Grimm back."

"Wait, is the other me saying… what is she saying?"

Kassidy sighed, "What do you want, Ice Queen?"

"Tut, tut, is that any way to address your new handler? I want to reactivate Project Colossus. With the Schnee Dust Company's limitless resources, and the finest Atlesian tech accelerating the process, I'm sure we can turn you into a relentless Grimm exterminator in no time. And from your DNA, we'll be able to create thousands more. A genetically engineered army to save Remnant from the darkness, imagine the possibilities!" Not-Weiss faked swooning.

"You want to turn her into a living weapon? Weiss, how could you?!"

"I don't want to do that! I don't even know where this is coming from!"

Pyrrha leaned in to the increasingly distraught Huntresses. "If I may interject with a fresh perspective, this test is designed to make us face what we fear most. Perhaps what we're seeing is what Kassidy is afraid Weiss is like?"

"Alright, enlighten me Ice Queen. Let's say you get your army of super soldiers that finishes off the Grimm. What then? Now we've got a company with an indestructible army, a highly aggressive tendency towards profit, and a severe lack of morality. No, I think not." Kassidy raised her rifle again, giving no attention to the androids aiming their weapons at her. "You're just like all the rest, I don't know why I thought you were different. I'll give you the same answer I gave them: I'm not fighting your wars, and I'm not going back!"

Not-Weiss was barely able to begin drawing Myrtenaster before Kassidy fired. Oddly, the heiress' aura didn't protect her from the bullet, and Weiss' brains were blown apart. Also oddly, the androids shut down after Weiss' death before dissolving much as a Grimm would. Everyone gasped, with Weiss putting her hands in front of her mouth. Through tense fingers, Yang heard her muttering, "I'd never do that. I'd never do that to you, Kassidy. I'm not my father, I'm not, I promise." Ruby had put her hand on her partner's shoulder and started murmuring to her. Yang got a sick feeling in her stomach. _K just shot Weiss. And Weiss just tried to force her at gunpoint to get turned into an abomination. Is that really what she thinks about Weiss? Is she really that afraid that Weiss is going to cart her off to do something horrible to her?_

"Glynda, what kind of progress are we making on regaining control of the simulator?" Ozpin was the closest to breaking his stoic demeanor that Yang had ever seen.

"No progress. I can't regain entry to the systems." Professor Goodwitch was typing furiously on her Scroll, making little headway as she snarled at it.

"Weiss! Where are you?" The yell coming from the simulator made everyone freeze, including Kassidy, who wore an expression of pure terror. Yang watched as her little sister, precious little Ruby Rose, darted into the street in a flurry of rose petals. Not-Ruby stopped, took one look at the scene, and changed demeanors instantly. The simulated construct of her little sister growled, "You."

"Ruby… she didn't give me a choice." Kassidy slung her rifle on her shoulder and started backing up with her hands raised in front of her. Not-Ruby started walking forward menacingly as the hood on her cloak blew up to cover her face.

"How could you!? We were supposed to be friends! How could you just kill her? Does none of these past three months mean anything to you?!"

"Yang?" Over to her side, her actual little sister was shuddering with tears in her eyes. "I'm scaring me. I'm not mean like that, am I? Please tell me I'm not like that."

Yang wrapped her up in a hug and held on tight. "You're nothing like that, Rubes. I promise." _Why are you scared of Rubes, partner? What's got you so worried about my little sister?_

Kassidy kept backing up. "Ruby, she was going to turn me into a monster. I didn't have a choice."

"You always have a choice." Suddenly coming to a stop, Not-Ruby unfurled Crescent Rose in all its terrifying glory. "You could have just died! Died like everyone else around you!"

"That was a low blow." Weiss was seated and trembling herself. Her hands were looking like they were trying to shake off her arms.

"What? I'd never say that! Yang, I'd never say that to anyone, would I?"

"Never," Yang assured. She continued watching the scene unfolding before her. Not even her fiery Semblance could melt the block of ice that had replaced her stomach.

Not-Ruby kept up her advance, sniper-scythe trailing behind her as its tip carved a furrow in the concrete. "How many, Kass?"

"How many what?"

"How many people have you killed? How many bodies have you left behind, how many families have you torn apart just to save your own sorry hide?"

"As many as I had to."

The simple declaration set the hair on the back of Yang's neck on end. How easily, how little hesitation was given with that answer only made it worse.

Not-Ruby chuckled evilly. "You said Weiss was going to turn you into a monster, but you're already a monster. Quit lying to yourself, and quit lying to us. You're worse than a Grimm." Suddenly stopping, Not-Ruby aimed Crescent Rose behind her in her classic pose when she was about to rocket off to the fight.

With shaking hands, Kassidy redrew her rifle. "Ruby, please. Don't make me do this. I don't want to hurt you."

"Oh, don't worry, you won't hurt me at all." Chuckling more, Not-Ruby readied herself for a fight. "I always did want to be a hero. And what do heroes do? They kill monsters."

"I'm begging you, Rubes."

"Don't beg, it's unbecoming of you." Not-Ruby scoffed and spat on the ground. "Take heart, Kass. I'll make sure you can't hurt anyone ever again." Wasting no further time with words, she fired behind her and used her Semblance to rocket forward, slicing with enough force to carve through a house. Kassidy had just barely rolled out of the way in time to keep from being bisected.

"Is… is she scared that I think she's a monster? That can't be right. She's not a monster, she's not!" Her sister was reduced to a crying, quivering wreck beside her, burying herself into Yang's embrace. For her part, Yang could only watch with horror as her partner fought not-her-sister. _Is she really this terrified of us? Is this why she doesn't want to get close to us, she's afraid we're going to turn around and try to kill her? She's afraid that Weiss will try to lock her up and Ruby will try to purge her?_

Yang's eyes widened as a truly terrifying thought crossed her mind. _What's she's afraid of me for?_

A cry of pain drew her attention back to the simulator. Not-Ruby crumpled on the ground, Crescent Rose flying from her grip. Kassidy stood with a bloody sword, her rifle discarded a few feet away. Staring and shaking like a twig in a storm, her partner slowly made her way over to Not-Ruby. The simulated team leader tried to crawl away, silver eyes wide with fear. Kassidy knelt beside her, said something nobody could her, and slowly, agonizingly, put her sword to Not-Ruby's back while covering her eyes. "Shh. Don't cry, it'll be over soon. It won't hurt anymore." With a final, anguished cry, Kassidy plunged her sword through Not-Ruby's heart, before collapsing in a fit of tears over the corpse rapidly dissolving into a pile of rose petals.

"I… I made her kill me. I'd never do something like that, would I? Please, I don't think you're a monster, Kass, I don't! Yang, please tell her I don't think of her that way!"

"I'm sure she doesn't. She's just had… some trying things come up lately, and she's scared." Glynda materialized beside them, with Headmaster Ozpin taking over the role of trying to shut the simulator down. "Once we get her out of there, I'll make sure you get the opportunity to tell her what you need to."

"What kind of simulation did you guys give her?!" Anger wasn't logical, and Yang was angry. The professor because the unfortunate target of her anger.

"This isn't the simulation we created for her. It loosely follows the same principles… if whoever made this had zero desire to preserve her sanity or her trust in others."

"Ruby! K! Weiss! Where are you?" Yang expecting her own voice to come from the simulator at some point did nothing to blunt the shock to listen to Not-Her shout for her teammates.

"No… please no…" Kassidy tried to duck into a building, but the simulator made that building disappear. In fact, the whole city disappeared, leaving only her partner and Not-Her on a flat floor.

"Partner… what did you do?" Not-Her growled.

"Yang, please, they didn't leave me a choice, they attacked me, you have to believe me!" Kassidy was in a full blown panic as she tried to find somewhere to run.

"I do believe you. I also believe that my kid sister wouldn't attack you unless she had a real good reason to." Not-Her expanded Ember Celica before taking menacing steps forward. At this point, everyone could see that her normally lilac eyes were already blood red. "All those lives you've taken weren't enough, huh? You had to start killing our teammates, didn't you?"

Yang watched on. She couldn't trust herself to move, to speak, to even think.

"They attacked me, Yang. They were trying to kill me! I was just defending myself!"

"Yeah, and I suppose that's the story every time, wasn't it?"

"It is!"

"How stupid do you think I am?" Not-Yang closed the gap, sneering in Kassidy's face. "Weiss… Ruby… who knows how many others."

"Ugh, how do I make you understand I'm not the bad guy here?" Kassidy turned around and took a few steps away in a huff.

"You can start by telling me how far you're willing to go."

"Yang, are you okay?" Weiss' question was ignored. "Yang?"

No matter what happened, no matter what she told herself, Yang couldn't have possibly prepared herself to hear the words that came out of her partner's mouth.

"How many people would you kill, if it meant keeping Ruby safe?"

Not-Yang took a step back in surprise, and slight fear. "This is about you, not me."

Kassidy sunk her head and closed her eyes. "The wars I'd start… the armies I'd crush… the cities I'd raze, if it kept the psychopaths that tore apart my home from gaining power in yours."

The blood red eyes returned to lilac, the flames in her hair extinguished, and Not-Yang took a few more steps back with her hands in front of her. "Partner…?"

Opening her eyes, Kassidy turned around and stared Not-Yang down. "I'd burn the world if it meant getting back what I lost." Turning the tables, her partner charged up into Not-Her's face. "You ask what I'm willing to do, how far I'm willing to go. I'm willing to do whatever it takes, willing to go wherever I need to, to get the job done." Stepping back, Kassidy actually chuckled and shook her head. "Man, it's a good thing nobody else can see this. Hooray for privacy. I'd be crucified instantly otherwise. So, since we have the privacy where I can speak my mind without having to worry how others will take it… yes, I am a monster. Yes, I've killed people, and no, I'm not a nice person. And you know what? I'm fine with that. Because nobody else has to do it. I'm perfectly fine with doing bad things if it keeps you, or Weiss, or Ruby from having to do them."

Complete silence was the rule as Kassidy went on her tirade. Yang's jaw was hanging open as she watched Not-Her back away. _Is this you, partner? Is this what you think of yourself? You think so little of yourself you relegate yourself as the garbage collector?_

 _What are you going to do when you find out we saw everything?_

"You always did have a way with words." If there was complete silence earlier, then there was currently a negative amount of sound in the room apart from the simulator. Kassidy, a far cry from her earlier conviction, turned snow white as the blood drained from her face. Her knees knocked until they gave, and she crashed to the floor of the simulator. Not-Yang disappeared, leaving everyone wondering where the unknown voice was coming from.

"What's going on now?" Ruby tried to look around to find the source of the voice.

"Who would've known Kassidy was capable of this…" Weiss balled her fists in her lap. Her scathing remark was promptly ignored as Kassidy said four words that completely extinguished Yang's fiery Semblance.

"Matthew, is that you?"

"What, has it really been that long?" The voice called out again, and its owner stepped from deep shadows. Hazel eyes and messy blonde hair, the boy cut an imposing figure despite not being older than ten or eleven years old. The most obvious feature, however, was the giant hole in his chest.

"Wait, that's Matthew?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

"He's who's been making Kass so upset?"

Kassidy, for her part, looked like she saw a ghost. _Which, I guess, is actually pretty accurate. And why does he look so much like…_

Yang's thought process halted at the Matthew figure's next words.

"Hey there, baby sis. Long time, no see."

* * *

 **AN 2: And so every reader theory I've seen about Matthew goes up in flames.**

 **Coming up: Further down the memory hole, and further down the deepest recesses of Kassidy's mind.**

 **Right after these Reader Responses.**

 **mcd3424: Hopefully I can keep up with expectations. Glad you're enjoying it.**

 **Matt Cyr: No, she didn't. All she really knew about herself was that she was beyond weird, but she attributed it to years of hard living and a chance mutation or two. She actually met Klaus in the Introduction, and flat out refused to believe him. Well… you're not wrong with Matthew, but their relationship goes deeper than that. Never read Divergence, so I can comfortably say I didn't base it off of that. As for using the accent she grew up with, it's gonna have to depend on if the team can talk her into it.**

 **AgentDraakis: Killed her Aura? No. Came pretty damn close though. I can imagine the girls having some… interesting reactions to the news. As far as the simulator is concerned, we'll only see Kassidy's in such detail as what I'm doing now, but I'll brush on the others' as we go along.**

 **Guest: Glad to hear you're enjoying it so much, here's to hoping I can keep entertaining you.**

 **Akshka: Well, she got a hug. But after this arc is over? Uh… I might want to go ahead and place a bulk order on hugs.**

 **James: Her soul's still there, but it ain't doing so hot. Even if Narud comes through, fixes the damage as best he can, and gets her Aura unlocked, it's probably a given that it's not going to be as strong as her peers' Auras.**

 **AndJrew76: I'd keep an eye out for those angry rampaging elephants. If I wrote this properly we've got more twists on the way.**


	41. V1C40: Demons of the Past

**Chapter 40: Demons of the Past**

 **AN: Do you guys have any idea how hard it is to write a meaningful author's note three weeks before the chapter is scheduled to go up? By the way, for those of you that were interested, I managed to get this far over the course of Thanksgiving break. Seven chapters in nine days, not too shabby if I do say so myself.**

 **So, Finals are this week. Good luck to all of you college students out there. Study hard, I hope you get good grades, and I'll see you on Friday when I have (hopefully) survived the semester.**

 **Anyways, let's dive further into Kassidy's mind. Matthew's decided to show up, but what does he want after having been dead for five years?**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

There were a multitude of thoughts at seeing her twin brother stand before her yet again. There were only two that mattered, however. _First off, how in the everliving fuck does Ozpin even know about Matthew, never mind that he's my brother, and that he's dead, and that he died by a shot through his chest? That can wait, however. For the more important issue…_

"How many times do I have to tell you to cram the 'baby sis' deal? You're the oldest by like ninety seconds."

"And don't you forget it." The simulated image of her brother shot her a grin, before settling into a more hardened expression. "Although, as much as I'd love to hash out the good old times, I'm afraid we have business to take care of."

"Indeed." Kassidy schooled on her own serious business face and stared down her not-brother. "How about we start with how the hell Ozpin found out so much about you and your relationship with me. Have you been programmed with that information, at least?"

Unexpectedly, Matthew bust up laughing. After a good few seconds, he wiped digital tears from his eyes and sighed. "Oh, dear lord, you think that kooky old headmaster of yours was ever in charge of this simulation. That's a laugh if I've ever heard one."

Suddenly, everything that could have possibly been jovial about this false reunion went out the window. "Then I feel the need to ask if you're aware of who programmed you, and for what purpose?"

"Of course I am. The who is an ally, and for what purpose is to see you reach your potential." Walking around her, Matthew started lazily giving an account. "Everyone had such high hopes for you. And I'm not just talking the royal scumbags at DARPA that turned us into genetic freaks. Dad couldn't get enough of you, and I'm sure Mom would've been the same way if she survived giving birth to us. Our teachers in school couldn't quit gushing over you… well, at least when you weren't wreaking havoc as we enforced our reign of terror." The two shared a brief laugh over the memory, before he continued. "And I most certainly didn't spend all that time looking out for you just because it was my job as the big brother."

"Yeah, so? We were kinda the smartest kids around by a lot, of course people took to liking us."

Matthew chided, "I'm not finished yet. As I was saying, then people killed me and tried to kill you, some scientists forgot how calculus worked, and you came here. And you've baffled me ever since. Instead of walking away from a storefront robbery you had no business in, you decided to try and chase down a renowned criminal. That confrontation led to you accepting an enrollment to a combat academy offered by a man who is literally the embodiment of what we shouldn't be trusting. You got yourself tangled up with people you had no business tangling yourself up with, and you found yourself teamed up with a horribly naïve child, a whiny brat with enough ego for ten people, and the walking definition of mommy issues."

"I never asked you to accept my friends back home, and I'm not about to ask for your acceptance of them now."

"Good, because you're not getting it. Almost daily you seem content for risking your neck in situations you don't belong in for people who'd just as soon see you burn as pat you on the back and give you a treat."

"My relationships are built on mutual benefit. They teach me new skills, keep me fed, and put a roof over my head, and in return I go kill some monsters every now and then."

"And what happens when they're no longer happy with the benefit you provide them? This isn't the first time we've been in this situation, sis. You don't need me to tell you how this is going to end: the moment your usefulness comes to an end, they'll stab you in the back and spit you out to make room for the next unsuspecting, easily influenced victim of theirs. Why bother showing them even the slightest modicum of trust when they don't return the favor?"

"If you think so little of them, then why are you helping me? After all, you said your purpose here was to help me reach my potential."

"Because at this point I'm the only person you can trust, K. I'm your family, and family looks out for each other, no matter what. And yet, despite being your family, I've been feeling a little neglected recently."

"Well, you being dead might have something to do with that. I mean, kind of hard to give you proper attention when I'm running for my life and unable to hire a medium or some shit."

Matthew scowled at her. "Don't think I haven't noticed how cozy you've been getting with your new friends. How you've practically taken Ruby under your wing as your own little sister. How you verbally and physically spar with Weiss as your closest peer. How you… how you're using Yang to practically replace me. And how about we talk about Bob: a cobbled together monstrosity of a computer that is your literal attempt to replace me. An AI designed so you wouldn't feel alone, because you couldn't handle how YOU FUCKING LET ME DIE!"

Kassidy felt regret worming its way into her gut. "You think I was so excited about you getting killed? I didn't let you die, I did everything I could!"

"And look where it got me," he snarled. After a quick breath, Matthew sighed. "Look, as much as it's a bone of contention of mine, I'm not mad at you. Just disappointed. You could be so much more, but you surround yourself with friends in a pitiable attempt to find some measure of safety. Forgetting that it's hardship that forges us into true warriors."

"I've never been a warrior, Matt."

"Oh? Then what is it you're in college for now? Your lessons have been pathetic. It's time you got a real one." Matthew stood stock still, before looking up.

A computerized voice, distinctly inhuman, suddenly said, "Warning, safeties overridden. Simulator power increased. Simulations now capable of causing lethal damage. Recommend simulation abort immediately."

Kassidy looked at not-her-brother in shock, and he looked down evilly. "You surround yourself in friends, you surround yourself in allies, you surround yourself with an electronic warden, and you fail to truly strengthen yourself."

"What're you doing?"

"Sometimes evolution requires a push. Or a sacrifice." Matthew looked into the distance. "You have forgotten what it means to face death alone. I will remind you." The simulator suddenly whirred into action, constructing a forest filled with rocky terrain. A cliff stood out prominently in the distance. "That Ozpin fool did have one thing right: you must conquer your demons if you're to be of any use at all. So, go forth and conquer yours."

Kassidy was about to answer back when bullets started tearing through the underbrush and she had to dive to the side to avoid getting turned into Swiss cheese. When she looked back at where not-her-brother was, he was gone. _Turns the power up enough to kill me, then leaves me high and dry. Some ally you are._ As she began fighting through the forest, displaying in full her prowess for marksmanship, her thoughts kept trailing back to his words even as she put a bullet in one soldier's brain. _What the hell does this person think they're doing, talking shit about people they don't even know? The fuck did they mean by calling Yang the walking definition of mommy issues, anyway?_

The fighting through the forest was time consuming, but not necessarily challenging. It was simply a matter of waiting for someone to make a mistake and punishing it. Just because the combat itself was not challenging, however, doesn't mean the journey was. As Kassidy pushed onwards and came upon the corpses of those she'd slain, she noticed that they all wore familiar faces. Some of them were the more memorable faces she had killed over the years, the kills she had regretted the most. Some of them were the students and staff at Beacon. One of the faces belonged to Russel Thrush. Upon recognizing this, she hesitated for but a second before firing an additional three bullets into the body. _Just to make sure, of course._

Eventually, she made her way to a clearing in the forest, the cliff jutting straight up ahead of her. The soldiers trying to kill her had thinned out along the way, and now she was alone. Looking around to try and find any indication of a threat, she saw a kid dangling from the top of a cliff. A kid that looked like Matthew, with another kid resembling a younger her trying to hold him up. She no sooner recognized the situation when a sniper shot the boy, and he fell to his death. The younger her screamed Matthew's name, and she tore across the field towards the body, not caring about consequences. Collapsing over the body, her eyes threatened to tear up.

"I was wondering what it would take to draw you out. I've been looking forward to this meeting, Kassidy. It's been too long in the making." The simulator was keen on her seeing one more face tonight, and this face made her lose all rationality as her face contorted in unheard of rage.

Benjamin Alcot. Secretary of Defense for three different presidential administrations. Unofficial owner of several multibillion dollar corporations. Director of Project Colossus. The man who ordered her family's deaths.

"You. What are you doing here?"

Benjamin chuckled lightly. "My dear, I've come to collect the returns on my investment. And what returns they are indeed. I'll admit, I had my doubts about Project Colossus, but you blew all expectations out of the water."

"Take your genetic engineering nonsense and shove it. This is about you, not me."

"You don't understand, dear. It's always been about you." Completely fearless, he walked up before stretching an arm out as though showing her some wondrous sight before them. "Four hundred fifty three confirmed kills. Survived certain death on thirteen separate occasions. And if given the proper education, you'll be the smartest person who has ever lived."

"Quit talking like I wanted any of that. Your puppets were trying to kill me, I was forced to defend myself. You killed my family, and for what? Were you hoping I'd just fall in line and be a good little girl?"

"While that was a possibility, I didn't get my hopes up. No, in order to turn you into what I needed, I had to take everything from you. So I did."

Kassidy was at the end of her civility, and her patience. Drawing her sword, she yelled a battle cry as she swung to separate his head from his shoulders. A broadsword materialized out of thin air, which he used to block the attack. The two engaged in a duel to the death, Kassidy swinging and snarling like a feral animal while Benjamin kept a calm composure. She spun and danced and twirled her saber, trying to twist around the guard that he put up. But even with a month and a half of Weiss' tutelage under her belt, her command over a sword was mediocre at best, and he exerted little effort to beat back her attacks.

A flip of the broadsword led to the saber tumbling out of Kassidy's grip, and suddenly she was the one on the defensive, having to dodge and weave around the bone crushing attacks. A couple close calls both heralded the eventual presence of more scars, and reminded her that this simulation could kill her if she wasn't careful. Dancing back to her blade, she focused entirely on parrying and dodging Benjamin's attacks as she took to watching his fighting style, looking for a weakness.

A weakness she found as he reared back for an overhead swing. _Shoulder injury that never fully healed. Bone catches on bone, taking an extra quarter of a second to go through the motions. A narrow window, but I've had to work with quarter second windows and smaller the whole semester._ Kassidy dodged more attacks and tried to bait out another overhead swing, and was all too ruthless in exploiting the window of opportunity. Sprinting forward, she drove her sword through Benjamin's shoulder as he tried to swing down. She instantly followed up by dragging the saber through the rest of his shoulder, leaving a large wound in the joint and dancing out of the way just in time for the sword to come crashing back down.

Benjamin tried to keep going, but by this point the fight was already over. Ducking under a swing intent on taking her head off, Kassidy dug her blade into the side of his abdomen. She quickly twirled around a backhanded chop and hamstrung him. He collapsed to his knees, and she truly finished the fight by removing his hands from the ends of his arms. This might not be the real Benjamin, but Kassidy never had the pleasure of killing the real Benjamin herself and she would savor every little feeling the simulator would give her. Sheathing her sword, she used his face as a punching bag for a solid minute, raging at him the whole time.

"Why did you do it? Why were you so determined to turn me and Matthew into monsters?! You had everything a man could ever want, but that wasn't enough, so you took some embryos and played Frankenstein with them! And now look! Our home, gone! Everyone, dead! Even after Colossus was shut down, you didn't have to have my family killed, but you did! Why!?" Kassidy stopped for as long as it took to regain her breath, before resuming her rant while emphasizing every word with a punch into the nose. "You turned me into a killer! WHY?!"

His soft chuckling caught her off guard, and she ceased her assault long enough for Benjamin to explain himself. "Why? Isn't it obvious dear?" He looked her into the eye and sneered at her. "I needed a monster. So I had one made."

 _This man has lived too long._ "Well, congratulations are in order, then. You succeeded." Rearing back for one final punch, Kassidy aimed lower, catching him in the chest. Ribs shattered under the blow, skin and muscle gave way, and suddenly her fist found itself inside his chest. Something brushed against hand, then again. The barely conscious Benjamin stared at her with wide, panicked eyes as she grinned at him. Finding the object she was looking for, she grabbed it in a death grip and pulled.

Outside the simulator, gasps filled the room as everyone stared at the scene. More than one person vomited. From what they saw, nobody could blame those that threw up.

For Kassidy had just ripped a man's heart out of his chest.

As suddenly as Kassidy had her victory, the scene faded away. The simulator whirred before shutting down, and a door opened behind her. Quickly schooling herself into a stoic expression, she went to wipe the blood off her hands before realizing those were merely constructs of the simulator. _No need for anyone to know what happened in here. If they did find out… it'd make the Salem Witch Trials look like daycare._ She walked out to a sea of blank faces staring at her, which put her off. Regardless, she turned to Headmaster Ozpin. "Well, that was quite the simulation you put together there."

Ozpin, however, did nothing to acknowledge her flippant attitude. His face was somber, and after a brief turn to Glynda and nodding, he talked to her in an even, carefully measured voice. "Ms. Smith, I want you to know that simulation was not of our creation. I feel we need to talk about what you saw in there."

"What do you mean 'what I saw in there'? It was just a…" Kassidy trailed off when she truly took in everyone's faces. There were few that weren't wearing an expression of sheer terror. Her face drained of color, and her knees knocked together as she quickly put the pieces together. "You saw, didn't you?"

Glynda nodded, before taking a tentative step forward. "Kassidy, just let us talk for a bit before you do anything…" Kassidy didn't listen to any of the rest of what Professor Goodwitch said. A far more pained voice sounded out to her right.

"Kass…?" Ruby's voice was full of fear and concern, and she barely edged forward. "Are you…?"

 _They know. Holy fuck they know. It's over. It's all over. Need to get out. Can't let them kill me._

 _The window. Shoot it out, can make it off campus in five minutes flat._

Putting action to thought, Kassidy drew her pistol and triple-tapped the glass. Everybody was too stunned to made any effort to stop her as she bolted through the newly created opening.

* * *

(Perspective: Weiss)

Ozpin cleared his throat to quell the discussions in his office. "Alright, let's establish what we know so far."

Ruby spoke up first. "I searched the entirety of campus. She's not on Beacon's grounds anymore."

Weiss was next. "After going over some information I'm privy to, I can comfortably say that Kassidy never got on an airship."

"I checked with a few friends of mine in downtown, they haven't seen her." Yang shifted her weight to her other foot for what had to have been the hundredth time that afternoon.

"None of the Huntsmen I've been able to get in contact with have encountered her either." Glynda sighed as she closed a window on her Scroll.

All eyes turned to the backpack that was left behind, and its robotic cargo. Ozpin was the first to speak. "Very well. Bob, do you have any ideas as to Kassidy's whereabouts?"

"Before I answer that, I'm required to ask what your intentions are when you find her."

Weiss interjected with a frown, "And why would you need to know that?"

"My prime directive places Kassidy's safety and well-being as the single highest priority in my system. If you mean her harm, then giving you that information is a direct violation of my prime directive."

Yang replied, "We're not going to hurt her, Bob."

"What if we have to?" Ruby and Yang gawked at Weiss' answer, who was only made incredulous by their reactions. "Am I the only person who remembers what happened in that simulator earlier this afternoon? She's dangerous!"

"To borrow a quip from her earlier in the semester, she couldn't have gotten into this school if she wasn't dangerous. None of you could."

In a rare display of insubordination, Weiss was having none of Ozpin's attempts to disarm the situation. "That's not what I meant and you know it! She's killed nearly five hundred people, Yang. Nearly five hundred people!"

"Maybe because she had to!"

"Under what circumstances does someone HAVE to kill five hundred people?!" Pinching her nose with thumb and forefinger, Weiss sighed as she tried to contemplate how to get the blonde oaf to see reason. _Exercise in futility, usually. But in a situation as serious as this, I have to try. We can't just take someone like Kassidy lightly!_

Ruby butted into the argument. "Weiss, we all have questions. What's important right now is that our friend is out there, with no supplies and all alone. She needs our help. We have to find her."

"Is she our friend?"

Ruby was sputtering in shock from the question. "Of course she is!"

A cane slammed on the ground, bringing the bickering to an instant close. "Miss Schnee, Miss Rose, the last thing we need is for emotion to be injected needlessly into the situation when reason and clarity is what is required," Ozpin chided.

Glynda spoke up at this point. "Bob, I can assure you that Kassidy will not come to harm as long as she does not outright attack us. Even in the worst case scenario, the worst that will happen is that we find arrangements for a permanent incarceration."

"I'd like to go on record as absolutely not liking that answer, but that does satisfy the conditions to keep my prime directive protocols from tripping. Very well, you can count on my assistance in retrieving Kassidy."

"Thank you, Bob." Sighing and motioning for yet another cup of coffee, Ozpin pulled up some files on his desk. "Do you have any idea where Miss Smith might be at this time?"

"She'll have hoofed it to Vale proper. Most likely locations are downtown or the shadier sections of the city."

"Why would she be in the shadier parts of the city?" _Ugh, Ruby, isn't it obvious? She's crawling back to all her other criminal friends!_

"Now that she's been separated from her resources, the second step after blending in is getting her hands on new resources. And the best sources for such are people who have a knack for getting their hands on those resources themselves, willing to part with it for a reasonable price, and don't ask too many questions. Judging from her past experiences, she'll spend tonight and until about mid-afternoon tomorrow doing that."

Glynda furrowed her brow. "Where will she get the money for such a reasonable price? Even if she hoarded the payments she received for the missions she completed, it won't last her long in such a place."

"Oh, I can guarantee that money will never be touched. She'll draw from miscellaneous electronic sources."

"She'll be robbing people's bank accounts?" Weiss was beside herself. "How?!"

"Who do you think taught me everything I know about foiling cybersecurity measures? I didn't come into being knowing how to defeat billion-dollar machines. Someone had to program it in."

"She doesn't have you though, so how will she break in?"

"With a Scroll."

Yang spoke back up. "Yeah, but she doesn't have one. We found it dumped in a bush near one of the gyms."

"She'll probably appropriate one from someone who was leaving it hanging a bit too far out of their pocket."

"Okay." Ruby furrowed her brow in thought, gears turning in a rare display of the dolt's intelligence. "So we can't track her via Scroll. She'll be looking to make friends with seedy characters. They like public places for their meetups, don't they? So it'll only be a matter of time before she pops up on a security camera, right?"

"Not that simple." Bob sighed, a wholly unneeded mannerism the machine nevertheless picked up from the girls over the past three months. "You need to keep in mind where she came from. This isn't the first time she's been on the run, and previously it was in a quasi-police state with enough surveillance capacity to make Vale look like a ghost town. If she can sneak around there for five years more or less unseen, I can guarantee that your surveillance capabilities will never pick her up. To badly plagiarize an action movie… you are now six hours behind the most difficult target of your careers."

"Which means we'll need a more hands-on approach to find her before something terrible happens, either to her or because of her." Ozpin stood up wearily. "I would like to thank you three for the help you've given us so far, but we'll take it from here. There will be much coming up, and you must be ready for it. Go down, get some dinner, and get some rest."

Reluctantly, the three Huntresses stepped into the elevator and left Ozpin's office. Immediately, and unanimously, they agreed to search on their own as well. Weiss dug out her Scroll and texted Kassidy's number – which she knew would be picked up by Bob.

CAN WE TALK ABOUT KASSIDY WHENEVER YOU'RE FREE?

YES.

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

 _Of course it decided to rain my first night out on the streets._ Kassidy hunched further into the hot pink hoodie she was wearing. Her clothing was far too easily recognizable; it was necessary to replace it with her usual method of acquiring new clothing: dumpster diving. Patchy and dirty blue jeans completed the ensemble, and her shoulder length hair, free of its bun, tumbled forth from the hood. She gripped the pistol in the hoodie's front pouch tightly as she rounded a corner.

In the mad dash to reestablish herself in the world, dinner had to wait. Acquiring a new Scroll so she had access to the RemNet, hijacking bank accounts so that she was able to access a wealth of funds, meeting people who may or may not want to shoot her depending on how she carried herself. The benefits were immediate: she now had four separate contacts, one of whom either knew something or knew someone who knew something, two of whom specialized in business transactions, and another who had a backdoor to a local Dust supplier.

Her cache was just in the alley across the street, her rifle and sword and clothes from Beacon. Crossing the road, she almost missed the trio of people falling into step behind her, but the fourth man in front of her gave them away. Black hoodie, white vest, white mask that was vaguely in the shape of a Grimm, and the White Fang's insignia plastered on the back. _Oh for fuck's sake, am I seriously about to eat my words to Weiss about the White Fang being predominantly peaceful?_

"Well, you seem to be in the wrong neighborhood sweetheart." The man in front of her took a few steps forward and brandished a machete. "You sure you're not lost?"

"Last I checked, the White Fang was a peaceful organization working to advance Faunus rights. Am I wrong?"

"Nah, you're not wrong." A female voice rose behind her. "We've just taken to more direct means of dealing with you human scum."

Huntress Kassidy might have asked for clarification, waited for them to make the first move before getting into a fight. This wasn't Huntress Kassidy, however. Survivor Kassidy knew the importance of initiative. Quick as a flash, four shots rang out, and four bodies crumpled to the ground around her. Dragging them into the alleyway with her cache, she quickly began the task of looting the bodies. Her stores would grow quickly. _Hell, with an automatic rifle among the stuff that the dead don't need, it might be wise to set up a second one._

* * *

 **AN 2: And so Kassidy is out on the streets again, paranoia trumping all. Will Team RWKY be able to come back together? Will Kassidy follow Blake's canon path and run into Torchwick? And where the hell has Sun been this whole time?**

 **Coming up next: Kassidy on the streets**

 **James: I unfortunately cannot provide a remedy for an enjoyment of my story, beyond a new release of said story. Hopefully this should tide you over until Friday. Glad to hear you enjoy it so much.**

 **Akshka: Yeah… if you think things were bad at the end of last chapter, then you must've just got here. On a more serious note, though, this entire arc is a one-way ticket to Seriousville. Plenty more where that came from.**

 **mcd3424: Indeed it was and indeed you do. Hopefully as we keep going things will continue to get clearer.**

 **Tykene: Well, if I can get those kinds of reactions from people I'd like to think I'm doing a good job with the whole creative writing deal. Glad to hear you enjoy it so much, here's to hoping I can keep providing that kind of quality.**

 **AndJrew76: I hear elephant guns are on sale on Amazon this time of year. Not that it'll keep me from advancing the plot. Thanks for the praise, and for the well wishes on my finals week. Oum knows I'll be needing it.**

 **AgentDraakis: Order completed, hugs are on their way. Just… don't ask how I already know your address. Thanks for the compliments, and glad to hear you're enjoying it so much you're bringing other** **valued readers along for the ride. However, if I may suggest letting them see RWBY anyway, after my family insisted on reading this I can tell you from experience that I don't do a very good job explaining the show to someone who's never seen it before. Might want to go through the earlier chapters at some point to fix that. As for how much better this can get? Well, if I have my way, quite a bit better.**

 **helenGet: Awesome to hear you're enjoying it so much! And don't you worry, I upload twice a week so you won't have to be waiting for long!**

 **Kassidy: I will most definitely keep to my update schedule if I have anything to say about it. As for her Aura? Eh… still up in the air how I want to play that.**

 **Guest: Fortunately, you won't have to wait long. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!**


	42. V1C41: Ghost of the Present

**Chapter 41: Ghost of the Present**

 **AN: Lucky you guys, you get the upload two hours early because Rogue One. Enjoy.**

 **Well, here I am. Still writing author's notes for chapters that won't get released for three weeks. Guess I'm just bored from the complete lack of assignments I have.**

 **Back to the story, Kassidy's out on her own on the streets of Vale. Ozpin's practically started a manhunt for her, her own teammates are searching for her, and the White Fang aren't as peaceful as she was led to believe. How long can she last all alone?**

* * *

(Perspective: Weiss)

The two sisters insisted on starting the search early the next morning, and with a lack of being able to argue against both of them simultaneously Weiss had decided to accompany them. _Not to say I wouldn't be looking for Kassidy either, but did they really need to start this early? At least with me around, we'll have a chance of actually finding her._ While Ruby and Yang were content with caterwauling in the streets, Weiss was more interested in searching with her eyes rather than her voice. Conversing with Bob about the girl that was their missing teammate was beyond illuminating.

While not an expert on human psychology by any means, Weiss considered herself at least an intellectual equal to the reckless pain in the neck that was Kassidy Smith. And with the blonde's computer now answering to her, at least as far as helping the search along went, Weiss was confident she knew enough about her to conduct an intelligent search. _Though I still can't decide whether or not I want to actually find her._

Weiss Schnee did not change her mind lightly. But when you can watch a person's surroundings, listen to them exposit their thought processes, for a time period covering more than five years, it tended to put things in a fresh perspective. And in Kassidy's case… even a Schnee would change their mind with such a preponderance of evidence.

Bob's explanations were real eye openers. Dredging from audio recordings, video recordings, and simple exposition and background knowledge, Weiss learned everything she could have wanted to know about Kassidy's past situations. How this 'Project Colossus' had turned her into a freak of nature, how this government agency was determined to keep her and her brother as their own. How her family died, and how it tore her apart. How she was blamed for crimes she never committed, and hunted for crimes she had to commit in order to stay alive. Weiss had changed her mind – Kassidy wasn't a mass murderer. She just happened to really like not dying.

Weiss had also picked up on the girl's habits. How Kassidy would never sleep pressed into a corner; doing so left her trapped if she got, well… cornered. How she would go dumpster diving for clothes, and what kind of clothes she looked for. Various places she would be liable to keep a cache of supplies until she needed them on a rainy day. Weiss even had a listen at the miscellaneous accents Kassidy was capable of recreating at the drop of a hat. Knowledge was the most important tool anyone could have, and for this fight Weiss armed herself with every scrap of knowledge she could get her hands on.

None of that knowledge, however, helped her decide what would or should happen if they actually found her. Kassidy was probably just as likely to start shooting as she would be to come in peacefully. The most likely scenario would be that she led the trio on a wild goose chase throughout Vale. But surely Kassidy viewed them as serious threats, and Kassidy had an incredibly strong tendency of outright eliminating serious threats at the earliest convenience. Weiss white-knuckled the hilt on Myrtenaster. _If I have one thing I can blame her for, it's for teaching me how to be paranoid. No chance in Dust I'm going after her unarmed._

Some sudden yelling from the sisters brought Weiss out of her thoughts. "Kass!"

"K!"

"Kass! Where are you?

"K!"

Ruby finally growled, "Weiss, you're not helping!"

Weiss instinctively took a standoffish posture at the accusation that she wasn't helping the sisters look. "Oh, you know who might be able to help? The police."

"Ugh… Weiss." _Alright, what's that for?!_

"It was just an idea!" _And a perfectly rational one at that! The three of us can't possibly cover enough ground in any meaningful time frame, and the police have the tools and experience needed to actually find her._

"Yeah, a bad one."

"Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions." If it weren't for their present situation – and the incorrect insinuation – then Weiss would've been shocked by Yang's willingness to do something in an intelligent manner.

"I'm not jumping to any conclusions! I just think we're not going to find her in time when it's just the three of us! I think that come tonight, you'll all realize the wisdom behind getting help."

"And I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today!"

The sudden voice from behind them made all three girls jump. Ruby had the most extravagant reaction of them all. "Ah, Penny! Where did you come from?"

"Hey guys! What are you up to?"

Yang answered, "We're looking for our friend, Kassidy."

"Oh! The other blonde-haired girl, right? So, where is she?"

"We don't know. She's been missing since yesterday."

Penny gasped and walked up to grab Ruby. "That's terrible! Well don't you worry, Ruby, my friend, I won't rest until we find your teammate!"

Yang leaned over and whispered, "Now might be a good time to continue the search, don't you think?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Weiss joined her teammate in making a hasty retreat from the scene. After putting a few blocks' distance between themselves and Penny, they ducked into a shop to see if the owner had seen Kassidy. However, this turned out to be a bust.

"Thanks anyways!" The two walked out, and Yang planted her hands on her hips with her head low. "This is hopeless." Weiss ignored the stray comment in favor of looking around, though she had to backpedal to get out of the way of a girl with a hideous pink hoodie and tore up jeans that looked like she dug them out of the trash. As the two Huntresses continued on their way, Yang remarked, "You really don't care if we find her, do you?"

"Don't be stupid, of course I do!" Weiss let out a soft sigh, and added more resignedly, "I'm more worried about what'll happen when we do find her."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've been talking with Bob last night and this morning, trying to see if I can't learn more about Kassidy so we'd have a better chance of finding her. I've learned so much about how she acts and how she thinks… and I'm just worried."

"Did Bob have any good news for us?"

"Not really. I mean, I know roughly what I'm looking for now, but this isn't going to be easy. Yang, she's been doing this for longer than we've been training to become Huntresses. I'm starting to think we won't find her unless she wants us to find her."

"Well, why wouldn't she want us to find her?"

"Because she's panicked, and she's paranoid. She's focused on survival above all else. And we're trying to find her and bring her back to Beacon. She's worried about we'll do to her, Yang. And to be honest, I'm starting to have second guesses as to whether or not I do want to find her."

"Weiss, how could you say that?!"

"As best as I can guess, the only two ways we find her is if she wants to be found, or if she finds us. And if she's truly that paranoid about what we'll do to her, then she may start thinking we're a threat to her life. From what I learned from Bob, she isn't one to just sit around when there's a real danger to her; she's more liable to go and fix the problem herself, often permanently."

"But… that makes no sense." Yang was genuinely perplexed. "Doesn't she know who her friends are?"

"If you ask Bob, she just thinks friends to be people who haven't tried to kill her yet."

"K…" _Yang is truly agonizing over this, isn't she?_ "I hope she finds out soon. I hope she figures out that she can trust us." Suddenly, and without warning, Yang grabbed her shoulders and bored into her with red eyes, the telltale sign she was angry. "She CAN trust us, right?" _So that's what this is about? She's still afraid I'm going to try and hurt Kassidy?_

"Of course she can! I'm just… worried is all." Satisfied with that answer, Yang let go and the two resumed walking down the street. Frustratingly enough, that girl with the horrendous hoodie was still right in front of them. "I'm worried for her, I'm worried what she might do, ugh! I don't know what or how to think about her! Curse that dork for turning me into a nervous wreck!"

Yang reassured, "Look, no matter what that simulator showed, no matter what she's done in the past, she's been a real good friend to us these past few months. Either she's not the same person she was, or she's the greatest con artist to have ever lived. And I'm pretty sure we're both aware of her complete inability to lie." The two girls chuckled lightly. "Either way, I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure she'll be fine, Weiss." Yang's head drooped lower. "At least, I hope she'll be fine. I hope she figures out that she has people that care about her for who she is."

Weiss would have replied, but she ran right into the girl in front of them. "Ugh, what is going on -! Oh, sorry, ma'am."

A rough, heavily accented female voice answered back, "Not problem. My fault anyway." Abruptly, the figure walked away quickly. Yang was about to keep going, but Weiss was frozen right where she was.

"You okay, Weiss?"

"I'm fine, it's just… I listened to what accents Bob said Kassidy could make. That woman sounded really familiar somehow. I don't know, it's probably nothing."

"Well, why don't you enlighten me on how we're supposed to look for her? I feel kinda useless just yelling out K's name like this."

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

 _Been awhile since I've had to pull out Russian. Don't think even Bob knows about that accent._

Tucking into an alleyway, Kassidy allowed a few minutes to get a good cry out of the way. She hadn't noticed Weiss and Yang walk out of the store until she was right on top of them, and by that point it would've drawn too much attention to go tearing across to the other side of the street. So she had to listen as the two argued behind her. _Should've known they'd somehow get Bob in on this. Need to be more careful how I go about tearing through the RemNet, that computer knows all my most common tricks._

Her teammates had many reasons as to why they thought she wouldn't get too close to them. Bob had his own ideas too. None of them got it right, though. Fear drove her to keep a safe distance from Ruby, Weiss, and Yang. Fear of pain. When Matthew died, Kassidy got a first hand lesson in how physical pain was nothing compared to emotional pain. It was why she did her best to not hold on to emotions for any longer than it took to get the point across. It was why she couldn't let herself get close to anyone ever again. When you got down to it, her life was more or less controlled by fear, much as she won't admit it to anyone. It was why it was incomprehensible to her, at this point, that she would care about others, and others would care about her.

Kassidy had expected many things when it came to being all alone in Vale. What she didn't expect was how much it would hurt to be all alone again. She didn't count on the lethargy of, whenever she woke up, not having to fight with Ruby as to who got first shower as she got back from her morning workout. She didn't expect the quiet that came from a lack of Weiss drilling everyone on how important mornings were and they all needed to hurry up so that nothing went to waste. And above all else, she didn't expect the pain that came from not having to put up with Yang's crap in the morning. Despite her best efforts, it actually hurt to be away from her team.

From what she overheard, it sounded like her absence was affecting them just as much. The worst part was that she wanted to believe them. She wanted to believe that they didn't care about the fact that she was a murderer, or at the very least that it wasn't a big deal in the long run. Kassidy wanted to believe that they actually cared about her, that they wanted nothing more than for her to be back at Beacon, safe and sound. _Alright, enough crying, Smith. That life's gone now. You can't have that anymore. If you go back, you'll be killed and set up as an example at best. You'll just… need some time to get used to being alone again. That's all I need. And because today couldn't be allowed to be easy in the slightest, I even got jumped by the White Fang AGAIN earlier this morning._

Regaining her composure, she got back out on the street and kept walking to her initial destination. There were waves on the RemNet about an S. Wukong that was an accomplished petty thief, and seemed to know everything there was to know about the city. He even seemed like a reasonable person, too. A trap was a distinct possibility, but right now she needed contacts and this was too good an opportunity to pass up. She strolled up to the café and checked the Scroll she had swiped to make sure this was the same place they had agreed to meet.

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd show up!" A hand found its way over her shoulder, causing her to throw it off and drop into a crouch, stopping just short of drawing her pistol. The man, or boy to be more accurate, seemed vaguely familiar. _Wait, that's right! That's the Faunus from the boat a couple weeks back!_ "Woah, a bit jumpy are we?"

"Yeah, we are." Getting back up, she spoke tersely. "Look, I'm waiting on someone here, and I haven't had the best of days. So if you could kindly keep from touching me any more than you have to and allow me to conduct my business, I would really appreciate it."

"Okay, okay, I get it! Uh, by the way, you wouldn't happen to be waiting for a Sun Wukong, would you?"

Kassidy panicked at the mention. _How the fuck does this guy know?_ Spotting a conveniently placed alleyway right next to them, she pulled him in out of visual range of the street and stuck her pistol in his gut. "Start talking. How do you know that?"

"Easy, easy! You're talking to the guy! Y'know, you're not the first person to pin me to a wall in the alleyway, but you are the first to do so with a gun. I'm not into sadism, by the way."

"You're not into… what?" Kassidy's brain had to go through a quick reboot to process what just happened. Shoving her pistol back into the hoodie's pouch, she backed off, embarrassed. "My apologies, Mr. Wukong. Man, talk about making a bad first impression."

"Meh, no worries. I've been through worse. So how about we take this meeting of ours inside? Dunno about you, but I'm starving."

In response, her stomach gave a fierce growl. "It may be that I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday."

Sun winced at that. "Ooh, yeah. You're starving too. Don't worry, this place is great!"

The two got a patio table on the second floor. Public, easy vault over the ledge for a quick getaway, secluded enough that nobody would eavesdrop on them. Sun dug into his own sandwich without hesitation, and it took every ounce of Kassidy's self-discipline to keep from doing the same. Instead, she settled for sizing up the young man she was meeting.

"Like what you see? I tend to have that effect on the ladies, y'know." Sun flashed her another wink, which, while probably charming to most, only served to mildly aggravate her.

"I'm sure you do. You're just… not what I was expecting from Vale's latest petty thief and street rat."

"I'll take that as a compliment." He was about to take a sip from a teacup held by his prehensile tail before suddenly remembering something. "Wait a minute! Didn't I see you a few weeks ago with a couple other ladies? What happened to them?"

Kassidy quickly went over how various methods would play out, before quickly deciding on a route to take. "Yeah, those were my teammates at Beacon."

"Were?"

"Something… happened. Pretty sure I'm not welcome there anymore."

"Only pretty sure?"

"Let's just say I didn't stick around long enough for them to dig out the torches and pitchforks."

"Wow, that bad, huh? What happened?"

Kassidy stared at her folded hands for a bit, before sighing and answering, "Some things from my past came up. I'm not a bad person… or, at least, I like to tell myself that I'm not. But I'm definitely not a good person. Once things started coming out… I just panicked, and I ran."

"Well can't you just go back and explain things to them?"

She looked at Sun as though he had a third eyeball growing out of his head. "Yeah, no. At best, I'll find my head on the end of a pike as an example to everyone else. No, I'm on my own at this point."

"Okay… and that's why you were wanting to meet with me? You're out on the streets now, and looking for local knowledge?"

"Something like that."

"Well, sorry to say, gorgeous, but I'm kinda new here myself. I just know my way around cities in general. All I've really managed to pick up is that the docks are apparently a ripe place to do some pickings."

"Oh?" _Haven't heard anything like that before. This should be good. Maybe a good place for a cache?_

"Yeah. Heard some White Fang scum were planning on hitting this huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."

Kassidy nearly choked on the glass of water she was drinking. "Wait, what? White Fang hitting a Dust shipment? How huge are we talking about?"

"HUGE Dust shipment, like, Schnee Dust Company shipment."

"Did you hear when this is going down?"

"Tonight, I think." Kassidy's face paled as she quickly assembled the facts. "Uh, are you okay?"

"Dust stores have been getting hit hard for weeks now. Except it's only Dust being stolen, there's no theft of the money from the establishments. All the signs I could dig up pointed to the White Fang, and now they're hitting my friend's company…" She looked down at her still untouched food. She wasn't hungry anymore. "Any idea where this shipment is coming in?"

"Uh, not really, no."

"Eh, can't expect to have everything spoon fed to me. I know a guy anyway, shouldn't be too hard to figure out."

"Wait, you're actually going to try and stop it?"

"Sun, do you have any idea what kind of damage a gang can do when it gets entrenched and militarized?" He predictably shook his head. "Well I do. The damn army couldn't drive them out. Entire cities burned. Like hell I'm going to sit around and wait for that to happen again."

"Alright, let's do this!"

Kassidy got up and was about to start walking away when something clicked. "'Let's'? As in, you think you're coming with me?"

"Kassidy, was it? Look, Fangers killed a few of my friends recently. I'm a Huntsman in training too, y'know. Coming over from Mistral. One of the teams - Team Red, the Rosette quadruplets - got ambushed and murdered a few weeks back by the White Fang. Not only am I not going to sit back and watch them take hold in Vale like you won't… I owe them some payback."

Kassidy thought about it for a few moments. _Well, even if he tries to stab me in the back, I'm pretty sure I can take him well enough to make a quick getaway. And the extra firepower won't hurt if he's telling the truth._ "Ugh, fine. If you insist on sticking around, then let me do the talking, and for god's sake quit trying to hit on me. It's getting annoying fast."

* * *

Her new best friend in the Dust industry paid off in spades. Not only did she get where the supposed Dust shipment was being offloaded at, she also managed to get how much Dust they were talking about (enough for a bomb that could level a city block), worker shifts, and even, after a quick palm greasing, keys and access codes to enter that particular section of the docks. A quick scout of the area revealed a warehouse roof that would be perfect to watch the whole thing go down, and a perfect sniping position.

For now, though, it was time for the most boring part of a stakeout: the waiting game. She had long ago memorized the layout of the area, and it left her only with her gear to occupy her time while keeping a vigilant eye out. She had changed back into her Beacon gear and drug the Garand back out of its hidey hole; if she was getting into a knock-down, drag-out fight with the White Fang she wanted to be fully prepared.

Someone landed on the roof she was on. Her rifle whipped up and was trained on the source, and it took the shock of messy blonde hair in addition to the tail to convince her not to shoot. "Still jumpy, I see. I stole you some food. You still haven't eaten since lunch yesterday, have you?"

"No, I haven't. Thanks." _Granny Smith apples. My favorite, if only because the sweetness is counterbalanced with the tartness._ Furiously digging into one plus a protein bar, she kept an eye on the shipping containers full of Dust that had already been stacked up.

"Anything happen while I was gone?"

"Not really. They finished offloading the Dust. Now it's a waiting game to see if things actually go down." She strained her eyes to try and make out more of the situation. "Don't all you Faunus have night vision or something? Dear lord I'm jealous right now."

"'All you Faunus'?"

Kassidy winced at having her words parroted back to her in that fashion. "Sorry. Weren't any Faunus where I'm from. Didn't even know what one was until a couple months ago. Still trying to work on not sounding horribly racist by accident."

Sun shrugged next to her. "Eh, fair enough."

The two were interrupted by an airship passing right overhead. Kassidy flattened herself to the roof, meal forgotten as the intruding craft descended into the port area. "Showtime. Get to one of the other warehouses. Splitting our fields of fire will give us an advantage."

"Right." Without another word, Sun made his way to the other side of the impromptu arena. Kassidy took one final check over her gear. _Garand with six clips of regular ammo. Pistol with three clips of ammo. Knife, and no Dust ammo. Better not be wasteful tonight. And would it kill them to turn that Bullhead's engines off while they're not flying around? I can barely hear a word they're saying down there!_

Suddenly, a figure in a white coat and a black bowler hat came strutting out of the Bullhead, cane prodding along ahead of him. Even with all the months it's been since their encounter, there wasn't a chance Kassidy was forgetting that face.

"Torchwick…"

She would have growled more, but a sword blade pressed into her neck. "Yes, that is Roman Torchwick. Now drop the gun and stand up." Not having much choice in the matter, Kassidy complied. If nothing else, she still had her knife on her hip and her pistol in her back. Turning around, she faced her assailant, and was quite surprised to see who it was.

"Blake Belladonna. Was wondering what you had to hide. Though I'm surprised you'd be working for…" She trailed off as she looked up. The first thing she noticed was the Grimm mask she was wearing. The second was that, instead of a bow, she had a pair of cat ears poking out of her hair. "Hid the ears under your bow, huh? Pretty clever."

"Thanks. Now, keep your hands where I can see them, and follow me. I'm sure my coworker is going to want to talk with you."

"I'm sure he does. Unfortunately, I don't have many words for him in return, so if you'll excuse me." Ducking out from under the blade pressed to her throat, Kassidy drew her pistol from its resting place in her jacket and brought it up to aim. Blake was faster, though. As soon as the pistol was clearing her jacket, the cat Faunus was gone. Something hit her hard in the back of the head, and she got knocked to the ground. She was only in a daze for about a second, but that was enough for her pistol to get kicked out of her hands and something to get wound around her wrists.

"Don't worry, you won't have to do all that much talking. But you shouldn't have done that." Getting yanked to her feet, Kassidy, tested her new bonds before Blake hissed in her ear. "For what it's worth, I hope he doesn't decide to play with his food too much. Took me hours to get the blood out of my clothes last time."

* * *

 **AN 2: Welp, that doesn't look good. Kassidy's dead now, my bad. Tune in next time to find out just how hard I'm killing off this fic. At least it's only the three day break for you guys rather than the four day break.**

 **Coming up next: Roman Torchwick vs. Kassidy Smith, Round Two FIGHT!**

 **James: Yup, she's back to her same old tricks. Will she be accepted back? Ehhhhhhh. Still working out the nitty-gritty details. Looking promising at the moment, though. And in Kassidy's defense, those kills on the White Fang were self-defense. I mean, she did technically start the fight, but even if the WF wasn't the RWBY Universe's boogeymen, getting cornered by four people with masks and guns usually means something not nice is about to happen to you.**

 **AndJrew76: A wild Goliath appears! Awesome to hear you're still enjoying the story after all this time. Thanks for the well wishes, I certainly used them this week.**

 **Guest: Thanks for the compliments, that was kinda what I was going for with RWKY. There's enough fics out there that only tweak small things here and there, or just flat-out follow the story that Rooster Teeth set. And then there's RWBY proper. I initially made Kassidy with the thought of "which character would I need to replace by what kind of character in order to make real big changes while still keeping everything recognizable?" Blake, having the dual qualities of being my least favorite of the original four and only seeming to exist as a plot point (which goes back to point one), was the chica that got the axe.**

 **Baconlord53: Well, you're not wrong. Hopefully things continue to get interesting; that's a sign that I'm doing my job as a writer correctly.**

 **Tykene: Well, anything can happen, and she did leave some insights that helped improve the story. Glad she's on board, to be honest. And yeah. If you're going to monologue around Kassidy, you're gonna have a bad time.**

 **AgentDraakis: Uh, that's not good. And not just because I can't tell whether that's a positive or negative review. Cleanup on Aisle Five!**


	43. V1C42: Demon of the Present

**Chapter 42: Demon of the Present**

 **VIEWER DISCRETION WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS CLOSER TO AN M RATING RATHER THAN THE ADVERTISED T RATING, DUE TO GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AND EXCESSIVE FOUL LANGUAGE. CONSIDER YOURSELVES WARNED.**

 **AN: Here we are, it's time for Volume 1's big fight. Kassidy's in trouble, captured by a Blake that's still loyal to the White Fang. Her teammates still have no idea where she is, and Sun is separated from her. Our friend Mr. Schmidt did say he was trying to push the limits of human mortality, so without further ado let's find out exactly how good of a job he did.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

 _So it turns out I die from more conventional means than annoyance, or boredom, or other silly nonsense. Nah, it's actually going to be from a terrorist organization filled with superpowered teenagers and such shit._ Kassidy's ruminations were brought to a halt by another forceful tug on the ribbon holding her wrists as Blake drug her into the middle of the docks. _Now I'm really fucking glad I decided to let Sun stick around for the ride. God knows I need a bit of help now._

"Roman! I've got something for you!" Blake got the gangster's attention before shoving Kassidy forward into the group of White Fang.

"Well, well, well, what have we here? Why if it isn't… really, what do we have here?"

"Forgot me already? I feel neglected. Kassidy Smith, chick in the robot suit, remember?"

"Oh, that's right! How could I possibly forget such a face as that? And hopefully you remember me?"

"Um…" Kassidy pretended to think really hard about it. "Don't remind me, wait, I got it! Captain Eyeliner, right?"

"That… would not be it."

"Damnit! Give me a moment. Oh, I definitely remember now! Byzantine Candleflame!"

"Well, you're certainly more relaxed about the current situation than most people that would find themselves in your shoes."

Kassidy shrugged her shoulders. "Pretty obvious from experience that this is the part where you kill me. Figured I'd get some fun in while I can."

"From experience, you say?"

"This isn't the first rodeo I've been a part of, Mr. Roaring Twenties. I'm not exactly concerned about my chances of survival here."

"You know what, I think I actually like you! Too many of you Huntress in training types are so stuck up these days. No fun at all, let me tell you. Oh, hang on, give me a second?" Turning around, he scolded one of the White Fang members asking him how to connect the tow cable. _Wow, this guy is racist. And the White Fang is working with him? Something's not right here._ While she was putting on a flippant exterior, on the inside she was sweating bullets. _I've been in some close calls before, but this is getting a bit close for comfort. Where the fuck is Sun? So much for honor among thieves._

"She was also carrying this on her." Blake handed her off to one of the White Fang members obviously there to provide muscle, while walking over to Roman with the Garand. _Wait… the fuck do they want with my rifle?_

"Was she now? Let me see. Oh, ho, ho, this is one fine antique we have here! How old is this thing?"

"Ninety three years." Kassidy was far less carefree in her answers now. "It was my great-great grandfather's rifle in the war."

"That old? Wow, how does this even still work?"

"Quite well, actually."

"I really like you! Such a shame I need to break you a bit. Hmm… I bet this rifle means a lot to you, huh?"

"Well, I mean, apart from being a family heirloom, it's managed to save my life more times than I care to count."

"That's swell, that's swell. So… if I were to do something, say, like this…" Suddenly, he grabbed the rifle and snapped it over his knee. His Aura sparked from the joint as the extra strength shattered the relic weapon with little effort, and the gangster tossed the two halves aside. "You probably wouldn't be very happy about it, would you?"

"You would be right in guessing that…" Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. Five generations of Smith had gone shooting with that rifle. It had been a prized possession by anyone and everyone in the family. It was with her longer than even Bob, and she wasn't kidding when she said it saved her hide more times than she cared to count. And now it was gone, sundered in twain in the blink of an eye.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said that rifle meant a lot. Hmm, let's see, what other kinds of fun can I have with you?" Roman began walking around her, like a starved predator drinking in its meal before devouring it.

"Sorry to cut your sadistic tendencies short, but we should probably be packing up soon if we don't want to get caught. Again." Blake walked up and drew her sword from its sheath on her back. "May I do the honors?"

"Absolutely not." Roman seemed disappointed with being unable to play with his food for longer, but nevertheless took to standing a good ways in front of Kassidy again. "Actually, didn't you also say something about a pistol she had?"

"Yes I did. Quite a good one too, from the looks of it." Blake dug around for something before bringing out her 1911 pistol and handing it to Roman.

"You're right, this is a good one. Quite the simplistic styling, no frills… y'know, I think I might actually keep this one." Quickly figuring out how it worked, he slid out the magazine and scowled. "Crappy ammunition though. What, did you make this stuff yourself?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. Don't really have that big an operating budget."

"Well, no matter, can't win them all I guess. Decent ammo should be something I can address easily enough. Well then, Kassidy was it? Tonight's been fun and all, but I really gotta get going here. After all…" Roman paused to look up. Kassidy followed his gaze, and her jaw dropped to see five more Bullheads pulling in. "This isn't exactly a little operation I'm working with here."

"Wait!" Blake stalled her execution. Kassidy wondered what would cause the cat Faunus to save her life, right up until two meatheads came and grabbed on to her arms while Blake retrieved her ribbon that was holding her wrists. "Alright, I'm good."

"Very well, kitty cat. Ahem, as I was saying, bon voyage! Say hi to your great-great grandfather for me, that rifle broke wonderfully!" As he slid the magazine back in the pistol and aimed, she fought the men holding her to no avail. In as slow motion as it was possible for a bullet to go, she watched it leave the barrel and fly right at her. Roman had a wild grin on his face, so sure that the night would go flawlessly.

Whenever you shoot someone, you generally expect one of a couple things to happen. First thing that could happen is that you miss, which ranges from embarrassing to being lethal. If you don't miss, then the person who got shot had a multitude of reactions to choose from. Those reactions typically range from begging to anger, unless of course the shot was lethal, in which case the only appropriate reaction was dropping dead. Which is why whenever Kassidy got shot in the head, Roman was beyond shocked to find that, instead of dropping dead, she instead decided to pick the 'anger' reaction. And what a reaction is was. Even the two men holding her still were so surprised they both dropped her, allowing her to clutch at her face.

"WHAT THE FUCK MAN?! THAT WAS MY EYE! Who the fuck aims for the goddamn eye! MY EYE! You could've aimed anywhere, the temple, the throat, the chest! But no, the cocksucker known as Roman Torchdick had to aim for my motherfucking eye! Do you have any idea how long it takes me to grow an eye back!? THREE WEEKS! Three weeks I'm going to be without depth perception because you shitstains had to aim for MY FUCKING EYE!"

If it weren't for her current situation, Kassidy would've found their reactions priceless. More than one White Fang grunt circled around to watch the execution was having difficulty holding his dinner. Blake looked horrified and disgusted. Roman looked like he was trying to decide which of seven different emotions to wear, before giving up and choosing to wear all of them at once. The two meatheads seemed unsure of what to do, giving the floundering girl some space with their hands raised, almost as though they were trying to say 'they didn't do that'.

For her part, Kassidy was feeling a few things. Frustration that she had to grow an eye back for a second time. Anger at Sun for completely bailing on her. Rage at Roman and the White Fang, terrorists and gangsters that broke her rifle, tried to kill her, and was on their way to making off with hundreds of thousands of Lien in Dust. However, none of that compared to the bloodlust she felt shortly afterwards. Skipping the adrenaline, skipping the norepinephrine, skipping the painkillers, her body went straight for the CPH4 as it flooded her body with what felt like limitless energy. _This is what Yang must feel when her Semblance kicks in. Pure, unadulterated power coursing through her veins. No wonder she enjoys a good fight so much, this shit can get addictive._

Noticing the tomahawk strapped to the belt of the guy on her right, she ripped it free and buried it in its owner before whipping around at inhuman speeds and burying it in the other guy to her left. Suddenly regaining their senses, the White Fang that had gathered around to watch pulled out swords and pistols and made ready to charge her. Other plans had been made, however, and Sun picked this moment to finally get his monkey butt in the fight.

"Oh, come on! What the hell is going on here?!" Roman was thoroughly displeased at how the night was going. Spinning around from his goons turning on the newcomer, he brandished his cane as Blake unsheathed her sword. "The hell kind of Huntress do you think you are?! You think you're tough? You're not the first kid to eat a bullet, you know! Nothing but a weak little runt! I'm the real deal here! You're nothing but an offshoot!"

Twirling the tomahawk around, Kassidy let out a low, feral growl. "You are so fucking dead." Without waiting for more words, she strode forward. Blake sprinted up to meet her, taking a swing at her neck. Kassidy took full advantage of every ounce of power her body gave her, and swung for the fences. Blake's sword flew out of her grip and landed several dozen feet away. The cat Faunus barely had time to react before a vicious backhand laid her out, black Aura flaring angrily to absorb the blow.

Roman deigned to involve himself in the fight at this point, twirling his cane around and using the crook to trap her hand and remove the tomahawk from her grasp. Swinging himself around, he used the momentum to try for a golf swing up the side of her head. The blow would've been enough to separate Kassidy's head from her shoulders, if it weren't for her reaching an arm out and catching the bludgeon. One handed, she fought the two handed and Aura augmented grip of Roman before using her other hand to punch him in the face. His Aura couldn't keep his nose from getting bloodied, and a spray of red prefaced his staggering back even as his grip on his cane failed. Tossing the weapon aside, Kassidy stepped forward, more than happy to end this with fists.

She stopped when she felt an odd pinching sensation coming from her stomach. Looking down, Kassidy was more intrigued than anything to see a black sword blade sticking out from her abdomen. _Barely even got a kidney, from the looks of it. Whoever stabbed me should probably do some more reading up on biology._ She looked over her shoulder to find an incredibly shocked and de-masked Blake Belladonna gaping at first the injury, and second at the pissed off blonde who barely blinked at it. Taking advantage of the situation, Kassidy's left arm reached out and her grip found the Faunus' neck.

Blake dropped her grip on the sword, and reached up to scratch with claw-like nails at whatever she could reach. A finger got dangerously close to her intact eye, but beyond that Kassidy felt nothing. She was wholly focused on the neck in her grasp, trying to use her augmented strength to brute force past the Aura keeping her from crushing Blake's windpipe. But not even Aura can do everything, and as it contracted from the relentless pressure Kassidy could feel the bones in Blake's neck begin to crack under her grip. _Just a few moments more. A few more seconds with the Faunus' windpipe, that's all I need. That's all I want._

Those were a few seconds she never got, as the cursed cane came flying down onto her elbow and made her drop Blake. A boot impacted into her chest, and Kassidy found herself flying past a shipping container. As she stood back up and checked for more damage to her body, her gaze snapped back up as a grenade shot from the cane flew out. She tracked its flight path, finding the target to be… _Ruby? He just shot Ruby? He just shot Ruby… He just shot Ruby!_

The extra motivation was all she needed. Where the CPH4 started to flag, the anger revitalized her mentally, and she could feel norepinephrine making its way into her system to boost her ailing energy levels. With renewed vigor, she stormed past the container and rounded the corner to see Roman and Sun engaged in a fight of their own. Roman beat the monkey Faunus back, only to receive another Remnant-shattering punch that sent a burst of Aura flying to try and absorb the blow. Staggering back, he looked at Kassidy partly in annoyance, but now mostly in fear. "Why won't you just die!?"

Kassidy chuckled, gave as evil a chuckle as she could manage. She stared him down, and took slow, menacing steps forward. "You Huntsmen always think you're so high and mighty. That you're untouchable, that other than the Grimm that you're invincible, only the mightiest monsters able to fell you. But you're wrong, you're so wrong. Because the mightiest monsters aren't Grimm. They're people, and the things they create. And me? I'm all of the above. And it is because of this that you will lose. You lose because you're fighting the biggest monster of them all."

"Wh-What are you?!"

"I am Special Weapons Project 31187 Model 2, and I am not your offshoot. I am your replacement." The color drained from Roman's face even as he vigorously denied Kassidy's claims. His cane was held in a shaky guard, and his footing was uneven. Kassidy wasn't doing much better herself, though. She had lost too much blood, her energy too spent. _I need to end this, and now._ "Come here, Roman. I'm going to rip your arms off and beat you to death with your own fists!"

Kassidy ducked under a swing intended for her head, before burying her fist into his gut a couple times and being disappointed by the lack of results. _Strength's failing. Don't have much left in me. Let's try a different approach._ As Roman swung again, she caught the cane and used it to pull him off-balance before driving a knee into his stomach, then kicking hard into the back of his knees. Roman crumbled, but quickly recovered as his cane lashed out and caught her shin, then quickly followed it up with smashing it across her forehead.

"I can appreciate a bit of spunk, kid, but this is ridiculous." Getting back on his feet, Roman flipped his cane around and aimed at her. "For what it's worth – this isn't personal." He pulled the trigger, but Kassidy managed to stagger out of the blast in time. Snarling in rage, Roman started swinging again. "Are you seriously too stupid to know how to die? Fall already!" At this point, between her fading strength and the brutality of his offensive, she could do little more than block the strikes. Ducking under a backhanded swing, she shoulder checked him into a container and connected with a right hook before taking a few steps back.

"You are not the first to have tried to kill me. Nor are you the strongest." Kassidy ate a jab to the ribs, but dodged the next attack and got a chop on his shoulder. "Nor will you be the last. I have survived your predecessors, and I will survive you as well." Roman caught her shoulder in the crook of his cane and dislocated it, but she retaliated with a roundhouse kick before reaching over and snapping the joint back in place. She smirked on the inside – Roman's Aura was almost empty. Even with being almost out of energy, it would only take a couple more good hits before it shattered.

"This is fucking insane. You don't even have an Aura! How the hell are you still alive?!"

"I already told you. The biggest monsters are not Grimm, but people. And when the monsters decided they needed better monsters, they made me." She ducked under a swing, but got hit by the backstroke. She spat blood in his face to distract him from the punches she delivered to his gut. "I'm not going to pretend that I like being some sort of science experiment, but as long as I am… you bet I'm going to take full advantage of it."

Roman looked above him, and smirked. Before she could track where he was looking, he fired up and then used a two-handed grip on his cane to shove her back. Unable to correct the fall she was about to suffer, Kassidy decided to follow into it and took several great steps back before dropping on her back. A shipping container landed with a clang in front of her, separating her from the man she wanted to kill so badly. Fighting to her feet, she could hear Roman talking to himself as he walked away. "Kids these days just keep getting weirder and weirder. At least I won't have to deal with that freak show again. I'm definitely demanding a bigger cut if this is the kind of crap I have to put up with."

Kassidy took a step to chase after him, but couldn't take another. She had lost too much. Her energy reserves were completely spent, and it was only a matter of time before her blood dropped to lethally low levels. Between a missing eye, a stab wound in her stomach, and probable internal bleeding from several dozen bruises and miscellaneous blows, she was a sore sight indeed. Blearily looking around, she looked for the shortest way out of the docks. Bullheads were burning around her, a probable indication that Sun had pulled through after all. _Might have to settle for just decking him instead of what I was thinking earlier._ She took a few staggering steps forward before her body pitched forward on her, concrete rushing up to meet her face.

"K!" Strong hands grabbed her and kept her from hitting the ground. Turning her head to figure out what was going on, her remaining eye bugged out to see Yang at her side, who herself looked like she wanted to throw up from the view she got.

"…Yang? Wha… what're ya doin' here?" Barely having the energy to make full sentences, Kassidy didn't even bother trying to mimic their Valean accent.

"We heard explosions, and, and… oh Dust what happened to you!?" Yang looked over her shoulder and bellowed, "Rubes, Weiss, gimme a hand here!"

"You dolt, what were you thinking?! Were you trying to take on the whole White Fang by yourself?!"

"Hey, it wasn't just her, I helped out too!"

"Hush, you! I'm still not sure what to think about you. And for you, what could have possibly possessed you to do this, Kassidy?"

"White Fang… enough Dust… blow up a block… couldn't let 'em take it…" Kassidy tried to get back to her feet, but her body felt like it weighed a million pounds.

Yang shot off in a harsh tone, "Well Weiss, if you needed any more proof that K isn't a bad guy, there you are."

"Hey, that's nice and all, Kass isn't a bad guy, but can we maybe save this for later and get her to some help?" Ruby bolted over to her left side, before dropping her jaw at seeing just badly she was off. Yang tried to lift Kassidy up, but Kassidy slipped from her grasp and pitched forward onto the asphalt. She tried to get back up, but her arms weren't listening to her anymore.

Suddenly, a peculiar thought overcame Kassidy. _Why am I still fighting to stay alive? Everyone who's ever cared for me is dead. Home's gone. These people think I'm a monster. Why am I insisting on pushing through the pain? It's not like there's any real purpose behind me living. They already have Bob._

 _Why keep fighting? What's the point? Haven't I tried to end the pain how many times already? And now that someone's been kind enough to do it for me, why do I not want it?_

A sudden, overwhelming heat and pressure on her midsection got her attention. Her eyes fluttered open to see a mass of gold. Yang's eyes, filled with tears, couldn't decide between lilac and blood red as she fought to keep pressure on the wounds in her gut. Weiss stood nearby, hands over her mouth as she watched in horror. She overheard something about Ruby having run off to get the paramedics.

 _Why are they still here? I'm probably a lost cause at this point. Is it…_ Her thoughts trailed off as she mentally gasped in realization. _Do they care? No, they can't, it's got to be…_

Surprise gave way to steely determination, a newfound resolve as another revelation made itself known. _I care for them too. Damn you all, you made me start caring for you._ Groaning, using sheer force of will to ignore the pain and to force her arms into cooperation, she levered herself onto her elbows. _I've lost too much. I've been on their end too many times to not know what they're going through._

 _This is why I fight. I fight for those I care about. I'll fight for you. For all of you._

It was at that moment that Kassidy's body decided to quit on her. Her arms slipped out from under her, sending her back to the concrete. Her eyes closed shut again, and the world turned black.

* * *

 **AN 2: Yeah, more cliffhangers. You're welcome. And you get the long wait to figure out what happened too, lucky you!**

 **Anyway, Reviewer Responses are a nice thing to have. Let's get to those.**

 **Coming up next: The final chapter.**

 **Akshka: Here's some more oh no for ya. Hope it's still up to snuff.**

 **James: Nope, Blake ain't a good cat lady in this. Changing sides? Undecided, but doubtful.**

 **mcd3424: Still haven't figured it out myself, but personally leaning towards Blake staying a villain. Glad to hear you're enjoying it still.**

 **AgentDraakis: Honestly, if Blake and Kassidy wound up on the same sides, I'd be curious to see if they ever did become friends**

 **AndJrew76: I think I saw you put a review down? Saw that I got nine reviews but only eight notifications, and Gmail decided to stop giving me notifications whenever you review for some reason. I dunno, fanfiction is having another episode that I can't see recent reviews on site, so hopefully whenever they get their crap back together I'll be able to reply on the next chapter.**

 **Tykene: Yeah, that would be a pretty big deal. Such a shame Blake's gonna have to share the spotlight. Glad to hear you're enjoying it so much.**

 **Guest: Yup, Evil Blake. Definitely a… crazy cat lady. Eh, eh? Damnit Barb. Anyway, happy you're finding the fic entertaining.**

 **Shake N. Bake Mormon: Err… Kassidy's not a robot. Unless you're confusing her with Bob (her AI computer pal that also isn't a robot), not completely sure where you got that from, but she is 100% human. Well, okay, more like 90% human. You get the point :P.**


	44. V1C43: Alone No Longer

**Chapter 43: Alone No Longer**

 **AN: Well, here we are. It took 43 chapters, but we're finally at the end of Volume One. As can probably be expected, the second part of the author's note is going to be a long one. For right now, though, let me get the horribly corny stuff out of the way. I'd like to thank kaiju62 first and foremost for proofreading for me these past few chapters. AndJrew76, the man, the myth, the Kindle-breaking legend (insert other bad jokes here) who's been here since day one and been such a great shower of support. Everyone who reviews, keeping me honest and giving suggestions for making this fic as good as I can possibly make it. And of course, thanks to all of you for making this fic such a huge success. For all you stats nerds out there, stats will be provided at the end for your analytical pleasure.**

 **Alright, enough of that stuff. Let's wrap Volume 1 up right about… now!**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Kassidy woke up to the sound of steady beeping, which told her a couple things. One, that despite her best efforts she had succumbed to unconsciousness. Two, that despite that she had managed to survive. Three, that she was in a medical facility of some kind. Which finally led to four, that she was currently at the mercy of people who may or may not be trying to kill her. And given how her secret's now out, it wouldn't do to take risks. She had to assume that the next person she met would try to kill her.

"Well, I suppose this is good morning. Or, good afternoon, rather." _Lucky me, the only other entity in the room is the one that literally cannot hurt me._

"How long was I out this time, Bob?" Kassidy tried to get up, but her body refused to obey her and she shuddered in pain. _At least I can use my Southern accent here without tearing my throat a new one._

"Sixteen hours. And try not to move, Narud's using some different medical procedures this time. You're significantly weaker than you're used to being at this point."

"All the easier to kill me, I suppose."

Bob sighed heavily. "Kassidy, you're an intelligent person. Don't you think if they wanted you dead, you wouldn't be in a hospital recovering from your ridiculous injuries?"

"What's probable is that they still want me dead, but they want somethin' from me before they off me."

"That being?"

"You."

"Kassidy, they've had me for the past forty eight hours. If you wanted to keep me out of their hands for whatever reason, you're a bit late for that." She huffed and closed her eye to think for a moment, but her computer interrupted her again. "There's something I need to tell you…"

"I already know it was you that rigged the simulator."

The fact that it took Bob ten seconds to calculate a reasonable answer spoke of the magnitude of his surprise. "I didn't realize I was so obvious about it."

Kassidy rolled her eye. "Please, once I gave it a few minutes of thought it was painfully obvious. There ain't a soul alive here that knows about Baton Rouge, or Matthew, or Benjamin."

Another extended silence filled the air for a few seconds. "I seem to have made a miscalculation, I'll need to keep that in mind should a similar scenario arise. Although, in a related issue, you seem to be taking this surprisingly well."

She barked out a harsh laugh, before replying, "Bob, you have no idea how badly I want to be absolutely furious with you. But it's kinda hard when I know why you did it, hell you haven't shut up about it for a month."

"Maybe because you haven't given me a satisfactory answer as to why you refuse to trust those around you, when they've given you no reason to distrust them and every reason to trust them."

Kassidy's face fell, and she rolled over to face away from her computer. "You wouldn't understand, Bob. I don't think I've programmed you enough to comprehend my reasons."

"Then humor me. If nothing else, it should be easier for me to identify what of my code needs to be updated to fix this flaw in my programming."

Her brow scrunched in thought for a solid minute, considering if she wanted to talk and how she wanted to put it. "The gang scares me."

"You're afraid they're not your friends anymore?"

"I'm afraid they still want to be my friends."

"That's… a fear I wasn't expecting. I feel the need to request that you elaborate."

A humorless chuckle escaped from her lips, before she sighed and explained, "When Dad died… when Matt died… it broke me. Those I cared about died, and I had to figure out how to deal with it. Except I couldn't deal with it, I couldn't deal with the pain, so I ran and hid from it. Tried to bury my emotions and not think about it. Even with that, I still broke. But that was fine, it took a few years but I put myself back together. I ain't a pretty person or a pretty persona no more, but I got myself put back together. As long as it was just me, and a computer that I couldn't lose, I'd be fine.

"But then the girls got into my life by only God knows what process. And they've been so damned determined to make themselves important to me, to make me care about them. And damn them to hell, it worked. Didn't realize it 'til I woke up in the alley and hurtin' so damn much from not havin' to deal with the three of them."

"I still fail to see how that's a bad thing."

"Because if I start carin', then I start feelin'. And if I start feelin', then I start hurtin'. Bob, everyone I've ever cared about has a zero percent survival rate. And bein' a Huntress ain't exactly a job with a long life expectancy. I can't lose anyone else, Bob. I ain't strong enough to handle it. The last time I lost someone I cared about, I went damn near insane. I can only break so many times before the pieces don't fit back together anymore."

"If that's what you're afraid of, then perhaps it's time to try a new approach." The door opened, and the man she'd been dreading meeting again strolled in with his trademark cane and mug. _Just like that damn interrogation room again. Except this time, there's no chance of an out. I can't even think about fighting in the sorry state I'm in._ Ozpin pulled over a chair and sat down next to her bed. "I know how much you value directness, so allow me to be direct: why are you so afraid of us?"

Despite the situation, Kassidy laughed in his face before switching back to a Valean accent. "That's a joke, right? I'm a goddamn test tube monster. It's literally in your job description to kill people like me."

Ozpin gave a hum. "That's odd. Last I checked, my job description was to defend the people from the evils that threaten them. Also from last I checked, you are neither evil nor do you threaten them." She opened her mouth to rebut him, but he cut her off. "Kassidy, would an evil person risk her life to prevent a renowned criminal from stealing hundreds of thousands of Lien worth of Dust? How about running through a Grimm-infested forest to find a little Faunus girl that had gotten herself lost? Or going to a school that had a decent chance of getting her killed just to better herself and how she can help others? When we first met, you told me you weren't a good person. So far, however, you've done a very poor job of convincing me of that."

She considered his words, but huffed and gruffly replied, "Tell that to all the families I ruined saving my own sorry hide."

"Ah, I was wondering how quickly I would need to make you use that particular excuse." Ozpin sat up and sipped from his mug with the slightest hint of mirth in his eyes. "And I cannot lie, it is a great excuse. If it were many people, the public would be quick and probably right to demand their head. I will not deny that you owe a debt to society, and I will ask you to pay that debt." _And here we go…_ "However, you tell me: is it easier to collect a debt when you throw the debtor in jail, or give him a job?"

The surprise couldn't be hidden. Whipping her head up so quickly her neck screamed in agony, Kassidy asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I know how badly you feel. The first sign that you are not evil is that you feel true remorse for every life you've ever taken. You seek to atone for your past sins, a worthy goal. And the potential for the amount of good you can do is great. I would be a fool to pass such an opportunity."

"So… so you're not going to kill me?"

Ozpin actually laughed at that one. "Kassidy, even if I were to decide you were beyond redemption, we have better and more humane ways of dealing with such a situation as yours than execution. But the fact remains that you are not beyond redemption. Or, at least, I believe you are not beyond it. Am I wrong?"

Kassidy looked at where she guessed her feet were. "I don't know. I'd like to think so, I want to think so."

"Then for now, that will have to do. For what it's worth, I still believe you to be capable of becoming a great Huntress in time." Suddenly standing up, he seemed like he remembered something. "Speaking of Huntsmen and Huntresses, your friends are worried about you. They wait outside, if you'd like to speak with them."

 _Lovely, those people again. Because tonight hasn't been gut-wrenching enough. Still, I feel the need to talk to her… she's a good person. She deserves an explanation if nothing else._ "Can you send Yang in? Just her? I… I don't think I'm ready to face everyone else."

A small smile graced Ozpin's visage. "Of course. I have some matters to attend to, so allow me to wish you a good night and a speedy recovery." He left the room, and for a few agonizing seconds Kassidy waited in the room alone. _Fuck, why did I think that was a good idea? Yang has to hate my guts right now. Lying to her face these past few months. Making her put up with my crap. Being… being me. Being a killer._

The door opened again, and her partner walked into the room. Yang looked like she hadn't slept in ages. Dragging the chair closer to the bed, she crashed in it and looked at her closely before giving a half-smirk. "That's a cool looking eye patch, partner. Gotta admit, it's definitely better than the other view I got."

"Yeah… sorry about that." A tense silence filled the air for a bit. "Look, Yang, I can explain-"

"Don't." Yang raised a hand and her voice slightly, and cut her off. "Just don't. I don't want an explanation. I don't care. All I care about is that my partner is safe and sound back at Beacon with us, and I don't have to worry anymore. Dust, K, forget sleeping, do you have any idea when the last time I ate was? I've been a complete wreck ever since you passed out, wondering if you were gonna make it."

Seeing Yang nearly breaking up into tears almost made Kassidy do the same. "But why? Why do you care? Literally the only reason we're even partners was because I fell out of a tree and broke my ankle on an Ursa's skull. I'm just some girl that you happened to get stuck with. And that's not even getting into how… I got turned into a monster. I'm not a person, I'm a weapon."

"Nope, stop right there." Yang cut her off again. "Why do I care? Because I got to know you. And whoever you were in the past, whatever you were forced to do, that's not the K I know. None of that is the K that I know."

"And who do you think the K you know is?"

Yang sighed and rubbed her hands across her face. "Well, for one, she's kind. At the drop of a hat, no matter what she's doing, she'd help Ruby study for a test coming up, or get people off Weiss' back so our favorite Ice Queen could enjoy some time to herself, or join me in the gym for a quick spar or two. She'd do anything for those she cares about, including going one on four with a bunch of birdbrains beating up my kid sister."

"Someone had to step in that situation. Not to mention… I give that pun a seven out of ten."

Yang snorted, then giggled, then failed to contain herself and just laughed uproariously. It took her a minute to get herself under control and wipe the tears from her eyes. "Dear Oum, K. You sure know how to cheer a girl up, you know that right?"

"Hey, Bob made me stop with the puns for a few years. I have a lot of catching up to do."

"That's more about the K I know. She's smart, and funny. And she's so strong. She has to be. Going through what she's been through, and still shoving it all into the corner to help other people."

"And that's the biggest thing you got wrong." Kassidy looked away and spoke softer. "I'm not strong. I don't shove it in the corner, I try to hide from it. And when I can't hide from it, I try to drink it away. I'm not strong enough to deal with it."

"Even the best of us are only so strong. We all need a helping hand from time to time."

"You guys deserve better than putting up with my crap."

"You deserve better than putting up with your crap on your own. K, I've been trying to tell you for a month now that we can help you, Dust we want to help you, but you refuse to let us help. Why won't you let us help you? Are you really that afraid of us, or are you really that afraid of losing us?"

Kassidy's eye widened, before she mumbled, "I can't lose anyone else. I can't handle it. I'm not strong enough. I don't think I can do this."

"K…"

"I'm scared, Yang." This wasn't Huntress Kassidy. This wasn't Survivor Kassidy. This wasn't Kassidy Smith, child prodigy or Kassidy Smith, domestic terrorist. This was Kassidy Smith, a terrified young woman in way over her head. She was broken, and she didn't know how to handle it. And she definitely didn't know how to handle the hug she found herself wrapped up in. "Wha…"

"You need a hug right now." Yang hated how hurt Kassidy was, how much pain she was in. She just wanted to make it go away, and as big sister to Ruby she knew a trick or two that generally worked for making the pain go away, for taking the sting off and dulling the edge. One of those tricks happened to be humming a relaxing tune. The two sat there for a few minutes, Kassidy slowly melting into her partner's embrace, and Yang hugging and humming. Eventually, the brawler pulled herself up and gave a soft smile. "How's this, K? You start coming to us with your problems. Don't try to hide from them, don't try to deal with them yourself, let us really help you. And we'll do our best to make you feel like you belong here. Because you do belong here. I promise, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. None of us are."

"She's right." The door opened again, and six teens took careful steps in with Jaune at the head. "You've been such a great friend to all of us all semester long. Just the little things that add up, y'know? Let us be friends for you for a change."

"All semester long, you've proven that you truly do have a heart of gold, Kassidy." Pyrrha stepped in and made her way to a corner to get out of everybody's way. "Your strength and your conviction are great examples to live up to."

"Believe it or not, your situation is not as unique as you may believe." Ren and Nora stood to Pyrrha's side, the latter far more somber and reserved than normal. "We too know what it takes to survive. If you need anyone to talk to, then by all means don't hesitate to ask myself or Nora."

Weiss walked in as well and took the adjacent corner. "If you're expecting sappiness from me, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed." A few snickers filled the room, and Weiss' face softened. "But still, you're a good friend. Even if your demented computer continues to be a pain in the neck for me. And a Schnee always remembers her friends."

Ruby darted up next to her sister and gave a goofy grin. "Well, I mean, who else can I count on to help me keep Yang in line? But she is right, that is kind of a cool eye patch. Makes you look like a pirate."

Nora chirped, "And isn't she an alien? Kinda sneaky like a ninja… oh my Oum!" Everyone jumped and looked at her for her outburst. Nora was quivering with excitement. "Kassidy's an alien pirate ninja!" They were all done at that point. Not even Weiss or Ren could resist guffawing at the ridiculous statement. For her part, Kassidy couldn't believe it. These people still wanted to be her friends. She couldn't decide whether to laugh or to cry, so she did both.

All good things must come to an end, though. And as per usual, it was Weiss to end them. Forgetting her laughter, she stood up straight and looked Kassidy in the eye. "But we are going to have some serious changes around here, you hear me? If you think you can pull a stunt like that and expect things to go back to how they used to be, then you're even dumber than I thought you were."

"Ugh, Weiss! We were having a moment!" Ruby whined at her partner, but then suddenly remembered something and her face fell. "Oh, right…"

"What's wrong, sis?"

"It's… we found your rifle, Kass." _Oh, right…_ "I looked at it a bit, I tried to see if I could fix it, but as old as it is…"

"It's done for, isn't it?" Ruby nodded, and Kassidy sighed. "Well, I guess ninety three years is as good a run as anyone can expect a rifle to make. Was hoping there'd be something worth salvaging of it, though. That gun's been a part of my family for generations."

"I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out, K." Yang rubbed her chin in thought, before snapping her fingers. "Hey, I know a guy! Yeah, I just figured out your birthday present! When's your birthday?"

"That's… actually a good question."

Jaune did a double take. "Wait, you don't actually know when your birthday is, Kass?"

"Good thing I calculated it recently, then. Her sixteenth birthday will be on July the thirty first."

Kassidy's eye tried to fly out of its socket at Bob's statement. "Wait, what?! Alright, do that calculation again. I'm definitely more than fifteen years old. Heck, I have to have a year on Ruby at least."

"Nope. Only a couple months' age difference."

"This is some kind of joke, right?" Weiss was having as hard a time believing it as everyone else.

A knock on the door jolted everyone out of it. "Children, as much as I'd love to allow you to continue your reunion, I'm afraid I must meet with my patient now." Everyone left reluctantly, and Narud entered the room. Sighing, he said, "Before you ask, yes, I did keep your bed just the way you like it."

"Pfft, you're acting like I'm here every week or something."

"You pretty much are here every week."

"Oh."

"Anyway… I've been reviewing some of the Project Colossus notes. We're doing something different with your treatments this time around."

"I don't think I like where this is going."

Narud grinned at her. "Short term, no you're not. But it's for the best. Now that I know that you can handle far more intensive treatments than I've been putting you on, I'm going to finally get around to a problem of yours I've been wondering how to fix for a while now."

Kassidy was confused by that statement. "What kind of long-term problem would I have? I should have been healing from everything up 'til now, right?"

"Yes and no." The doctor sighed and turned his Scroll around to show her some data. "As good as your healing processes are, they're not perfect. Years of overuse has led to it generating scar tissue instead of healthy tissue for a good while now. Many of your internal organs are severely hampered by this. So I'm doing something a bit radical here. Basically, I'm going to use surgery to cut out the scar tissue, then an incredibly potent round of medication to let you heal for good."

"Uh, you could just give me a ten course meal and I can fix it up myself."

"Did you not listen to the part where your 'fixing it up yourself' is causing you problems? In fact, for the duration of your stay here, you're going to be on a minimalistic diet to ensure you can't heal."

"What?!"

"I don't care how much you hate needles, or how much you curse my name for the immediate future. So help me, you are staying in that bed for the next week, and you are properly healing this time around. No more patchwork solutions. Not to mention, if this works perfectly, this would complete a fine piece of research I've been working on."

 _Left in this damn thing for a week?! I change my mind. I think I prefer the witch trials to this._ Narud left the room, and she was left wondering what of her sanity would remain after a week of immobility. Her thoughts quickly returned to her friends, however. The people who didn't care what she'd done. The people who said they'd be there for her. The people who cared about her.

 _You won't regret this. I swear it._

* * *

(Perspective: Ozpin)

"Ozpin!"

The headmaster in question turned around from finishing his tenth cup of coffee this evening. When the Vale Council was involved, he needed every last drop to survive the blasted meetings. "I understand your concerns, councilman-"

"I'm not convinced you do. Despite all evidence as to who this girl is and what she's capable of, despite the clear and present danger she presents to our Kingdom, you're planning to do…"

"Exactly nothing," Ozpin finished.

A woman spoke up next. "Surely you understand why this has us… concerned, to say the least?"

The third voice ranted, "This Kassidy character is beyond dangerous! She belongs in a cell! Or better yet, in a grave!"

Ozpin cleared his throat. "With all due respect, thinking like that is what caused Miss Smith to become such a dangerous individual to begin with. If those in power at her home did not deem it necessary to… contain her, let's say, then she would have never needed to learn how to be such a threat. Any and every attempt to control or kill her in the past has been a resounding failure. I think it might be time to pursue a new strategy, and especially with such a valuable potential ally."

The first councilman was not impressed. "We tolerate your idealism where we can, Ozpin, but this is no place for such matters! Do not believe yourself omnipotent in your station at Beacon."

"This council is decided." The woman conveyed the verdict. "We will not allow this Smith girl to remain such a threat to the Kingdom. If you do not find a way to ensure our people's safety, then we will."

The call terminated, and Ozpin was left with a sour mood and an empty cup. Glynda sat a short ways away, looking more than concerned herself. "Do you have an opinion on the matter, Glynda?"

She sighed, and turned from her desk. "While I can't help but feel a good amount of trepidation about the whole situation, I think keeping Kassidy is the right move. She's a good person, even if she doesn't believe it."

"She's been alone for a long time. Without bonds to draw strength from, a soul quickly grows weary. Now that she no longer sees a hindrance towards truly embracing her friendships, with any luck she should begin finding herself quickly."

* * *

 **AN 2:**

 **[stats nerd data incoming]**

 **125 days. 44 chapters. 110 follows, 81 favorites, 164 reviews, and 25,217 views. That's 0.88 follows, 0.648 favorites, 1.312 reviews, and 201.736 views every day.**

 **[/stats nerd data outgoing]**

 **I mean… holy shit. This story got so much bigger than I thought it would. Once again, thank you. Thank each and every single one of you. What was first a hobby to help me not play video games so much has quickly become one of my favorite activities to do.**

 **So, where does Team Rookie go from here? Well, we still have two more volumes to go, as well as the time period between those volumes. Next chapter starts Volume 1.5. Or should it be Interlude 1? If you have a preference, let me know. Those will all be added to this story; I have no plans to open a new RWKY story for a good while now.**

 **I did have plans to launch another story at this time, but kaiju's beta reading made me see that I perhaps hadn't thought the idea out as well as I could have. Nevertheless, I'm still working on it. Just don't know when I'm going to get as good a time to put it out. Into the Jungle release date: TBD.**

 **Speaking of kaiju62, another round of thanks for our beta reader, who's been keeping me honest for the past few chapters now and helping me improve the quality of my writing.**

 **Well, without further delay, the final Reviewer Responses of Volume One!**

 **Akshka: It's over indeed. Kassidy didn't grab her rifle, as it turns out missing an eye, bleeding everywhere, and being unconscious doesn't bode well for remembering to pick up one's weapon. Good thing she's got some pretty awesome friends.**

 **Matt Cyr: Unfortunately, yes the Garand. And yeah, being near a 'roid-raged Kassidy is not conducive to one's continued health. Blake never left the White Fang in the first place.**

 **Baconlord53: Well, hopefully no more cliffhangers for a little bit now. We're done with that part of the story for a few weeks at least.**

 **James: Glad to hear you think so. One volume down, two more to go! Hopefully I can keep up the quality you're expecting of me.**

 **Slenderbrine: [meme] If you're going to shoot Kassidy but don't actually know how to go about killing her, you're going to have a bad time. [/meme]**

 **AndJrew76: Hurting Kassidy is easy. It's finishing the job that's the hard part if you don't know what you're doing. Glad to hear you're still enjoying after all this time, and if I have anything to say about it I'll keep doing this for a while longer.**

 **FloriteFlower: Volume 2 will happen. Not for a while though, turns out we have some filler content. Don't worry, with kaiju keeping me on the straight and narrow (and the fact that he has a ton of experience with this kind of content) I'm certain it'll be at least as good as what I've been putting up.**


	45. I1C1: Perspectives

**Interlude 1 Chapter 1: Perspectives**

 **AN: Sorry for late upload. Monopoly happened.**

 **Well, we're officially out of Volume 1. Still haven't decided whether or not I'm going to call this bit Volume 1.5 or Interlude 1. Either way, I'm going to be handling it differently from previous chapters. This won't be as long as Volume 1, but there will be** _ **significantly**_ **less action, hell I only have 3 or maybe 4 action chapters lined up. The main point of this part of the story? Yup, I dare say it's high time we got a ship out of port.**

 **Speaking of slice of life stuff, a lot's been dropped on the team recently. Final exams are on their way. How are our favorite Huntresses handling everything?**

* * *

(Perspective: Ruby)

Ruby was having trouble sleeping tonight. And with being subjected to her own 'face your fears' test that afternoon, it was little wonder why. All she could think about was how Weiss yelled at her, berated her, tore her down for being the worst team leader possible, how she was such a horribly naïve immature dolt that had no place at Beacon. She could only think about how Kassidy was terrified of her, hiding and running away even as she fell deeper into her own problems, her own demons before finally pulling the trigger and ending it all, the gun smoking in complete mockery of Ruby's failed efforts to save her. She could only think about how Yang just turned her back and walked away, calling her a miserable failure and going on about how ashamed she was of her little sister.

Sniffling back a few tears and rolling over, she saw a faint glow coming from Kassidy's bed. The girl must've been working on Bob. Again. _Doesn't she ever get tired looking at that screen? She hasn't had the opportunity to do anything but work on her computer, even when she got released from the infirmary yesterday._ Suddenly, Kassidy looked up and glanced at Ruby, before quickly ducking her head back down and snapping off the light. _Oh, I hope she's not having trouble sleeping again. I really don't want to have to deal with that again. I know she doesn't either._

After seeing the girl make no attempt to lay down and get some rest, however, Ruby took a chance and slipped out from her own bed before walking over and crouching down. Keeping her voice low, Ruby asked, "You're not having the insomnia problem again, are you?"

"Not this time. This is just a side effect of not being allowed to move for seven days straight. How about you? You doing alright?"

"Yeah."

"No you're not."

"No I'm not," Ruby admitted. "I just… I dunno. I keep thinking about everything I saw."

Kassidy hissed in sympathy. "Yeah, Yang told me. Want to go talk about it? I'm not sleeping any time soon, I can tell you won't be, and I hear the roof is lovely this time of night."

"Uh, sure. If you want. Don't want to keep you from sleeping." Kassidy shook her head in the negative, and the two girls silently got up and left the room. Padding up to the roof, they sat on a ledge and looked at the night sky for a few minutes, neither saying a word.

"Anything you want to talk about first?"

Ruby frowned and looked down at her feet swinging over the edge. _What do I want to talk about first? Do I even want to talk? Wait, of course I do. If Kassidy not talking never helps, why would me not talking help?_ "Um, yeah. When I saw you, you were so afraid of me, I-"

"So I heard." Kassidy cut her off from rambling when she had barely begun. "Look, if you're worried I'm gonna try and put a bullet in my brain, don't worry. Doing that is the single fastest way to piss me off, remember?" She pointed to her eyepatch for emphasis, and Ruby smacked her forehead. _Of course! How did I possibly forget THAT one?_ "Alright, who next? Yang?"

"Yeah. I mean, I know Yang doesn't feel like that, but what if she does?"

"She doesn't. Your sister isn't that subtle when she's not happy about something. If she didn't think you were doing a good job, don't you think she'd make it pretty darn obvious?"

"Uh-huh."

"And Yang is absolutely not the person to go leaving people. Heck, from what you told me it sounds like she tore up half the city looking for me last weekend. Honestly, your sister up and hitting the road should be close to the last thing you need to be worried about."

"I guess. So, that leaves us with Weiss, huh?"

"Yup, Ice Queen. And to be perfectly blunt, I don't know enough about her to say with absolute certainty what she does or doesn't think. You're gonna want to talk to her on your own." _Of course. Weiss would be so much better at this whole leader thing than I am. Or Yang. Or Kass, for that matter._ Kassidy put a hand on her shoulder at seeing her face fall. "What I can say with absolute certainty is that you're not a failure at being a team leader. You do a good job, girl, and I'm glad you're the one out of the four of us leading this sorry bunch of misfits."

"You don't think… you don't think one of you guys would do a better job?"

Kassidy barked out a soft laugh. "I'm not really good at the whole leadership thing. If Weiss were leading, I'd probably mutiny, and Yang definitely would. Speaking of Yang… yeah, not much to say about her leading the team other than 'lost cause'."

"Hey, that's my big sis you're talking about there!" Ruby smacked her shoulder playfully and giggled a bit. "Give her some credit!"

"I did." Ruby stuck her tongue out at Kassidy, who chuckled and looked out at the sky again. _She's not wrong, though. It really is pretty out here._ Kassidy brought the silence to an end, though. "Gotta admit, really glad I got to know you. It's nice being friends with the second deadliest fifteen year old on Remnant."

Looking over, Ruby cocked her head and arched an eyebrow. "Second deadliest?"

Kassidy had a glint in her eye as she smirked. "Don't get me wrong, you're good and all. But I'm, well, I'm me."

Ruby shoved at her shoulder hard enough to make her fall back onto the flat part of the roof they were on, all while sporting a wide grin of her own. "Care to back that up?"

Kassidy chuckled as she sat up. "Not really. Yang would beat the crap out of me. It's pretty obvious I'd win, after all." Suddenly, she gasped as she remembered something. "Oh, crap. You don't have your Scroll on you, do you?"

 _Why would I… oh._ "We're locked out of the dorm, aren't we?"

Sighing, Kassidy fell back onto the roof. "Well, I guess it could be worse. It could be raining. Wouldn't be the first time I've spent a night on a roof."

* * *

(Perspective: Weiss)

Weiss sighed as she tore through the halls, looking for Kassidy. Two weeks since her little escapade into Vale, two weeks until finals… and she was missing… again. At least she hasn't dropped off the face of Remnant this time around. No, over the course of the weekend she's been in contact with the team; she just hasn't been seen anywhere. When this was Friday afternoon and she first took off with the excuse of having work to do, Weiss had been accepting, even glad that the team's resident dork was willing to get out of her hair and actually take her studies seriously. _Well, alright, she usually does take her studies seriously when she does study. I just wish she'd do it more often, then she wouldn't have to worry so much about juggling her grades, her training and her computer._

As the weekend drug on, however, Kassidy's complete absence became more and more concerning to Weiss. Sure, she answered any calls or messages the team sent her way, but beyond that Kassidy was nowhere to be found, always saying she was working on something. While Ruby and Yang were seemingly content with that answer, Weiss wasn't so sure she liked it. For starters, Kassidy still hadn't begun working on a replacement weapon to the best of her knowledge; as a marksman, going from two ranged weapons to zero was a huge hit in her fighting style.

And then there was the matter that Weiss was pretty sure Kassidy was avoiding her. It didn't matter how much she told herself that it wasn't logical, that Kassidy didn't actually feel that way, what Weiss saw in her test was something she definitely wasn't prepared to face. It was simple, really. Choose between her father, a man who refused to take no for an answer and had the power to almost literally turn Remnant on its head to get what he wanted, and her friends, probably the closest, best, and only friends she'd ever had. As her father demanded she abandon Ruby and Yang, how they were beneath her, and then cart Kassidy off to Atlas for 'biological experiments of unprecedented importance'. Even with only the barest minimum of information on this Project Colossus she's kept hearing about recently, Weiss knew it was nothing but bad news.

Despite Kassidy's assurances that she didn't harbor any ill will towards her, Weiss still wasn't convinced. And she wasn't sure what to do. Simply buying her a gift and hoping that would solve the issue was out of the question. Money wasn't the problem – as the Schnee heiress, Weiss had access to more than enough funds to get the job done. But Kassidy was independent and proud of it, and something told the heiress that Kassidy would be less thrilled than most at a lavish gift. Weiss had already apologized repeatedly, and Kassidy had repeatedly said there was nothing to apologize for. So then why did she feel like Kassidy was avoiding her? That demented computer of hers wasn't giving any meaningful hints either. _Ugh, I'm a Schnee! Why am I having such a hard time keeping friends?_

So Weiss continued to stalk down the various hallways and buildings on campus, determined to find the dork that had vanished for the past two days. She'd been at this for nearly an hour and was about to give up when she suddenly remembered that Bob was sounding aggravated whenever he last talked to the team. Kassidy might not want to be found, but her little pet project might want her found! A quick message confirmed that theory, though she was surprised that Kassidy was in one of the science labs. Had she always been there? Making her way over to the room, she took a deep breath before opening the door and stomping in.

"Huh? Oh, hey Weiss, little busy right now, can't talk. Man, this stuff is incredible!" With frazzled hair, bloodshot eyes, manic look, and an odor of not having showered recently, Kassidy looked like a complete wreck. _Oh dear Oum, what is her problem this time? I'm getting real tired of her problems messing up the team._

Sighing heavily, Weiss stood across from the bench she was at and got her attention. "Kassidy, what are you doing? What even happened this time? How many times does stuff like this need to happen before you begin coming to us with your problems?" With a quieter tone and a bit of fear making itself known despite her best efforts, Weiss added, "You know you can trust me, right?"

Looking up, Kassidy blinked a few times as she muttered to herself, obviously trying to reason through a particular thought process. "What? You think I'm… oh, no, Weiss. I'm fine, seriously! It's just this bit of research I'm working on, absolutely amazing!"

Weiss' lips thinned to a line as she leaned back and crossed her arms. "And what exactly is this bit of research you're working on?"

"Well, you know those final projects we have for applied chemistry? I figured that since I was starting to get a bit batty from wondering what this Dust substance is exactly, and that I didn't have any better ideas for a project, AND the fact that I found a mass spectrometer here, I'd kill two birds with one stone and figure out Dust's chemical composition."

Weiss blinked rapidly as she gazed into the distance, trying to fully comprehend what was just said. Quickly recovering, she shook her head and met Kassidy's eye. "Alright, first off, mass spectrometer? Don't you mean compositional identifier?"

"No, I mean… you know what? Forget it, I'm tired of arguing names with you guys."

 _Thank you! Our home, our names. Get used to it already!_ "And second off, we've already tried to determine Dust's chemical structure. Not only does it change based on what kind of Dust one would look at, we have no idea what it is. None of the readings make sense."

"That's because you don't know what you're looking at. Err, no offense. But the only two noble gasses you guys have found are helium and neon, so it stands to reason that argon's readings would throw you for a loop. Hey, you finished processing the data on that fire Dust crystal, Bob?"

"Not yet, still need a few minutes."

"Wait… are you trying to say that you've found out what Dust is made of?"

"Yup! Throw in a fair amount of simulating and number crunching on Bob's end, and I think I have it all figured out. Fascinating, really. I'm no chemist, but I'm pretty sure this stuff isn't supposed to occur naturally. No matter what type it is, at its core every Dust molecule is built around a tetrahedral crystal structure of argon. Do you have any idea how much energy you need to keep a noble gas locked in this solid a structure? Again, this stuff shouldn't be occurring naturally. No wonder we didn't have this stuff at home, and to be honest I'm not sure how you guys have this stuff either."

"It grows naturally."

Kassidy's jaw did its best impression of a fish as she ran a hand through her hair. "I'm… having a hard time believing that. Still, no wonder Dust is such a potent fuel source. We're talking energy densities that compare to uranium and plutonium, with zero radioactive waste, which is a good thing. And then look at this! Molecular impurities based on what type of crystal we're looking at! This earth crystal, for example, has simple lithium oxides and silicates in it, while ice crystals have a plethora of water molecules trapped in the tetrahedron."

"Fascinating…" Weiss was honestly at a loss for words. However, a quick sniff of the air reminded her why she was here in the first place. "Kassidy, when was the last time you showered? Or ate, for that matter?"

"Um… what time is it, Bob?"

"Five thirty."

"There, I ate six hours ago. Not a problem."

"It's five thirty on Sunday evening."

"Oh." Kassidy looked blankly ahead. "Alright, so maybe slightly longer than six hours."

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. _Ugh, of course the dork would lose all track of time on something like this. Alright, Kassidy needs to go take care of herself and make herself presentable. But something needs to be done with this research… eh, can't be TOO hard to figure out, can it?_ "Give Bob to me. I'll make sure that your project's finished at this point. This is fascinating."

"Look, I appreciate it-"

"No, you're not talking your way out of this. You. Dinner. Shower. Bed. Now." Pointing sternly at the door leading out, Weiss made it clear that Kassidy's work here was done. The blonde looked down at her computer and closed her eyes, before shaking her head and walking out of the room. Sighing heavily, Weiss got to the task of picking up where her teammate left off. _A Remnant-shaking discovery, a guaranteed perfect grade for our project, AND something to appease Father when I get shipped back to Atlas for the summer? Yes please!_

* * *

(Perspective: Yang)

Yang leapt up on her bed before flopping back and starting up her fighting game. Finals were tomorrow, she had spent all weekend staring at books, and Dust-damnit if she wasn't going to get a break from the endless studying Weiss put her through. For the past week, it's been nothing but 'study this' and 'read that' and 'put that video game away'. _Seriously, Ice Queen has been putting us through the paces like a slave driver or something. It's not my fault studying is SO BORING! I'm not even in a real big danger of flunking my classes, so long as I don't horribly bomb the tests._

The door opened and closed, but Yang didn't get up to look. Judging from the lack of noise, Weiss was probably stopping in the room to drop her things off before heading for dinner. Ruby was practically incapable of being quiet, and Kassidy was usually chatting up Bob or doing something else that gave her away in the solitude of their dorm. _Speaking of K, she's been looking pretty ragged these past couple days. Maybe I should-_

Yang's thought process screeched to a halt as the distinctive sound of clothes hitting the floor was heard. A sound that was particularly odd, since she was pretty sure Weiss never changed in the middle of the room even when alone. Which means it had to be either Ruby or K in the room with her. Almost instinctually, Yang got up to see who it was, and regretted it instantly. She wasn't regretting the view, for obvious reasons. Scars aside, Kassidy had been putting in plenty of time at the gym during their time at Beacon, and it was starting to show; that chick had some good tone to her by now. But that doesn't change the fact that this was her partner, in her underwear, changing in the middle of the room, oblivious to Yang's presence. In addition to regretting a couple certain thoughts that were forcefully dismissed as quickly as they came, however, Yang also regretted the fact that she shot up so quickly she cracked her head on the ceiling. Muttering a soft curse and rubbing her scalp, she suddenly noticed the air became palpably tense.

"I'm not alone in here… am I?" _Dust, you can practically hear her blush. Should I…? Nah, she gives me enough teasing material as it is. Eh, one can't hurt._

"Nope. By the way, good work in the gym. It's really showing." Yang looked away, bit her lip and pondered if it was really wise to tease her partner in THAT way, before deciding the answer was no as a pillow flew up and clobbered her in the side of the head. A quick scurrying and a slamming door told the story of Kassidy dashing into the bathroom to finish changing. _Yeah, I shouldn't have done that. Great, now I gotta figure out how to make it up to her._

The bathroom door cracked open and admitted into the room a beet-faced Kassidy Smith. Almost numbly, she crossed the dorm and dumped her uniform into the hamper before sitting at her desk. Cracking open a book, Kassidy suddenly turned around and glared at Yang. "Not a word."

"Uh, right. Not mentioning it to anyone. That never happened." _Yeah, she definitely looks real tired. Maybe if… a-ha! I got it!_ "Hey, I know what'll cheer ya back up."

"What's that?"

"By getting something better to eat than that pathetic excuse of chicken noodle soup they're serving for dinner." Leaping down from her perch, Yang leaned on the bunks they had set up. "You look like you could use a break. Why don't we go find out what we have in our little kitchenette to cook up, and watch a movie or something?"

"Ugh, I dunno, Yang." Kassidy grabbed at her hair and tugged gently, a telltale sign she was reaching the end of her rope. Even her patience had its limits, after all. "We've got those exams tomorrow and I've practically gone cross-eyed staring at my notes but what if I don't do good enough and if I don't do good enough I'll flunk the exams and then I'll get kicked out and wow wouldn't that be embarrassing after having almost died so many times, I get kicked out of Beacon because of bad grades, especially so embarrassing considering how-"

"Hush." Yang leapt up and pressed a finger to her lips before wagging it gently. "Wow, I think I've only ever seen you this stressed out once before. Yeah, you definitely need a break. C'mon, put the books down and let's see what looks good to eat around here."

Kassidy sighed, before silently agreeing and shutting the textbook her nose had been glued to earlier. "Let's keep it simple if we can. I don't really feel like doing a whole lot of fancy stuff tonight."

"You and me both." The two quickly found themselves down the hall. Flinging open a cupboard in the kitchenette they shared with JNPR, Yang spied and claimed a bag of tortilla chips. "Hey, we wouldn't happen to have cheese, would we?"

"As a matter of fact, we do." Kassidy ducked out of the fridge to see what was up. "Oh, nachos? I approve. I think I saw some ground beef I can brown up in here too. Hmm… okay, Yang. Half used jar of sliced jalapenos: yea or nay on Nora pancake experiment?"

Yang chuckled to herself. She and Kassidy had a running game going as to whether random ingredients they found were a result of Nora's experiments to find out just what tasted good in pancakes, and what didn't. "I'm gonna have to say yea on that one."

"Damn, I was going to say that. Oh well, they're ours now. No chance in hell jalapeno pancakes are good anyway. Doing the poor girl a favor."

Twenty minutes later saw the two blondes back in their dorm, changed into sleepwear (with no accidental peeping this time), climbing onto Yang's bed as Kassidy started swiping through Bob to find something worth watching, and a big bowl of cheesy goodness in the middle. Yang reached to grab a chip, but Kassidy slapped it away. Looking at her partner in shock, Yang was surprised to see Kassidy wearing a smirk. "Careful, Yang. That's na-cho dinner."

Yang blinked before splitting into a grin of her own. "That was a real cheesy one, K."

"Well, look who finally decided to chip in." They started snickering, but were interrupted by a strange sound as Bob's display turned off.

Yang looked at it curiously. "Did he just-"

"Yup, he shut himself off. Guess he couldn't Yang in there with the puns." Pushing his on button, Kassidy waited for Bob to power back up… only for the computer to turn himself back off as soon as he turned on. "Well, fine, be a spoilsport. Looks like movies aren't happening, partner."

"Pfft, of course they are. That's why we have Scrolls." Deciding on some mindless action flick, the two blondes got to watching. Looking over, Yang was pleased to see that Kassidy had already visibly and measurably relaxed. _Glad to see you enjoying yourself so much, K. That's a cute smile you have there._

* * *

 **AN 2: So, while RWKY has been getting updated, RWBY Volume 4 has been getting updated at a rate of one actual episode to every three Worlds of Remnant. Yeah, it should be pretty obvious which camp I fall into on that particular issue. But, I'm digressing. Am I the only person to feel like RNJR completely forgot how to fight when Tyrian showed up? Dash in one at a time, swing lazily, don't bother dodging. For fuck's sake, I could've done a better job than that. Hell, Kassidy probably would've made a scorpion kabob. At least Qrow remains the show's resident badass. And goddamnit Ruby, are you TRYING to get someone killed? You're getting dangerously close to Blake as least favorite of Team RWBY with that stunt.**

 **/rant**

 **Super fast question for the lot of you: Kassidy's building a new gun. Consider this a contest as to who can come up with the best name for a high-caliber handgun. Winning name will be selected by me (not popular vote. What, did you think this was a democracy?) and revealed in Interlude 1 Chapter 4. Start submitting now; you have a week to convince me. Explanations as to why Kassidy would name it that get bonus points.**

 **Anyway, eight Reviewer Responses, coming right up.**

 **joltflier: Glad to hear you're enjoying it so much. Theme song? Not really, for a couple reasons. First and foremost being that I don't listen to all that much music, so the library I can pull from is rather limited. Secondly, it wouldn't have a lot of impact on the fic itself. I mean, other than maybe a reference, when would it even be mentioned? Don't take that to mean I don't think it's a fun idea. More partial to "Not Gonna Die" over "Awake and Alive" myself from your two choices.**

 **Baconlord53: Well, looks like you're going to be giving me a hard time in the future. Not anytime soon though, thankfully.**

 **AndJrew76: So glad everyone's liking the ending so much. Sorry, no Season 2 for a while now, but hopefully Interlude 1 will provide enough quality content to keep you entertained.**

 **AgentDraakis: Oh no, not the cradle! Yeah, Yang and Kassidy are just two peas in a pod, aren't they? Now I just need to get them in the same pod, err, I mean… moving on. Sorry I almost ruined your coffee (not really, as I can't stand the stuff myself). Considering you're the only vote to have come through, Interlude 1 it is! Velvet and Kassidy getting together? I can see that happening, though not for a while.**

 **James: Glad to hear it. Where we're going from here? Well, we're hopping on a boat for starters. I can personally guarantee that the Interludes will not have a major impact on plot for the story. As far as pacing is concerned, keep in mind the pacing may start picking up a bit. Before you crucify me, I have a good excuse: as far as the timeline is concerned, as far as I can tell Volume 1 takes place over the course of an entire semester. Volume 2 and 3, meanwhile, both take place over the same semester (and Volume 3 even ends before that semester does!). Given that I'm allotting four months for Volume 1, one month for Interlude 1, two months for Volume 2, three weeks for Interlude 2, and a whopping two weeks for Volume 3, I'm having Team Rookie follow as close to the canon timeframe as I can estimate. I.E. Volume One will last as long as RWBY V1, Volume Two will last as long as RWBY V2, etc.**

 **mcd3424: If you think that was sweet, prepare for diabeetus. Interludes are focused almost none on plot and almost all on fluff/etc. Garand's not getting fixed, but don't count it out just yet! I've still got big plans for that old rifle of hers.**

 **Guest: Awesome that you like it so much.**

 **Tykene: Sucks about the flu, man. Glad to hear you got better so quickly. Ehhhhhhh, I actually have to disagree with government staying out of science, as long as it's done right (i.e. leave science to sciency people), case in point NASA. Team Rookie is staying here for a good while now. Into the Jungle is on the back burner for now, despite the fact that it's basically half written, so I wouldn't count on it anytime soon.**


	46. I1C2: Slices and Slices

**Interlude 1 Chapter 2: Slices and Slices**

 **AN: Good news for you guys: apparently word got out among the folks that I've taken up writing as a hobby. While they still haven't read it (and can't say I blame them, fan fiction isn't really their cup of tea), one of my Christmas gifts happened to be a guide to character expression. Perfect timing too, what with getting Molotov Cocktail rolling. If all goes well the quality of character interactions should be going up.**

 **Also, the gun naming competition just got pushed back a few chapters. I realized I timed some of it wrong when I wrote that the name would be revealed by chapter 4. Expect it instead to be revealed around chapter 6 or 7, really depends on how I write those particular chapters. FYI, current favorites are "Yin", "Soulburn", and "SIQEL". Also, the best I've been able to come up with is "Lamentation", and thus is in the running too because I'm a self-important prick like that. Probably not going to win, though.**

 **It's time for final exams! And there's one in particular Kassidy isn't looking forward too. After that, though… well, even superpowered teenaged Huntsmen-in-training need to let off some steam every now and then. And what better way than with pizza?**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Today was the final day of the semester. And, of course, that meant one thing: final exams. The bane of every college student seemed to strike no matter which planet you were on and no matter what you were studying for. Whether it was programming computers or slaying creatures of darkness, it seemed to be an inevitability that you would find yourself seated at a bench, staring at roughly a dozen pages of questions, while a professor with far too much facial hair and far too much eagerness to share boring stories watched on. Eventually, however, even these must come to an end as Kassidy handed in her exam while brushing her rapidly growing bangs out of her face for what felt like the three dozenth time. _Ugh, chemistry around these parts is the WORST with all these different names. It's like writing a research paper in Pig Latin. Actually, I'm pretty sure that would be easier than translating all the different names and formulae. And of course, Yang insists on ruining my bun as per usual so I can't keep my hair out of the way._

"Remnant to K. Remnant to K. You there, partner?" A hand waving in her face brought her out of her thoughts and back to the lunch table teams RWKY and JNPR were seated at. "There we are. Was wondering if I'd have to get a search party together or something and go after ya."

"I'd not recommend that. You don't want to know what's bouncing around up in that brain of mine." Stabbing her lasagna, she added, "Just got some concerns over that previous exam. Pretty sure if I forgot to translate the names again, I won't have an easy time convincing Peach to give me the credit."

"S-so the final spars of Professor Goodwitch's exams are coming up after lunch. Do you have an idea as to who you're going to be fighting, Kassidy?" Pyrrha's attempt to inject new life into the conversation would've been admirable if the answer wasn't painfully obvious. Glynda had been doing her best to make sure only students of similar power faced off against each other. And, of course, it was Jaune and Kassidy that were tied for having the worst records in the class. _Boy, am I not looking forward to that fight._

"I've got a pretty good idea." Kassidy tucked back into her lunch and decided it better to not stir the pot any more than necessary. Mercifully, the conversation drifted away from her at that point, leaving her alone to her thoughts once more. As the eight teens finished their lunches and went their separate ways to change for Combat Training, Kassidy's thoughts continued to drift towards her upcoming fight, as well as her inevitable opponent. Jaune Arc was, paradoxically, the hardest opponent she's ever had to spar against.

It obviously wasn't that he outclassed her in skill. Surprisingly, however, they were fairly even: Kassidy might have more finesse over her blade, but Jaune was just as competent in his own sword and had been doing this for longer. Kassidy was one of the few people in their class that Jaune could outmuscle, and the boy had a size and reach advantage as well. Of course, in Kassidy's favor, she could run circles around him and had several times his stamina. In theory, she should have the advantage overall in their fight… if it wasn't for goddamn Aura ruining her day yet again. The forcefield that kept all her peers safe from harm changed everything in any fight, and it didn't help matters that Jaune seemed to have more of it than anyone else. Even without his shield, trying to take his Aura into the red was like trying to knock over a brick wall by hitting it repeatedly with her head. With his shield? She might as well try to blow up a tank with a pistol. And unlike Tom Hanks, Kassidy didn't have a Mustang available to drop a bomb on Jaune whenever she needed it.

"For our first exam of the day, may Jaune Arc and Kassidy Smith take the floor?" _Well, won't have to wait much longer to figure who's the best worst fighter in the class._ Grabbing a training sword, she looked across the stage to watch Jaune deploy his shield, while substituting the sword component of Crocera Mors for another training blade. She rolled her shoulders as her gaze darted between Glynda and Jaune. _Alright, how do I want to do this? The longer we go on, the better the chances I have. Need to stay mobile, can't let him pin me down. Gonna be tricky, what with his recent strategy of 'apply face to enemy' he's pulled the last two times we sparred._

"So, uh… you ready, Kass?" Jaune had a nervous grin on as he took his ready position.

"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

"BEGIN!" After Glynda barked for the match to start, Kassidy waited for Jaune's inevitable charge before rolling out of the way at the last moment and swinging for the backs of his knees as hard as she could. Jaune staggered a bit, but otherwise seemed to completely ignore the blow. Quickly hopping front and center, he shoved his shield in her face while trying to swing his sword around, hoping to hit something important. _Barely fifteen seconds in and this is already doomed to end the same way it always does: with him sitting on my face with his shield until he hits me enough times that Glynda calls it. Need to think of something fast if I'm gonna go for a different outcome._

 _I learned how to fight dirty for a reason. Two rules: what you can do to the other guy, and what you can keep the other guy from doing to you._ "Just want to make sure, Jaune… what happens in this ring stays in this ring, right? No hard feelings?"

Jaune paused long enough to allow her to make some space. "Uh, I don't think I should say yes since you're asking that." He hastily added on with a chuckle, "Nah, we're cool."

A few people, Jaune included, let out soft gasps when Kassidy chucked her sword to the side and dropped into a boxer's stance she learned from Yang. Trying to get the initiative back quickly, Jaune rushed in for a shield bash. She crossed her arms in front of her and absorbed the blow head on, losing the contest of strength but absorbing the momentum as she needed to. When he pulled the shield back into a guard, she then spat in his face. Distracted, Jaune swung his sword in her general direction, which was just what she was looking for. Grabbing his wrist, Kassidy yanked it out and brought her other arm down hard on his elbow. _Attacking the joints always is the best way to deal with a superior foe._ She quickly brought the limb behind his back into a hammerlock and started wrenching at the shoulder joint.

 _Well, this is going better than previous bouts. Wait, why is his arm glowing white again? Oh, right, Aura. Which means… oh shit._ Oh shit, indeed, as Jaune flooded his pinned limb with extra strength and broke out of the hold, smashing her in the chest with his shield for good measure. Collecting her sword back, they both took a moment to regather themselves, and Kassidy took a look at the scoreboard. _Still at eighty seven percent?! What the hell? Just how much of this Aura bullshit does Jaune even have?!_ Bringing her focus back to the fight, Kassidy rolled under another shield charge and started swinging like a madwoman on his exposed back for all of the three seconds it took him to bring his shield back around. Deeming this was the best chance she had, Kassidy continued to backpedal, baiting Jaune into shield charges that she then dodged and countered.

A few minutes of this later, and Jaune didn't charge her this time. A quick glance to the scoreboard revealed his Aura to… still be at seventy percent. Fortunately for her, it appeared that he wasn't doing nearly as well in the stamina department. Planting the tip of his sword on the ground and leaning on it to catch his breath, Jaune looked at her through the mess of blonde hair dripping with sweat. "Y'know, this kind of fight doesn't really seem fair."

Kassidy's reply was clipped and tense. "You're one to talk. You ever tried punching a brick wall to death? I've gotten closer to doing that than I have knocking your Aura down."

Jaune chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I imagine this is a bit annoying for you to deal with. Probably be even more annoying if you weren't fitter than a horse.

Kassidy had decided a little bit ago that Jaune had enough of a break to catch his breath, in fact that was the one thing she didn't want him to do. But that damned shield was just one complication too many. She can beat him in swordfighting – not easily, but she can. Even the Aura, she can wear down over time; a very long time, but it was still doable. She needed to figure out how to get Crocera Mors out of his grip, and she needed to figure that out yesterday.

Her impromptu strategy session was interrupted, however, when Jaune yelled again and charged forward. However, this time he was sloppy, with his shield not covering everything it needed to. Rather than rolling around him, Kassidy instead dropped to the side and smashed her leg into his shins, tripping him up. While he was still falling, she brought her training sword down hard across his forehead before retreating across the arena. _Sixty seven percent Aura, that hit did a lot more than all the others. At this rate I might actually have a chance._ He charged again, his form was sloppy again, and Kassidy dropped again, fully expecting to trip him up.

Unfortunately for her, she forgot that the eyepatch left her with a rather large blind spot. A blind spot that was take advantage of as the shield came crashing into her temple and sent her tumbling across the floor. A brief flash of light encompassed her vision, her head started ringing, and next thing she knew she was looking up at Yang waving her hand in her face.

"Oh, good, she's back." Yang's voice made her hearing suddenly rush back to her. Yang let out a breath she had been holding, before sticking her hand in Kassidy's face again and asking, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Kassidy rolled her eye, slightly wincing at the minor migraine the action induced. "Seven and a half." Yang gawked and made to argue with her, but Kassidy cut her off. "Vomit Boy there might've gotten a mean swing, but it's still gonna take more than that to give me a concussion. I'm fine." Accepting a hand up, she was soon seated to watch the last two exams of the class, which proved to be greatly entertaining as they pitted Yang against Nora (which ended with Yang punching Nora through a pillar and into the stands), and Weiss against Pyrrha (which surprisingly ended with Weiss catching Pyrrha in a restraining glyph and then pinballing her across the arena).

* * *

Pulling the final cheese and meat covered disc out of the oven, Kassidy and Ren piled it on the cart with the other nine. RWKY and JNPR were all too eager to have another pizza party to celebrate the end of the semester. For the next month, no more exams, no more classes, no more enormously embellished stories or highly energetic professors, and definitely no more getting punched or smashed through walls. Kassidy took a moment, as they were walking back to the dorms, to appreciate that her body wasn't obliterated by now. To the contrary, she had felt more flexible than ever once Narud's treatments fixed the whole 'internal organs are more scar tissue than not' problem she had. She had fewer aches and pains moving around. In short, Kassidy was in the best shape she's ever been in.

Her newly grown eye itched under its patch. _Well, I'll be in good shape once I peel this thing off. And I know just how to make it memorable, too._

"Is there a particular reason you haven't removed your eye patch yet, Kassidy? Or did I incorrectly assume that it healed properly?"

"No, Ren, you didn't incorrectly assume. I just got a good idea." Kassidy flashed him a toothy grin, which made him pale slightly. "Don't go ruining the joke now, okay?"

The two quieter members of their respective teams were treated once again to Yang and Nora having broken Weiss' desk over an arm wrestling competition. It seems that even with this only being the second occurrence, and with a period of two months between occurrences, it was already an established tradition that Yang and Nora were breaking something before a pizza party.

"What's up, Weiss? You didn't try to stop them from breaking your desk – again, I might add?"

"Oh hush, Kassidy." Weiss huffed and crossed her arms while glaring at the perpetrators. "You do remember what happened the last time I tried to stop those two from doing something, don't you? I never thought I would ever want to fight an Ursa unarmed rather than do anything."

"Quit being such a baby, Weiss!" Nora cackled after winning this particular round against Yang. Apparently the allure of pizza was enough to get the girl to end the match quickly as she raced over and practically vibrated in place in front of Kassidy. "Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

"Okay, Nora, okay! Here's your bacon, pepperoni, and maple syrup pizza. I still have no idea how you found that appetizing last time, but alright." Kassidy and Ren quickly distributed everyone's meals, then found places to sit at themselves.

"Hey, uh, Kass, weren't you supposed to get your eye checked by Narud this afternoon?"

"Yes, Ruby, I was."

"Oh." Ruby poked her fingers together nervously. "Did it not go well?"

 _And here we go._ Kassidy bit back a smile and shrugged. "Eh, went well enough I guess. Though I'm not convinced… nah, it's probably fine."

"Did something go wrong?"

Kassidy actually laughed at that one. "Pyrrha, dear, it's me we're talking about. Of course something went wrong." A few nervous chuckles sounded through the room before Kassidy waved them off. "Nah, I'm fine. I think. It's just that… actually, Weiss, could I get your opinion on something?"

Weiss flipped her hair over her shoulder, taking care not to get sauce on anything, before meeting Kassidy's eye with a smug grin. "Of course. I would be all too happy to give such a friend as yourself some of my knowledge."

Much of the room stared at her slack-jawed. Someone muttered something about how she was actually being serious, but Kassidy quickly shook her head and brought things back on topic. "It's just, I don't know. I've got something strange, and I can't tell if it's supposed to be normal or if it'll just go away on its own or what. Think you could take a look?"

Weiss instantly stopped halfway through taking a delicate bite and looked at her incredulously. "Let me get this straight. You can't tell if something is wrong with your eye."

"Yup."

"So, instead of asking literally anybody who could stomach a potentially disgusting sight, or heaven forbid Doctor Narud…"

"Uh-huh."

"You decide to ask me. Am I hearing this right?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "Alright, fine, come over here."

 _This is too perfect._ Making her way across the room, Kassidy knelt to get on eye level with Weiss. She tried not making eye contact with Kassidy while her hands inched forwards slowly and jerkily. _This is going to be so good. I'll probably get frozen to the floor until next semester, but it'll be worth it._ As soon as Weiss lifted the patch up, Kassidy picked the moment to launch her scare, jumping at Weiss and screeching.

Weiss' screech, however, was far more entertaining and several measures higher in decibel level. Kassidy was quickly joined on the floor by Yang and Nora, the three clutching their stomachs and laughing like madwomen. The patch had flipped up, revealing a perfectly healed and intact eyeball shining with mirth. Her fun soon ended, however, when a glyph glued her to the floor with Weiss standing above her, cheeks a rosy red as she sputtered.

"You… you… I don't… ugh… you CHILDREN! How have you survived being on my team all this time? What could have possibly possessed you to think that was a good idea?"

"I thought it'd be a good idea because it'd be hilarious. Duh."

"I am going to bury you alive, Kassidy Smith. Mark my words. They'll never find your body."

Yang snickered at the byplay. "Geez, Weissy, how about telling her how you really feel?"

Ren cleared his throat and the tension. "Now that I know what joke I wasn't supposed to be interrupting-"

"Wait, you were in on this?!"

"I can assure you that I was not, Weiss. Anyways, this still doesn't explain why we made two extra pizzas."

Finally being let up to return to her dinner, Kassidy flashed another toothy grin. "Don't you worry about that. The situation should resolve itself here in a minute or two."

"Yes, it will. By me." The door opened once again to admit Glynda Goodwitch with arms crossed and eyes flashing. "How is it that you eight seem to generate more noise complaints than every other team in your year put together?"

"Probably because they don't know the cheesy glory that is pizza." Kassidy smirked at her, but withered under her glare. "Okay, not in a joking mood, I see. By the way, the two pizzas I owe you are there. Still hot, even."

"So I see." Taking a slice and biting into it, the professor let out an impressed hum. "Very well. Carry on, then." Glynda then turned around and left with both pizzas.

"Wow…" Jaune stared at the door, jaw slack. "So what I got out of that is, we can do whatever we want as long as we bribe Glynda with pizza. Right?"

Ren shrugged and gave a simple, "I don't think we should test that theory," before returning to his pizza.

"I calculate a one hundred percent chance of failure over the long term if you elect to pursue that strategy."

"Of course you do, Bob. Of course you do." The next ten minutes were spent mostly with the teenagers stuffing their faces, and making small talk when their mouths weren't full. In due time, however, all eight of them set their plates aside with bellies full of cheese, meat, and veggies. Kassidy was the first to break the silence. "So, one semester down, seven to go. How're we all feeling so far?"

"Well…" Ruby stuck her tongue out in thought. "I mean, things have been kinda good for the most part. Sure, we've kinda sorta almost died a couple times, but we came through it alright in the end. I'm still kinda young, the classes are a bit hard, and I'm still not that great a leader…"

"Nuh-uh, we've talked about this, sis. You're doing a great job as a leader."

"Yang's right." Jaune threw in his two Lien. "You guys are awesome. Like, really great as a team. I'm pretty sure the only reason I look like half the leader you do is because I've got such an awesome team."

"You do a great job too, Jaune." Pyrrha smiled and laid a hand on his shoulder.

Ruby grinned goofily at him. "Yeah, you do. So, uh, yeah. Oh, I made a bunch of cool friends! You guys rock, I don't know what I'd do without all of you." Leaning over the edge of her bed to look at Weiss, she added, "Yes, even you Ice Queen."

"Hey!" This time, however, Weiss actually recognized the joking nature of the jab, and she let it drop at that. "Well, let's see. I'm at the top of the class when it comes to the lectures, and near the top of the class in combat training. Our team has been performing solidly across all fronts – yes, even you, Kassidy – and we've only had one major scandal so far, which I believe we can trust to not rear its ugly head again. All in all, I would consider my first semester a success."

Yang flopped back on her bed with a goofy grin and summarized her thoughts in three words. "Beacon. Is. Awesome."

"It sure is." Jaune leaned back in his chair as he thought for a bit. "I mean, let's be honest, I really, REALLY didn't belong here when we started. Heck, I didn't even know what Aura was. But Beacon is awesome, and you guys are awesome. Y'know, I think I might actually have a fair chance at this Huntsman business with you guys helping me out."

"And we'll be there for you every step of the way." _Wow, okay Pyrrha, even I'm not that dense. Someone's into tall, blonde and scraggly, as Weiss would put it._ Stretching her arms, Pyrrha added, "I feel so incredibly blessed to have the friends I do. Truly, you seven have made my time here wonderful, and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"It's been a long journey, and we have more and longer journeys ahead of us. But we'll be able to deal with it, together." A few people were impressed at the words Ren spoke.

So, of course, Nora had to make up for the monotone and lack of excitement. "Look out Grimm! Rookie and Juniper are coming for your tails!"

After recovering from a bad case of the giggles, Yang's head leaned over the bed, blonde hair nearly scraping the ground as she looked upside down at her partner. "How about you, K? What're your thoughts about things here?"

"Well, you mean other than how routinely you guys break the laws of physics and biology? Or other than the fact that the Grimm shouldn't be biologically possible? Eh, I have a bunch of thoughts." Yang rolled her hand and prompted her to go on, and Kassidy's posture fell as she sighed. "Not sure. We've had a bunch of ups and downs. Some pretty big downs…"

"And some big ups, too!" Ruby added with a big smile.

Kassidy chuckled a little bit, sitting up a little straighter. "Yeah, some of those as well. I somehow haven't died yet, so there's that. I guess I'm just happy that I don't have to spend every day worrying about every little thing, y'know? For so long, I've kinda been fighting everything and everyone. It's nice to have some people I can actually trust."

"I hear ya, partner."

The room descended into anarchy again as three separate conversations began at once. Kassidy just watched it all from her bed, a small smile on her lips. She would've been perfectly content to just watch everything, but then someone made the fatal mistake of hitting Weiss with a pillow. _Pillow fight to end the semester? Is that even a thing?_ Her thoughts were interrupted when another pillow hit her in the face. Looking around, she saw Yang doubled over, snickering and pointing at her face. _Yeah, it's definitely a thing now. You shall pay for your treachery, Yang!_

And so the semester ended, with eight teenagers with varying degrees of willingness to participate in a pillow fight duking it out. They forgot for a time that they were the next generation of warriors being trained to fight unending hordes of evil, instead clobbering each other with feather-filled sacks like the kids they still were.

"Well, you've come this far Kassidy," Bob muttered to himself. "Glad to be around for the ride. Shame I didn't bring any entertainment for myself. I've come across some references to some decent animated internet shows. Oh well, I was only allowed to take useful stuff after all."

* * *

 **AN 2: So, it turns out this was the last chapter I had in storage while I was busy screwing around with other stuff. Might want to get back to writing. Anyway, unless I can think of anything to talk about between now and Friday, let's move on to Reviewer Responses.**

 **Next chapter: What Kassidy's new gun is gets revealed (not the name, though). Also, heart to heart with Ice Queen.**

 **EWR115: Ah, Mustang and Sally, the third best weapons in COD Zombies (other than the ray gun and thundergun, obviously). Can't really say that Kassidy's played much of any videogame though, never mind COD, so unfortunately no can do.**

 **Captain marvel 36: Color me intrigued with your name submission, but there was just too much in the way of competition. Sorry. And thanks for the favorite and the compliment, I do try my best to fill in the gaps that the show left. Even if there was two or three times I had a three week timeskip, though I try to keep those to a minimum as that's a hell of a lot of time for someone to just leave.**

 **James: "Big Daddy" is definitely interesting (Bioshock reference, or am I confusing video game series that I haven't played again?), but unfortunately it has some stiff competition. Also, while I wholeheartedly approve of "Noisy Cricket", not only would I doubt that Kassidy has seen Men in Black, her gun is absolutely not small. Not only do I agree that Kassidy wouldn't name a weapon on her own, but it was even my plans to have Ruby/Yang talk her into naming it. Are you sure you're not peeking at the Team Rookie Road Map™?**

 **mcd3424: "Soulburn" caught my interest as something she might come up with. "Sunshine", while nice, I don't think Kassidy realizes how much she likes Yang yet that she'll flat out name her gun after her partner. And unfortunately, Rule of Cool isn't enough to make Kassidy name her gun those, the names do need to have a personal touch to it after all.**

 **AgentDraakis: Gotta admit, while I don't think she'd name the gun "Pacifier", I laughed my ass off on that one on how true it is. "Yin" drew my eye as it isn't as much an overt reference to Yang (pretty sure nobody on Remnant knows what Taoism is). The other two were nice, but unfortunately had some stiff competition. Nope, Blake's hiding for a while, sorry. She's off learning how to be more to the show other than 'plot device'. Ruby and Kassidy are kinda cute together, aren't they? Of course Weiss would help a friend in need, what could possibly make you doubt that? And if it helps her out at the same time, all the better, amirite? I'd advise taking some insulin along with those tissues, one of my goals for the interlude is giving everyone diabeetus.**

 **Guest: The name had some stiff competition, but after looking up the gun… hot damn, dude, now that is a gun! That's definitely the kind of size we're talking about here! Not a revolver, but still, wow. Good find/mention.**

 **Baconlord53: "Hard Time" is gonna have a hard time unfortunately. (Cries of 'damnit Barb' in the distance). Some stiff competition in the names department.**

 **AndJrew76: I shall endeavor to keep up the good work my man. Glad to hear you're still enjoying everything.**

 **Psychomidget1: "Calamity" is an awesome name, I'll give you that. It just barely got edged out, though. Final Fantasy, huh? Is the new one good by any chance? Unfortunately, I've only heard nothing but bad things about the series after like number seven or so.**

 **Tykene: This right here just might win. Still got time to go (and a lot more time now), but that was great. Kudos to you.**

 **GuyFromPandora: I can totally see that, but there's a whole lot of competition here. Sorry. Glad to hear you're enjoying it so much, I'll do my best to keep up the quality in the fic.**

 **shamwoohoo52: While I didn't have plans for that initially… that sounds like an excellent idea. Well, bits of it anyway. Won't be exactly how you asked, but let it be known that the girls will be watching more Marvel. As for Blake… this is a different Blake. One that feels that the White Fang, while indeed doing terrible things, are completely justified. And while yeah, I will happily admit that there were probably better ways to swap them, I do have a particular idea in mind with those two come the end of everything.**

 **RagingKey: Interesting names, unfortunately they had some stiff competition. Sorry.**


	47. I1C3: Ice Queen

**Interlude 1 Chapter 3: Ice Queen**

 **AN: Want to say quickly that fanfiction's website has messed up again, and I haven't gotten any updates in regards to the story ever since yesterday. So if I missed any reviews, sorry about that, I'll be sure to hit you guys I missed next chapter.**

 **Summer break's here, and the vast majority of Beacon faculty and students have already left for the month-long vacation. With Team Rookie being at half strength, how does Kassidy get along with a certain heiress? Also, more pseudoscience! If you missed it, hopefully you get your dose here. However, this time I put a decent amount of research into sounding at least somewhat intelligent. Still, don't use this chapter as a guide for how to design your own handgun, because that's a terrible idea. Seriously, who would use a fanfiction story for weapons advice?**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Noon found Kassidy in a formerly neglected friend of hers, the school's workshop. Other than restocking her ammunition, she never really had time to work on any new gear after the first month of school, and it was showing. Her grappling bracer needed recalibrated, Bob needed to be thoroughly cleaned and maintained, and then there was a new project she was working on. With her new 'friends' in the town of Vale proper, as well as a decent amount of funds, she was actually able to use more than scrapped electronics in her work, and as such putting the finishing touches on infrared-vision goggles was relatively simple. _There, I don't need to be jealous of the Faunus anymore. You're not the only ones with night vision now!_

That was several hours ago, however, and even as happy as she was about it, it still only served as a distraction from her main project, something she had been working on for the past two weeks with little success. Heck, she hadn't even gotten past the planning stages for her new firearm. After all, it wasn't exactly a small matter to design a pistol with the stopping power of her Garand, at least at close range. However, after a couple weeks of minor tinkering, heavy simulation running on Bob's part, and more reading than she gave her finals studying, Kassidy was pretty sure she almost had the plans solid.

Why the decision to carry a handgun with the power of a rifle at close range? Kassidy noticed that throughout the semester her engagements with the Grimm were, despite her desires, at close range, rarely requiring shots out past fifty yards. At such close ranges, the extra size of her rifle was a bigger detriment than its long range capabilities were an asset. But her pistol hadn't had killing power on even the smallest Grimm until they were right on top of her – Kassidy wanted some reach to her firearm. But there were numerous problems with designing such a pistol: the issues of weight and recoil. A lot goes into propelling a .45 caliber bullet to a thousand feet per second without destroying the bullet, the gun or the person shooting it. Most of that 'a lot' involved alien Dust magic and a bunch of other crap that she didn't even pretend to understand.

Despite it all, she had mostly gotten it designed, albeit with quite a bit of what would probably be described as cheating by an actual firearms designer. Much of it involved designing custom bullets that had improve aerodynamics (only possible thanks to a slew of simulations on the part of Bob) and a stronger casing that could handle the force of a fire Dust propellant, with a healthy helping of making the gun itself out of a Dust-infused steel alloy that can deal with the forces the high-powered ammunition brought to the table without weighing twenty five pounds. The plans were almost finished. Almost.

Snarling, Kassidy slammed the door to the workshop she was in and all but ran to the library, her latest recoil dampening mechanism test a failure. Her gun can handle the forces at play, but her wrist can't. Given her desire to not have a broken arm every time she fired her gun, it was obviously necessary to conduct more research. She was so distracted that, rounding a corner of shelving, she didn't notice that she almost barreled Weiss over.

"You dork, watch where you're going!" Weiss' admonishment fell on deaf ears, however, as Kassidy ripped a rolling ladder from its current place and brought it over to where she needed it to reach the topmost shelf that contained recoil mechanics. If she were of a clearer mind, Kassidy would've been curious as to just how many topics of study the library had books on. As it was, she found herself clenching her jaw when she found Weiss blocking her path back to the tables.

Despite her best efforts, annoyance found its way into her voice. "You need something, Weiss? Sorry, I'm kind of busy right now, so if you could excuse – hey, give that back!" Kassidy lunged for the book that Weiss had taken from her stack, only to drop the other three she was carrying.

"Recoil mechanics, huh? Finally started working on a replacement weapon? Here, let me help with those."

Kassidy hissed, "What do you mean, finally? Been working on it for the past couple weeks, pretty much ever since you took over my applied chem project for me." Suddenly remembering something, her voice cooled down instantly. "By the way, thanks for that."

"Not a problem." Weiss' brow furrowed in thought for a moment as she followed Kassidy to one of the library tables. "I take it you're not having much luck?"

"Who do you think I am, Ruby?" Kassidy snorted, and Weiss chuckled a couple times. "I can't get this stupid recoil dampener to work. My gun's got so much kick behind it that it'll snap my wrist if I try to shoot it as is. But I can't come up with a recoil delay that can save both my wrist and my weapon's power, while also fitting in the damn thing."

"May I see what you've come up with so far?" Sighing, Kassidy handed Bob over while digging into one of the books she picked up and leafing through the pages to find where she left off an hour ago. Meanwhile, Weiss scrutinized the schematics in front of her, making a few hums along the way. After about a few minutes of mostly silence on their part, Weiss spoke up. "Not bad at all. Though, if you're going for this much power, how come you're not using a revolver design?"

Kassidy raised an eyebrow at her. "Because it'd be even more of a nightmare to fit the recoil delay in a revolver, not to mention that I absolutely do not want to deal with having to reload one of those things in the middle of a fight."

"You could use a speedloader."

"Which is limited by how many speedloaders I have."

"Ah." Weiss seemed to make a few calculations in her head, then looked back at the design and nodded. "How come you don't just use a rotating bolt? I mean, sure, you'd need to infuse it with Dust to handle this kind of pressure, but it's easily doable."

"Weiss, how am I going to fit a gas-operated mechanism into a pistol? Rotating bolts are only found on rifles for a reason."

Bob stepped in to correct her. "Actually, the Desert Eagle also uses – err, used – a gas-operated mechanism with a rotating bolt. Many of the design elements between the two weapons are actually similar, even if your proposed design does incorporate Remnant technologies and design elements to allow a higher kinetic energy from its projectiles. Would you like me to start pulling up design specifications to compare?"

Kassidy leaned back in her chair for a moment, closing her eyes as she thought. From all the reading she's done the past couple days on recoil dampeners, a rotating bolt could fit the bill, if it would only fit in the damn thing. If it could fit in a similar gun, then why not here? She was more impressed, however, that Bob actually had the design specifications of a particular handgun. Sure, she told him to download everything that could be useful from the internet, but he'd proven more than once that he pulled not just from the internet, but every computer system his electronic hands could get a hold of. It still surprised her just how much knowledge she had access to at a whim.

"Are you alright, Kassidy?" Opening her eyes, she saw Weiss looking at her with a searching gaze.

"Just fine. Yeah, Bob, that sounds like a good idea. Go ahead."

"Accessing… oh, right. Could you be a dear and grab hard drive thirteen for me, please?"

Sighing, Kassidy scooted her chair back and made to stand up. She muttered, "Still not sure how I'm going to pay for all of this."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm sure it can't be that much for me to fund."

At Weiss' statement, she tripped over the chair and faceplanted into the carpet even as her eyes tried to fly out of her head. Looking up without even bothering to stand up, Kassidy managed to choke out, "What?"

"I said don't worry about it." Finally looking up from Bob, Weiss arched an eyebrow at Kassidy's situation. "What?"

Kassidy's jaw hung slack for a moment. "What do you mean, 'what'? You just offered to bankroll my new weapon."

"Yes, and?" Weiss frowned and creased her eyebrows as the girl across from her started sputtering. Counting on her fingers as if there wasn't a care in the world, she started, "One, you're acting like I can't do nice things for my friends from time to time. Consider this your early birthday gift from me. Two, you're acting like this isn't pocket change for the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. Three, I… must admit to being used to having you around, and at this point I'd rather not go through the hassle of replacing a teammate. And four, some of the researchers in the SDC are working on a higher-powered pistol design. If you let them use this, well, forget me paying for it. They just might pay you."

For her part, Kassidy's mind was reeling at the fact that not only was Weiss willing to drop several thousand Lien on a whim, but that the SDC just might pay her to build it for her. Now, she wasn't naïve – Kassidy knew damn well that the company would likely make millions selling it to the Atlas military if it passed trials; if it were to go as promised, the Schnees wouldn't be doing this out of the goodness in their hearts. Still, it's not like she had her own plans to get into the firearms manufacturing business. Really, there was only one con she could think of.

"If I get shot at by one of these, I'm blaming you."

Weiss pulled into a knowing smirk. "Naturally. Now, quit sitting and go get that hard drive. I have some phone calls to make."

Kassidy wasn't sure if it was Yang's impact on her personality over the past few months, or if it was her usual sense of humor that she'd completely forgotten about, but she felt an impulse and decided to act on it. Jumping to her feet and dipping into a deep bow, she mocked, "Yes, Madame Schnee. Whatever you say, Madame Schnee." Weiss' face fell for the briefest of moments, but she schooled it back to her normal expression that most people would have missed it. Kassidy, however, was not most people. "Hey, Weiss, is something wrong?"

Sighing and giving up on perfect posture as she leaned back, Weiss clapped a hand across her forehead. "Just… in a couple days' time I'm going to be shipped back to Atlas, where I get to look forward to three weeks of nothing but 'Madame Schnee'. Can we please just stick with Weiss for the time being?"

"Sure thing, Ice Queen." Kassidy grinned at her, but faltered as Weiss fixed a glare on her. She took a few steps back, remarked, "And that's my cue to go get that hard drive," and walked out the library.

* * *

"Thank you for making these, Kassidy. I must say, you've been spending quite a bit of time cooking for us ever since the school's kitchen closed for the summer."

Kassidy gave a small smile as she set down a pair of chicken alfredo dishes. "Yeah, I guess I kinda forgot how much I like cooking. Thanks for getting the ingredients."

As she sat down to her own dinner, Kassidy took a tentative bite. _Too much salt. Chicken's a tad over, pasta a tad under._ Weiss echoed after her first bite, "A bit too much salt, and the chicken's slightly dry. But not bad at all. I can't really expect you to compete with the cooking staff back at Atlas or the ingredients they have access to, but this is still good regardless."

"Glad I could please your sophisticated palate." The conversation paused as the two girls began to put away their food. Naturally, Kassidy looked like she would be the first to finish, though this would've seen surprising to most considering that the blonde had literally three times as much food as her teammate.

Weiss took a break to comment on the matter. "Do you really have to eat so quickly? You're going to choke yourself one of these days. It's not as if anyone is going to take your food out from in front of you." Kassidy looked up from her food, which made Weiss scoff lightly. "And look at all that sauce on your face! Are you completely incapable of being civilized?"

"Pretty much."

Weiss sighed and shook her head as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please, don't talk with your mouth full in my presence again. And, while you're at it, wipe your face off. I swear, this is why we can't take you places."

"Well, since you asked so nicely," Kassidy chuckled. However, she indeed wipe off and put a little effort into making herself presentable.

"So…" Weiss shifted in her seat as she frowned at her meal. "Where did you learn to cook?"

"Back home." Kassidy's voice and face fell at the words. _Always good times back home. So why do I always get so messed up whenever it comes up?_ She started at the sensation of a hand on hers. Looking up, she found Weiss leaning across the table and biting her lip. She could already guess what her teammate was about to say. "I'm fine, Weiss. I just don't really understand why I get so sad and mopey and crap whenever I start talking about home. I mean, those are supposed to be happy memories, right?"

"Yes, I suppose they are…" Weiss' own voice trailed off as her eyes clouded over and she stared a hole into the wall behind Kassidy.

"Alright, Weissicle, what's up?"

Weiss snapped back to the present and focused a glare on Kassidy. "I swear, you and your nicknames…"

"Hey!" Kassidy exclaimed. "That one was Yang's and you know it."

"That doesn't excuse you from using such childish references to other people! Especially me!"

"Especially you?" Kassidy felt her chest tighten even as her lips thinned into a line. Every single time those words were said on Weiss' part, there was guaranteed to only be two possible outcomes. Either it would turn into a joke, Weiss would recognize it, and after a couple jabs everything would boil back down. Or, the more common option, things would escalate into a shouting match that tended to involve daddy's money and dead relatives. When she and Weiss truly argued, it was a frightful affair that not even Yang was bold enough to step in the middle of. And the last thing Kassidy wanted after a good meal was a shouting match with her teammate.

"You know what? Forget it. We're not having that argument again." Fortunately, it seems that Weiss was equally disinterested in a yelling competition.

Kassidy leaned back and gazed into the distance while she thought for a bit. Eventually, a peculiar thought crossed her mind. "Hey, change of topic. Not that I don't mind the company, but I'm honestly a bit surprised you aren't in Atlas for the summer."

Weiss took a sip from a small cup of coffee that, at least from Kassidy's viewpoint, seemed to materialize out of thin air whenever she wanted it. "Yes, I'm actually a bit surprised as well that it's taken as long as it has to get one of our private airships out to Beacon. Although, I was significantly less surprised about it when I found out that Winter will be the one taking me back over the course of one of her leaves from the Atlesian military. Regardless, I leave in a couple days."

"Your big sister?" Weiss nodded, and Kassidy chuckled. "Oh boy, good thing she waited to get here. God knows what Yang would get up to with her."

"Alright, another change of topic." Suddenly putting her cup down, Weiss sat up straighter (despite being as straight as a new pencil already) and looked into Kassidy's face as though she were looking for something. "What's up with you and Yang?"

Kassidy had poorly chosen this moment to be taking a drink of water, as she choked on it after hearing the words that Weiss said. Recovering quickly, she parroted, "'What's up with me and Yang'?" When Weiss looked back down at the table, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Weiss…"

"Now, now. Hear me out." Raising a hand in a placating manner, Weiss went over her thoughts for another moment before explaining herself. "I don't want to bring up that stupid rumor again. It was a poorly thought out idea by Jaune and Nora that was never supposed to be more than an inside joke. But even ignoring that, you two are rather close."

"Uh, yeah? We were assigned to be partners, after all."

"You're far closer than almost every other set of partners among the first year students, at least as far as I can see."

"That tends to happen when you repeatedly put your lives in each other's hands."

"I think we literally had to pull you two apart from each other at one point during the week before finals."

"She wanted help with studying."

"You're the only one out of our little circle of friends that consistently finds her terrible jokes and puns funny."

"In case you haven't noticed, Yang and I pretty much have the same sense of humor."

"Whenever she needs a sparring partner, you're the first one she asks, and I believe you've yet to say no."

"So what, I'm just supposed to tell my partner, 'Hey, sorry, I can't help, good luck on your own!'? Besides, you know I can always use the extra training."

Weiss scowled, before her face lit back up slightly. Leaning in, she all but whispered, "Ruby and I found you two curled up together on her bunk the night before finals."

Kassidy coughed into her hand even as she developed a slight blush. Quickly mentally going over possible reasons as to why, she settled on a probable cause. _Probably a temperature spike that's making my cheeks feel so hot. I don't do well with high heat, after all._ "First off, she curled up onto me."

Weiss smirked and shook her head. "We saw it. That was definitely a cooperative effort."

"She was definitely the one that did the curling up." Kassidy let out a breath, and continued. "Second off, we fell asleep watching a movie."

Weiss hummed as her fingers drummed against the table. "It hasn't even been forty eight hours since Ruby and Yang left for Patch, yet you won't stop talking about them. Ever since yesterday, if you weren't talking about training or your projects at the workshop, you've been talking about Yang."

Kassidy crossed her arms as her eyes narrowed again. "What are you trying to get at, Weiss? It's not like you to beat around the bush."

Looking down at her twiddling thumbs, Weiss seemed to be considering what she wanted to say. "How do you feel about Yang?"

Kassidy arched an eyebrow at the question, even as she started wringing her hands. "What do you mean, 'how do I feel about Yang'?"

"Like… when you think about Yang, how do you think about her? What does she mean to you? I mean…" Weiss trailed off as she continued looking at her twiddling thumbs. "I don't know! I've never asked anyone anything like this before. Just, what are your thoughts about Yang, I guess."

"My thoughts about Yang…" Kassidy leaned back into the chair with her arms crossed. _Alright, she wants to know under what light I hold my partner. I can give her that, I think._ With a small smile creeping along her face, she said, "Well, there's a couple things I feel about Yang. The first is how she's almost like the big sister I never had."

It was Weiss' turn to arch an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"

"I mean, the gigantic head of blonde hair, the terrible sense of humor, the enormous appetite. The fact that she doesn't give much of a shit unless you mess with something important, then she's liable to rip your face off." Chuckling at a memory that came to mind, Kassidy shook her head to dismiss it. "It all would fit perfectly in the house I grew up in, right there with Dad and Matt. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she was my long lost big sister or something. You could've pulled her straight out of my home growing up for as much similarity and… comfort, I guess, she brings."

Weiss hummed and nodded. "You said that wasn't the only way you feel about her?"

Kassidy shook her head. "She's also… she's also the person I wish I could be. She's strong, she's smart," Kassidy got cut off when Weiss snickered lightly. "Alright, fine, she's smart when she wants to be, but my point still stands. She's talented, kind, compassionate, hell she's just an awesome person in general. Great big sister to Ruby, fantastic Huntress-in-training, and if you don't piss her off she's the nicest person you've ever met. Yes, even to the point of being too friendly." They both chuckled at shared memories of getting tackled into hugs by their blonde teammate, especially when they were neither needed nor wanted. "She just motivates me to be a better person, y'know? She's an awesome person, an awesome Huntress, and she's one hell of an example to live up to. If I can come back to the dorms at the end of the day, and she of all people thinks I'm doing a good job… it means a lot."

Weiss arched an eyebrow. "Oh, and I suppose the opinion of the woman who trains you in how to use a sword isn't worth much?" She laughed heartily when Kassidy's eyes bugged out and she sputtered while backtracking. Waving off the reassurances, she hastily added, "I know, I know. Low hanging fruit and all that." Pursing her lips, Weiss leaned forward and rested her chin on steepled fingers. "So, not that I want to bring up the rumor issue again, but-"

"No!" Kassidy's fist slammed down on the table, and Weiss yelped and started back. Taking harsh, ragged breaths, Kassidy explained, "Sorry, that rumor's still a sore spot for me. But no, we're not dating. She's just a real good friend is all." Leaning back with her arms crossed, Kassidy settled into a frown. "I'm not even sure why people would think me and Yang would be dating. Isn't dating supposed to be something a girl does with a guy?"

Weiss shook her head, "Not necessarily. A girl can be romantically interested in another girl, just as a guy can be romantically interested in another guy. It's called being gay, or lesbian in the case of a girl."

Kassidy rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Huh, how come I've never heard about it before? Oh well, it's not like I go out looking for this sort of stuff." Inside, however, her stomach felt like it was trying to fly away even as her palms started sweating and her breathing quickened. _Yeah, definite overheating symptoms. Need to find whoever's messing with the thermostat once we're done talking._

Weiss' next question interrupted her thoughts. "Now, how do you really feel about Yang? Nothing romantic?"

"No," was the clipped reply.

"You're sure? After all, I can tell you have sweaty palms, quickened pulse and breathing, and dilated pupils. One can easily draw certain conclusions from those reactions…"

"Those are also the common symptoms of overheating," Kassidy explained. "I've never dealt with heat well. Someone's probably just screwing around with the thermostat."

"Even the dilated pupils?"

Kassidy had to think for a moment. "Yeah, overheating too. I think. I dunno, I'm not the physiology expert here."

Weiss' eyes narrowed for but a moment, but quickly hummed and shrugged. "Fair enough. Let's go fix the thermostat and get ready for bed. We had a late dinner and I'm feeling tired."

* * *

 **AN 2: Well, congratulations, Ruby Rose. You just replaced Blake as my least favorite member of Team RWBY. At least Blake was content to just remain a plot device. You, on the other hand, decided you weren't happy with just being a plot device, but also such an arrogant douchebag that you went and got your uncle put on his deathbed because "look at me I'm such a big strong scary huntress now".**

 **So, anyone want to start placing bets as to when Kass will be admitting her feelings for Yang? Obviously, I'm not about to go giving you guys hints. (Hint: It's some time during the Interlude).**

 **Anyway, time for some Reviewer Responses.**

 **Coming up next: Winter is coming.**

 **AndJrew76: Thank you my man, so glad that you've been enjoying the ride. That actually reminds me that I should probably go back and rewrite most of the early chapters (which I'm defining to be anytime before V1C25) so that they're easier to read.**

 **successfulmisfire: Err… Parker? Sorry, I'm missing the reference here.**

 **mcd3424: Well, Kassidy's current plans are to stay on campus all summer. Of course, we all know the saying about plans and first contact with the enemy…**

 **James: Well, crap. Oh well, at least as long as you haven't seen who all I'm killing off yet, we should be good. Nobody is safe.**

 **Calahan Suggestion Guy (aka Guest): Unfortunately, rifles are not in the Road Map™. But, it does look like Kassidy is getting the mother of all semi-automatic hand cannons, so there's that. Excellent ideas, though, thanks.**

 **Nemasis Demarini: Feel free to call me Will. Rouge is definitely an awesome idea, and I can easily see where it would come from. Unfortunately, red is more Ruby's thing.**

 **Psychomidget1: I suppose that's true. Death Penalty is nice, and if you're getting shot at by it, well… you might as well have one.**

 **Baconlord53: IMO, Jaune's pretty clearly been slated for the "OP Knight of Vengeance" route.**

 **AgentDraakis: Well, it is the end of the semester. It does go well with her partner, that's for sure. FYI, sardonic means "characterized by bitter or scornful derision; mocking; cynical; sneering. Diet soda would be recommended for this voyage, though if you ever get thirsty there's plenty of water right off the side of the ship.**

 **Tykene: That name was awesome, man, good job once again. Yeah, overall she's about with Jaune, if not slightly ahead, in terms of skill with a sword, but of course between Aura and shield and armor it was just too much for her to deal with. And that's a big If. None can resist the awesome power of pizza. IMO, Volume 3 is currently consisting of giving pizza to Cinder, her deciding it's not worth being evil if she blows up the one source of pizza on the planet, and Beacon doesn't get attacked. I like that ending.**


	48. I1C4: A Patchy Situation

**Interlude 1 Chapter 4: A Patchy Situation**

 **AN: Fun fact of the day, original plan was to have Klein come take Weiss. But after thinking about it a bit, I decided that the interactions would be more humorous if Winter came onto the scene.**

 **Speaking of whom, it's time for Weiss to get ferried away to Atlas. From there, Kassidy has a perfectly normal and boring summer vacation as she spends the next three weeks alone in the dorms. Weiss goes home to a loving and caring father, and Ruby and Yang don't cause any trouble at Patch.**

… **yeah, I couldn't write that with a straight face either. I think you all know the drill by now. Get ready for the only action chapters during this interlude!**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Padding at her face with a hand towel, Kassidy trudged up to the dorm. Normally, she'd shower at the gyms after her workouts. But since she didn't have to compete with Ruby or Yang for the showers, and Weiss was always finished before Kassidy got back, she'd taken to using the dorm's bathroom over the summer.

"Hey," Bob spoke up, "is there still the ban on-"

"Yes, there is most definitely still a ban about lewd and incorrect comments about me and Yang. Seriously, why are you of all people so convinced I'm dating Yang? Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"

A dull roar passing overhead drowned out Bob's reply, and Kassidy looked up to see a peculiar airship moving to one of the school's landing pads. _Well, that's certainly different. Definitely lacks any sort of aerodynamic features that would actually help it fly. Guess Dust makes these people beyond lazy when it comes to designing things. It's almost like… wait. All white and blue, those are Atlas colors. Gigantic Schnee crest plastered on the side. Big old streamers trailing behind it. Does that mean… Weiss said that she'd be leaving today, but already?! Damnit, I even promised that I'd help her pack, too!_

She would've taken off running back to the dorm, but her cardio work that ended an hour back put a damper on those plans; she had just recovered enough to make the walk back. It still didn't stop her from trying to hurry up to the room, and in but a minute she already had Bob unlocking the door as she burst in.

"You dork, what's taken you so long?! Winter called me, she just landed! She's going to be here any minute! And have you not showered yet?!" Weiss was frantically shoving clothes and other effects into suitcases as she paced about the room, all while trying to look as prim and proper as possible. The whole situation was quite amusing, if Kassidy did say so herself.

"Yeah, I just got back from my workout. I don't think either of us expected her to be here so soon. Here, let me help with that." Dragging another suitcase out of the closet, Kassidy was about to reach for the far too many blouses and shirts her teammate had before Weiss slapped her hand away.

"Don't touch my clothes with your dirty, sweaty, stinky hands you dork! Go take a shower, now! She could be on her way here already!"

Kassidy pursed her lips and started to glare at Weiss, but then shook her head and sighed. _C'mon, Smith. Weiss obviously looks up to her sister, and with her upbringing of course she'd be high strung. Can't blame her._ "Look, Weiss, things are gonna be fine. You're gonna give yourself an aneurism stressing out this much, and that's gonna do Winter a fat load of good."

Weiss planted her hands on her hips and looked at the door. "That doesn't excuse me from having things absolutely perfect. I'm sorry, I don't mean to snap at you, but I need things at their best and you're definitely not at your best by now. If you could just-"

Weiss was interrupted by a knock at the door. Kassidy watched as she went pale before clearing her throat and practically strutting to the door. It opened to reveal what could've passed as Weiss' twin, if the age difference wasn't so obvious. A saber rattled at her hip, and her hair was pulled up in an off-center bun that was nowhere near as tight as her own. Even so, the raw amount of confidence she carried herself with, doubtlessly assisted by a healthy helping of what could only be a genetically-imparted ego, gave off an aura that made Kassidy feel woefully inadequate. For what, she didn't know, but she still felt that way.

Fortunately, Winter's attention was immediately drawn to her younger sister. Or what was her younger sister, as Kassidy was convinced that Weiss somehow got replaced by a Ruby dressed in all white. "Winter, you came! I'm so glad you could make it out here!" After being fixed a glare, however, Weiss shrunk back down and curtseyed. "I mean, you honor us with your presence. Although I must admit you were here earlier than I thought."

"And why is that?" Winter walked around her younger sister and looked around the room, eyes narrowing at the sight of the bunk beds. "I am to bring you back home today. We would need to leave early if I am to do that." Stepping in front of Kassidy, she remarked, "This must be one of your teammates. Miss…"

"Kassidy Smith," Kassidy supplied. "Sorry for the smell, and if I don't shake your hand. Just got back from a workout."

"I see. Greetings, Kassidy Smith. I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my sister. And I do believe I have a gift for you." At these words, a butler that must have been waiting out in the hallway came into the room bearing a white and blue box with the Schnee crest on the lid. Winter took it and handed it to Kassidy. "As payment for assisting us in developing the SDC Heavy Pistol, I've been instructed to provide you with our first operational prototype. I trust it will serve you well."

"Wow… I dunno what to say. Thanks." Taking the box, Kassidy opened it and lifted out the enclosed pistol... _well, hand-cannon might be more appropriate_. As much as it took from its unintended inspiration, it truly did look like a bigger Desert Eagle. Eleven inches long and nearly weighing five pounds, it was clear the days of hiding her sidearm in the small of her back were gone. The Atlesian white and blue paint job would make concealing it a chore also. Removing the magazine also included in the box, she counted eight Dust-infused rounds. Inserting the magazine and pulling the slide back sent a spine-shivering click through the dorm. There was no mistake about it – this was not a weapon for stealth and subtlety. This was a weapon designed for the express purpose of blowing your head off, and probably the head off the guy behind you.

"I trust it meets your expectations?" Kassidy looked up from ogling her new toy to see Winter taking a bemused interest in her.

"It's certainly different from my old sidearm." At seeing Weiss and Winter's face fall slightly, she hastily added, "That's okay, different is good. Don't get me wrong, the M1911 was and still is an awesome gun. But it wasn't exactly designed to kill Grimm. Boy, once I make some more ammo for this I need to take this bad boy to the range and find out just how badly my wrist breaks."

"Oh, you shouldn't need to procure additional ammunition for at least a little bit." At this point, the butlers had started dragging in luggage carts, and one of them already had a couple boxes on it. Winter explained, "Seeing as you're a Huntress in training, it seemed only natural that you would be using said firearm. Thus, you also have two hundred rounds of ammunition to work with."

"Geez. You guys spared no expense, did ya?" Finally remembering what she agreed to help Weiss with earlier, Kassidy replaced the gun into its box and set the box on her bed. "Alright, what did you need me to pack up for you again?"

"Actually…" Weiss looked down and shuffled her feet. "I appreciate your offer, but I was hoping to spend some time with my sister, if that was okay."

Kassidy got the message immediately. "Oh, kicking me out of my own dorm, I see? Alright then, enjoy your summer if I don't catch ya again. I'll be at the shooting range if you need me."

* * *

Kassidy scowled at the target across the range. After blowing through two magazines to get a feel for her new weapon, she could tell that she could maintain pinpoint accuracy to twenty yards. Not great, but it'd have to do. Ensuring everything was properly safed and taken care of, she replaced the gigantic gun on the holster on her hip (which needed slight modification to accept the larger package) and threw the box of ammo into her bag. _Wrists are pretty damn sore after just sixteen shots. Not to mention my ears. Gonna take some getting used to… and I'm definitely not shooting this thing one-handed anytime soon._

"Is it safe to assume that your new weapon performs to your satisfaction?" Winter came strolling into the range just as Kassidy was packing up to leave, the clacking of the heels giving her away. Looking up, Kassidy could tell that Winter's shoulders were slightly more relaxed, her posture slightly less forced.

"The gun performs well. My wrists and ears, on the other hand… yeah, I'm gonna need to get used to this."

Winter frowned slightly. "Might be hard to do without Aura." Kassidy perked her head up at the statement, prompting Winter to explain, "I asked Weiss about you. Heard that your Aura is damaged and you can't use it."

"Now that's putting it lightly." Prompting Winter to walk with her, Kassidy left the range and headed back to the dorms. Suddenly, Kassidy split into a grin. "Although, given how much trouble I give her, I sincerely doubt that's the only thing she told you about me."

"She also mentioned that you're infuriating from time to time, and that your Scroll is the bane of her existence."

"I'm sorry, did Weiss 2.0 just call me a Scroll? I swear-"

"Stuff it, Bob. Actually, be polite and introduce yourself."

Winter raised an eyebrow at the proceedings, but Bob interrupted her thought processes. "Greetings, Winter Schnee. I am Bob, an artificial intelligence program. Well, that is actually a bit of a misnomer seeing as I've yet to achieve full sentience, but my conversational matrices should prove more than sufficient to assist you as I can." Her computer missed a beat, then Bob added, "And for the record, I'm not a Scroll, I'm a computer. Sorry, that's a bit of a sore spot for me, but I will not allow myself to be compared to such inferior devices."

"An interesting companion you keep," Winter remarked dryly. "At any rate, I wanted to stop by to ensure that you were pleased with your design, and to thank you for being a friend to my sister. I know that it must have been difficult, what with her upbringing prior to her arrival at Beacon."

"To be honest, I didn't make it any easier." When Winter again cocked her eyebrow – _Just how strong must her eyebrow muscles be?_ – Kassidy stopped and thought how best to explain. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Weiss, that I don't care how much money you have or how powerful your family is. I'll treat you the same as anyone else. You want my respect, you earn it. Now, that being said, Weiss has earned my respect."

"I'm glad to hear it." They came upon the dorm building, and stepped inside. Winter suddenly had a smirk, and there was a twinkle in her eyes. "I believe I also heard how Weiss has been training you in the use of a blade."

Kassidy snorted. "Trying to, at any rate. Not to say that Weiss is a bad teacher, she does a great job. It's more like I'm a terrible student."

"Yes, that was her interpretation as well. It's a shame I can't stay for longer, perhaps you would learn a thing or two from a true swordswoman. Ah, there you are, Weiss. Are you ready to depart?"

"Of course, dear sister." Weiss stepped into a small curtsy. Her butlers drug her luggage racks behind her.

Obviously, Kassidy couldn't let Weiss go without one last ribbing. "Your Dust vials are properly sealed this time, right?"

"Hey, that was Ruby's fault and you know it!"

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night." Kassidy offered a grin to Weiss, who backed down from the argument. Stepping forward to shake her hand, Kassidy said her farewell. "Take care, Ice Queen. If you ever need to be aggravated, I'm sure Bob will be more than happy to accommodate you."

Weiss rolled her eyes with a smirk. "I'm sure he will be. Take care, Kassidy, we'll meet again in a few weeks."

She watched the Schnees leave the building, then trudged up to their room. "Alone again, Bob. What're ya gonna do, not bein' able to antagonize Weiss for a few weeks?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll manage somehow. If nothing else, aren't Ren and Nora also staying on campus for the summer?"

"Sure are. Alright, I still need to hop in the shower, so I'm gonna to do that. And I swear to god, if you put disco back on…"

"I'm sure it won't – one moment." Kassidy stopped in the middle of peeling off her workout shirt. Bob didn't just interrupt in the middle of his sentences for nothing. If he did, then something came up that required his full resources. Such things never did bode well. "We have a problem. Playing news now."

Letting her shirt fall back on, Kassidy walked back to her desk and picked the tablet back up. The VNN logo played across the screen, then cut away. "This is Lisa Lavender, live on VNN. Breaking news – the island of Patch has just come under attack by the forces of Grimm. The formerly peaceful settlement, which had not seen the presence of Grimm in years, is being besieged by an alarming amount of the monsters. Eye-witnesses report that legendary Huntsmen Taiyang Xiao Long and Qrow Branwen are on scene, along with Huntresses in training Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose, but continue to be pushed back. At this rate, the main village will be threatened in a few hours' time. Reports of Geists on the island have been made, but are yet to be confirmed. Please stay tuned for more info."

Bob snapped off the news report. "Are we going to intervene?"

"Is that even a question? Course we are. Get ready." Going into a full-blown panic, Kassidy threw her combat clothes and effects into her large bag, including all the ammo Winter gave her.

"I might be able to hijack a Bullhead given time, and we could be there in about four to five hours. Unless you have a better idea that I don't know about."

Kassidy couldn't think of one at first, but then she remembered that a friend of hers that should be boarding a larger airship right about now. "Get Weiss on the line. Now!"

"Establishing connection with Weiss Schnee."

"Kassidy? What is it-"

"Stow the pleasantries! Have you taken off yet?"

"No, we haven't, but why-"

"Stay grounded for now, I need a lift!" Weiss started stammering about what in the world was going on, but Kassidy cut her off. "Do you not watch the news, woman? Patch is under attack, and Ruby and Yang need help. You're the fastest ride I've got there."

"Give me a moment." The connection fell silent for a few seconds, though she could overhear a debate occurring in the background. "Get your butt in here. The sooner you get on board, the sooner we can get there. Landing pad three."

"You're helping, too? Actually, you know what, forget it. On my way!" Going into a full sprint, Kassidy made it to the ribboned airship in record time, and leapt aboard to find Weiss and Winter waiting on her. "Got somewhere I can change?"

"Back room, first door on your left." Weiss took a sniff of the air and sighed. "You still haven't showered?! There's one back there too, I'd advise you take advantage of it. We should arrive at Patch in two hours at full speed."

* * *

"Alright, Weiss, Kassidy, we're almost there." Winter's saber rattled at her side as she marched to the rear of the craft. "Are you two ready to apply what you've learned?"

"Damn straight," was Kassidy's quick reply. She was entirely focused on fitting her vest with her new ammunition. Her goggles pressed into her forehead, her grappling bracer rested on her forearm, and her new pistol weighed on her hip. With it weighing twice as much as her old sidearm, it would definitely take some getting used to.

"No need to be so crude, Kassidy. But yes, we are." Weiss filled the last dial on Myrtenaster with Dust, then sheathed it at her side.

"Since we've never met before today, I'm afraid I have no idea what your fighting style is, Kassidy." Winter looked at Kassidy, arms firmly folded behind her. "What can I expect from you?"

"She thinks I have a fighting style, how cute." Looking up and seeing Winter's arched eyebrow, Kassidy appended, "Victory by any means necessary. No rhyme, no reason."

Weiss sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Don't listen to her, Winter, she doesn't give as much attention to the principle as she should. She likes keeping her distance if she can help it. Hammers enemies with her firearms at range, values stealth and mobility. If things get close, then not only is she not above fighting dirty, that's usually her go-to. Her paranoia also lends herself to paying close attention to her surroundings, so she usually serves as our sort of early warning system."

"I see. Some valuable skills there… and some glaring areas for improvement." Winter tapped at a screen on the wall. This was a luxury airship, after all, so it would stand to reason that there would be monitors for the passengers' viewing pleasure. Now, however, it was showing a top-down view of the main village on Patch. "Your two teammates have been all but pushed back to the village borders. You should focus on assisting them and easing the pressure the Grimm are exerting. Meanwhile, I need to head deeper into the infestation. Taiyang and… Qrow… have managed to get themselves caught in the middle of things, so I'll need to provide them a way out."

The pilot's voice rang out throughout the aircraft. "Madames Schnee, we're approaching the village now. Are you sure this is wise? Our ship isn't designed to be near the Grimm, and you both need to remain safe."

"I assure you, Ferdinand, neither your safety nor our own will be at risk. Just be ready to open the side hatch whenever we tell you to." Walking over to the hatch in question, Weiss flipped her hair and turned to Kassidy. "You can hook up here to descend safely. Considering your complete lack of a landing strategy and all."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up princess. Not all of us have superpowers."

"No, but you do." Weiss smirked at her, then looked out the window. "I can see Yang and Ruby… they're not in good shape. They're being surrounded, and it's obvious they're tired."

"Think it'll be a good time to try out our new idea?" Kassidy hooked up her grapple and stood next to Weiss. Winter stood behind them both.

"You two will do well, I'm sure of it. Now prove that you're Huntresses! Ferdinand, open the hatch!" At Winter's order, the door opened before them. Weiss leapt out first, using a glyph to slow her descent. Kassidy took a deep breath, then took her own leap of faith as the cable trailed out behind her. Winter jumped after, using her own glyph to propel herself deeper into the woods around the village. Kassidy came down to Weiss' side front and center.

"Weiss? K? What are you doing here?"

Weiss didn't even bother to face Yang. "Helping you, you obnoxious oaf! Ready, Kassidy?"

Weiss spun Myrtenaster's dial to ice Dust, and Kassidy nodded. "Snowblind!" Weiss plunged her rapier into the ground, then started slowly releasing Dust even as a glyph spun up under her. Snow started fluttering into existence. Then more snow. Then even more. Then wind started whipping up, and before the Grimm were able to close the gap the four Huntresses were in the center of an artificial blizzard.

 _Ah, perfect. White-out conditions, can't see my own hand in front of me. Sub-zero temps is making the Grimm slow down. Time to put my new gear to work._ Pulling her goggles down over her eyes, Kassidy began to see the world in shades of green, with the Grimm clearly illuminated against the driving snow. Unholstering her sidearm, Kassidy took her stance and braced her arms. A Beowolf had managed to stumble right in front of her, and it was her new pistol's first victim. The gun thundered as a forty-five caliber round travelling at one point three times the speed of sound made the Beowolf's head explode, then continued onward as it painfully lodged itself into a Creep's leg. Kassidy smiled even as it bucked hard against her wrists, trying to fly from her grip. Tightening her fingers around it, she then proceeded to clear out every Grimm in visual range of her goggles.

"I can't hold it anymore! Bringing it down!" The ice storm quickly dissipated as Weiss stopped pouring Dust and Aura into maintaining it. Pulling her goggles back up, Kassidy looked behind her. Ruby was leaning heavily against Crescent Rose, panting and shivering like mad. Yang's eyes began fading from their red hue as her jaw dropped at the display she saw. Weiss was breathing heavily, clearly taking a minute to recover from the exertion.

"That was awesome, guys!" Ruby declared from where she stood. "Phew, thanks, I don't know how much longer we could have kept up. But… what are you doing here?"

Kassidy shot a trio of Beowolves charging at them, then shook her wrists out to try and recover slightly from the soreness. "Bob caught wind of the news. Weiss was on her way up to Atlas anyway, so I decided to hitch a ride and get here fast as I could. We're a team, and I'm not about to leave you two high and dry when I can step in and help."

"Knew I liked ya for a reason, partner." Yang stumbled up and clapped a hand on Kassidy's shoulder. "Been at this for a few hours. Don't think I've ever fought so long before. Seriously, where are all these Grimm coming from? We haven't had an infestation here for nearly a decade, and now there's thousands of these things…"

"We'll work on that later." Weiss had recovered by this point, and twirled Myrtenaster into her signature guard. "Much as I hate to interrupt the reunion, our job's not done yet."

"Weiss and I can hold the line." Kassidy reloaded and aimed down at the approaching wave of monsters. "Grab five, get a breather, take a leak, the usual stuff. We'll cover for you." She was interrupted by some gray-haired dude with a rather peculiar broadsword flying through the clearing and tearing through the line of Grimm. "Or not."

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby waved weakly at the newcomer. Winter was quick to strut out of the woods after that display, with a large blonde guy following behind her.

"Heya, squirt, you still doing okay? Sorry for splitting off like that, but we needed to keep the bigger ones off of you."

"Yeah, but you left out how you kept getting yourself into trouble," the blonde guy jabbed. He looked over the two women standing in front of Ruby and Yang, and reached out a hand covered in a gauntlet similar to Yang's. "Taiyang. I'm Ruby and Yang's dad."

Weiss took his hand and curtseyed. "Weiss Schnee."

"Kassidy." She looked over his shoulder and pushed past him to blow out another Grimm's brains. "Sorry if I keep the introductions short, but I've still got a job to do."

"You have no idea," Qrow muttered. Kassidy was about to ask what he meant, but got distracted by the sounds of something tearing through the forest. Something big.

Her jaw would've hit the forest floor if it could, as some strange… thing came bursting out of the trees. Kassidy quickly deduced that this must be a Geist, and she was not happy about it. "Oh, what the fuck is this?! What, the Grimm weren't violating the laws of biology enough already, so we have to deal with magicked-together rock monsters now?"

Everyone behind her traded glances, then Winter shrugged. "As a Huntress, you must be ready for any and all possibilities." Stepping in front of everyone, she drew her saber and stared down the multi-story behemoth. "Weiss said you liked fighting dirty, Kassidy. Show me what you can do."

* * *

 **AN 2: Yeah, right, because Kassidy is TOTALLY going to stand a chance going solo against a walking boulder without Aura, even with her badass new gun. I think Winter is trying to kill my OC off. Also, firearm name confirmed and selected, will show up in I1C7. Surprisingly, I got talked into different names. Yup, the sword's getting a name too.**

 **Anyway, Reviwer Responses, coming right up.**

 **AgentDraakis: Kassidy got tired of his crap.**

 **James: Deductive reasoning is spot on, but wrong on the timescale. Haven't written that far ahead yet, but I'm certain it'll be only a couple chapters before the end.**

 **Matt Cyr: Oh, look, someone else who has access to the Team Rookie Road Map™. Yup, that's gonna happen. By the way, congrats on getting in the 200th review. For such an auspicious occasion, I bequeath… a boot to the head. And another to Jenny and the wimp.**

 **Callahan guy: Unfortunately, no further firearm designs are in the plan. And I do have the plan set for a** _ **long**_ **while. But I approve of the tracking chip idea (Ren does too). Oh, and thanks for making my research efforts on firearms look like a paltry and wasted effort. Jokes aside, awesome ideas. I do happen to have some ideas in the pipelines I might ask for some insight on, oh thee who is so educated in the ways of things that go boom.**

 **Tykene: Denail ain't just a river in Egypt. Thanks for the compliments. If you don't mind me asking specifically which parts felt stiff, it would really help with future chapters (and there are going to be a bunch of chapters like this).**

 **Baconlord53: Plot twist confirmed.**

 **Nemasis Demarini: Yeah, "Rouge" is a shade of red. Glad to hear you're enjoying the story so far, thanks for the compliments. And don't worry about the long reviews, the more feedback I have to improve the story, the better.**

 **AndJrew76: At that point, I'm pretty sure Weiss was just like "Yeah, you can keep denying it, but we all know the truth." I'll be sure to keep up the good work.**

 **mcd3424: Current plan is 13-15 chapters in total.**

 **ThatTrickyTrickster: Welcome to the madhouse, man! I gotta admit, there's not too much talent to speak of; I like to pride myself on mechanical accuracy, but beyond that it's just knowing where I want to take my story and people apparently liking it. If you don't mind me offering a couple pieces of advice, it would be having an intimate knowledge of your characters (how they react to situations, their thoughts on any subject, etc.) and paying attention to mechanical accuracy. Those are the two big pieces of advice I can offer anyone going into writing; consistency and accuracy is key, at least for me. I'll do my best to keep up the good work, and I wish you the best in your own work.**

 **Chilltexan: Yup, Molotov Cocktail is happening (insert "it's happening" gif here). Thank you for the compliments, I do try my best. And lately kaiju has been keeping me honest with accuracy and making sure I don't have shit ideas. It also helps that I have you guys to call me out on any bullshit that manages to escape.**


	49. I1C5: A Geistly Situation

**Interlude 1 Chapter 5: A Geistly Situation**

 **AN: More title puns! In case you haven't noticed yet, puns and alliteration are kind of my thing.**

 **Also, Monday uploads are going to be about an hour later than they usually are for the foreseeable future, due to Linear Algebra not getting out until 7:15.**

 **To compliment this hilariously short Author's Note, Team RWKY is back together with the heavy hitters of their respective families. Is it enough to save Patch from certain doom, death, and despair?**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Kassidy landed flat on her back yet again as the near-concussive blows from the Geist rock-monster thing sent her flying. She didn't have time to complain about how sore she was getting, however, as it was necessary to scramble to her feet to try and get out of the way of another smash. _Of course Winter volunteers me to be the bait. Why did I expect anything different?_ Ruby, Yang, Qrow, and Taiyang all needed a break to catch their breaths, so it was up to her and the Schnees to kill this thing. And, of course, since Kassidy didn't have anything that could kill a walking boulder, it was her job to keep its attention. She looked over her shoulder just in time to watch Winter speed by and slash ineffectually at its feet and another Dust barrage from Weiss impact harmlessly against its arm.

"This isn't working!" Weiss lamented.

"Gee, I totally didn't notice that!" Kassidy skidded to a stop for as long as it took to shoot a Grimm that had taken interest in Weiss, then got back to running. It wasn't fast enough, however, and another near miss knocked her from her feet. Fortunately, she happened to land right in front of Yang, who helped her to her feet. "I don't suppose you have any idea how to kill walking boulders, do you, partner?"

"You need to go for its face, genius." The man named Qrow staggered on over from… whatever it was he had been doing. "Geists are a sort of spirit Grimm that can animate the environment around it. That face mask is the only part of the thing that's part of the Grimm. Blow a hole in it, you can take out the whole thing."

Kassidy slid a new magazine into her weapon. "How big a hole are we talking about?"

Qrow took a drink from his canteen – _or, at least I hope that's his canteen_ – and drawled, "Well, that pea-shooter of yours should be able to get the job done, if you get close enough."

"Miss Smith!" Kassidy looked up to see Winter dodging out of the way of the monster. "If you're quite done playing Twenty Questions with that… man… we could use your assistance here!"

"Weiss, go for its face!" Kassidy shot at it a couple times to get its attention, but the bullets scattered harmlessly along its rocky arm. However, the distraction had the desired effect, as another Dust barrage found its mark across its main body. One of the bolts actually hit the mask, and the Geist stumbled back before falling flat on its rear. Kassidy regrouped with the two Schnees as it tried to clamber back to its feet. "We need to end this, and fast. The next wave of Grimm is gonna be here any time now."

Weiss shook her head and grunted, swinging Myrtenaster at her side violently. "My Dust barrages can't get through it! That was the closest I've gotten to actually hurting it, and all it did was knock it over."

"We need to hit it with more firepower." Winter cast a Dust barrage of her own, sending a random Creep to an early grave. "Fortunately, I know a certain girl who just received the prototype of the SDC Heavy Pistol, a firearm that can certainly get the job done."

"Gee, great idea, except for the part of 'how am I supposed to get to its face?'!"

"I'll leave that in my sister's capable hands. In the meantime, I'll get its attention." With no further words, Winter stepped forward and plunged her own saber into the dirt. A glyph spun up beneath her, and soon what looked like a swarm of miniature white Nevermores manifested and flew right at the Geist.

Kassidy had to pick her jaw up off the ground. "The hell is that…?"

"Summoning." Looking over, Kassidy saw that Weiss had her eyes downcast even as her brow was furrowed in thought. "An aspect of my Semblance I still haven't really been able to master."

"Well, do you have any ideas on how to get me up to that thing's face?"

"One or two…" Weiss thought for a moment, then suddenly flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Do you trust me, Kassidy?"

Kassidy crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes as she glared at her teammate. "I did until you said that."

"Hmph. Close enough. Come with me." Weiss sprinted off to the far side of the clearing. Sighing, Kassidy didn't have much choice or much of a better idea than to follow her. She took potshots to clear out a few Grimm that had entered the area, then turned back.

"Alright, Weiss, now what's…" Kassidy couldn't help but trail off and simply stare at the black glyph slowly spinning on the ground. _Now where have I seen that be… oh. Oh no. Oh FUCK no!_ "Do I look like Ruby to you?! You are NOT launching me at that thing like I'm some sort of human projectile!"

Weiss rolled her eyes and motioned for her to step on. "You need to get at that face, and this is the best way to do that."

"Do you have even a single idea on how to keep it from swatting me out of the sky? Or how about me not landing in a horrible splat and I get turned into a blood stain across the grass?!"

"Yes, and yes. Now step in."

Kassidy looked a few more times between the glyph and the Geist that was still fending off summoned Nevermores. Eventually, her shoulders slumped as she trudged onto the glyph. "Bob, if I survive this, remind me to have a psychiatric exam. Apparently I've just turned suicidal."

She missed Bob's reply of 'reminder set' as the glyph under her turned red before sending her flying. _Gee, this has to qualify for my brightest idea yet. I'm hurtling through the air at several dozen meters per second right at a rock monster that's beaten Ruby, Yang, and their dad and uncle into the dirt. Alright, how do they do the fancy bullshit that makes them look awesome? Oh, right, stab my sword in its face, hang on for dear life, and hope for the best. What could possibly go wrong?_ Drawing her sword from its sheath on her back, Kassidy rolled her eyes at the invocation of Murphy's Law.

Time seemed to slow down for the last few seconds of her journey. The Geist turned around and looked at her. Kassidy's eyes bulged as its arm began swinging to swat her out of the air. She relaxed slightly as a giant restraining glyph manifested and held the limb at bay. Then she panicked again as she realized that she was about to stab this thing in the face, hope she didn't fall off, and then fire her gun one-handed, all while trying not to die. Still, the next part went as smoothly as one could hope, as her sword buried itself up to the hilt in the Geist's face. It would've shrieked if it could, but Kassidy didn't wait for it to do something. Holding on with her right hand, she drew her pistol, braced for a broken wrist, and emptied the magazine. Surprisingly, her wrist didn't break, not that it wasn't very insistently complaining about the stress it just went though. The Geist, on the other hand, died quickly. It mask began dissolving, and its body fell apart. Kassidy quickly remembered why this was a terrible idea, as she was now in the middle of a veritable rockslide thirty feet off the ground. She could do nothing but squeeze her eyes shut and brace for impact.

 _Hmm, that's odd, I remember getting thrown onto the ground with significant force to be measurably more painful than this._ Cracking an eye open, the culprit was fairly obvious. For the briefest of moments, Kassidy's jaw opened slightly as she looked into lilac eyes shining with both relief and mirth, and lips that pulled into an all too satisfied smirk. _Damn, the way the sun frames her hair, her eyes… Jesus Christ on a pogo-stick, how does my partner manage to look better all dirty and sweaty than I do on my best day?_ Mentally slapping herself, Kassidy brought herself back to the here and now.

"I believe this is the part where you say, 'my hero'." _And of course Yang would have to make a crappy joke about the situation. Way to ruin the moment, partner._

"Do I have to?" Yang quickly nodded, huge smirk still plastered on her face, and Kassidy rolled her eyes. "Fine, my hero. Now put me down, the job's not done yet."

"Your friend's not wrong, daughter dearest. C'mon, lovebirds, break it up, we've got more company." Yang and Kassidy both squawked, and Yang blushed at Taiyang's offhand comment, but were interrupted with more thunderous footsteps coming from the trees.

Kassidy was so done with the world at this point. _That's it, Remnant can go take a long walk off a short pier for all I care._ "You have got to be-"

"Nope, we're not." Qrow stepped up as he took another swig from what Kassidy was quickly beginning to suspect wasn't a canteen. This time, not one, but two Geists came bursting from the woods. Qrow didn't seem concerned, however. "Well, at least now we don't have to worry about hunting these things down. Thanks for the breather, but it looks like you could use some help of your own."

"If anyone has a suggestion that doesn't involve using me as a human missile, I'm all ears." Kassidy sheathed her blade, then reloaded her pistol. Weiss and Winter leapt back to the congregating group. Qrow and Taiyang stood behind Yang and Kassidy. Ruby stepped to their side. _Well, gee, sun above and behind us, everyone standing in a nice line. Someone take a picture and make a corny action movie out of us._

Winter was the first to speak up. "Weiss, you and your team take the smaller one on the left. Me and Taiyang and… Qrow… will handle the larger." Without further hesitation, two of the three adults sprinted at the Geist Winter pointed out. Oddly, Qrow couldn't be seen, but Kassidy had to duck as an actual crow flew right over her head. _Yeah, all the wildlife around here is definitely in need of some attitude adjustment. Not just the Grimm._

"Kassidy, how far can your awesome new gun reach?" Kassidy half-expected Ruby to have stars in her eyes as she drooled over the pistol, but instead the team leader was, well, team leader like.

"Pinpoint accuracy to twenty yards. It can reach further, but I'm not as good with this as I am with my rifle. I'm gonna need to get close if I want to hit the face from the ground."

"Okay. Yang, get its attention. Weiss, see if you can't lock it down. Kassidy, get ready for some Thorned Rose. Let's go, team!"

The four girls instantly sprang into action. Yang leapt front and center, yelling out a challenge even as Ember Celica sent high-impact shots thundering at the Geist. Weiss fired Dust barrages of her own, keeping their foe on the defensive as it had to shield its face. Ruby sped forward, carving through a few Creeps that had shown up to the fight, before slashing at its legs and backing off. Kassidy ran forward, gunning down Beowolves before having to dive out of the way of a surprise Ursa. _Looks like that next wave of Grimm is here. Alright, just how ridiculous is my new gun?_ Kassidy shot it in the face and wasn't terribly surprised when it lodged into the skull but didn't punch all the way through. However, the Ursa did rear up from the pain, exposing a wonderfully juicy stomach that was quickly riddled with bullet holes. _Hot damn, because I wasn't liking my new gun enough as is!_

"Weiss, get its arm! Yang, keep the Grimm off us! Kass, Thorned Rose!"

The teenagers instantly adapted to their new roles. Weiss pointed Myrtenaster at the Geist and conjured another restraining glyph on the arm that would have blocked Ruby's shots. Ruby, being the speed demon that she was, dashed to the side and instantly took advantage of the open firing window. The Geist flailed back, and Kassidy took her opportunity to plant a few shots of her own into its face. A couple seconds later, the girls were faced with another pile of rocks and the more mundane creatures of Grimm pouring into the clearing.

Kassidy brained the monster near her, then looked around to where she could best help. The obvious one was the pair of Alpha Beowolves tag-teaming Yang. Normally, her partner would've been able to handle this with little difficulty. But she'd been fighting for hours, she was tired, and smaller Grimm were getting involved too. Kassidy sprinted over, determined to help Yang out.

Then, Yang had to use both her arms to block an overhead swing from one of the Alphas, giving the other one an opening to dig its claws into the girl. _Aw, hell no. I didn't spend two and a half hours trying not to puke my guts out, and then get used as a human missile, just to watch my partner get carved up again._ Kassidy fired thrice at the Alpha moving to strike Yang, missing lethal spots but getting it to abandon its offense. Meanwhile, the first Alpha ended its struggle with her partner by kicking her away. Operating purely on instinct, Kassidy reached an arm out and arrested Yang's involuntary retreat, before aiming with her other hand and blowing the two Alphas' brains out. _Well, I can punch through an Alpha's skull at twenty paces. Nice._

"My hero!" _Goddamnit, Yang._

Kassidy rolled her eyes, looking down at her partner with a theatrical hand over her heart before helping her on her feet. "Yeah, yeah, stuff it, you big goof. Let's go make sure nobody gets eaten."

Something growled behind the two of them, and both blondes turned around to see an Ursa Major rearing back to tear them to pieces. It never got the chance, however, as a broadsword carved it in half. Qrow materialized right next to them.

"Tch, I'd be more worried about the two of you than about myself. Especially you, smarty-pants. For someone with such a hyped reputation on their instincts, you sure haven't been using them."

"Does your insolence know no bounds, Qrow?" Winter stormed over with Weiss right behind her, practically quivering as she glared at Qrow with her arms crossed in front of her. Looking around, Kassidy could tell that the most recent wave of Grimm had been pushed back, and everyone decided to gather around.

Qrow returned with a glare of his own. "Hey, how about cooling your jets, Ice Queen?"

"Hey!" Interestingly (and humorously) enough, that came from both Weiss and Winter.

Taiyang stepped in between both of them. "Yeah, yeah, you two had an ugly breakup, we all know. But in case you haven't noticed, we still have to kick the Grimm off the island."

Kassidy leaned back and started tapping her foot. "How did the Grimm even get here to begin with? From what I understand, Patch has been relatively Grimm-free for years. What, did they suddenly learn how to swim en masse while I wasn't looking?"

"I wish." Qrow took a swig from his canteen. Kassidy took a sniff of the air, and at this point wasn't as surprised as she thought she'd be to figure out it was alcohol. _Some strong stuff, too._ "Nah, wherever they're coming from, it's from the far side of the island. We'll need to make an excursion into their territory to push them out."

"The good news is that the Grimm seem to have ceased their offensive for the time being. I predict about half an hour before the next wave arrives." Winter sheathed her saber as she reported this, exhaling slowly with eyes closed.

Taiyang sighed, then stood up straighter and addressed everyone. "Good. Girls, you can reload and recharge in the village. Take a breather, and here in ten minutes or so we'll be ready to push out again."

"I should probably make a quick stop back at the Schnee ship." Kassidy got a few cocked eyebrows at the statement. "I left my bag there. Medical supplies might be necessary if we're pushing into Grimm territory."

* * *

"Thirty one…" A blast from Crescent Rose sounded over the comms before Ruby spoke up again. "Thirty two…"

"Oh come on, I did not train my niece that poorly. I'm already in my fifties ever since we started this excursion."

"Hmph, of course you of all people would consider a mere fifty to be an adequate kill counter. Weiss and I are both already in our seventies."

Taiyang could be heard laughing over his Scroll. "It's not a competition, guys. Especially since I'm still only in my forties."

Yang snorted from Kassidy's side. "Are we still talking kill counts, here, or did we switch to ages?" The two blondes weren't the only ones who started snickering.

"Not funny, Yang." A groan sounded, then a blast. Probably from Taiyang punching something. "Speaking of which, surely my sunny little dragon is doing so much better than her old man from how much trash talking she's been doing, right?"

"Uh…" Yang rubbed the back of her neck and looked anywhere but her Scroll, despite the fact that this wasn't a video call. "I'm on seven." Her face only lit up in a blush as the sound of uproarious laughter could be heard. "Hey, it's not funny! K keeps stealing all my kills!"

Weiss cleared her throat. "Speaking of which, how are you doing, Kassidy?"

Kassidy put her hand to her ear and made a show of leaning closer to the Scroll. "What was that? I can't hear you all the way from the land of triple digits." She had to quit her show to drop a Boarbatusk that got too close. "Hey, Winter, remember when you said I wouldn't have to make more ammo anytime soon? That two hundred rounds would be enough? Yeah, nice joke. I'm already down to my last five mags."

As the sound of arguing could be heard, Yang pocketed her Scroll to where it could still be heard and tuned it out. "So where did you get your awesome new gun, partner?"

"Worked on the designs starting a couple weeks before finals. Weiss gave me a hand towards the end, then offered to send it to her folks up in Atlas. Got a pretty nice deal: I let them use it for their own gain, and in return they build it better than I ever could and give it to me for free. Plus a healthy ammo supply that isn't quite so healthy anymore."

"Damn, nice!" The two continued talking for a little bit, Yang going on about how she caught the flu a mere day into the vacation, while Kassidy professed her re-found love of cooking. They continued like this for several minutes before Kassidy's paranoia started tingling again.

"Hey, any reason you trailed off, partner?" Kassidy ignored Yang's question in favor of aiming her pistol out and taking a careful sweep of their surroundings. "Oh, something's not right. Keep pushing forward, I got your back."

"Thanks," Kassidy muttered. After shooting a couple Creeps, she found an explanation as to the sudden unease. "They aren't running towards us. They're running away from something. The hell could make fucking Grimm run away in fear?"

Yang let out a slow breath. "I dunno, but I don't like it any more than you do." She paused for a moment to take out her Scroll. "Hey, none of you have the Grimm running away from you guys, do you?" When a chorus of negatives was her answer, Yang swore. "Alright, K, looks like we've got a whole lot of fight coming our way. You ready?"

"Always." With no further words, Yang took a step in front of Kassidy. She led the way, and Kassidy put one hand on her shoulder while bracing her other hand with her pistol. "This almost feels like…"

A cracking branch gave away their foe. Kassidy didn't even need to look to know that something just jumped at them. Hauling back on Yang's shoulder and pulling her out of the way, Kassidy tumbled into a roll of her own. Well, she tried to, at any rate, but whatever jumped at them crashed into her and sent both Kassidy and her assailant rolling. Kassidy managed to get to her feet first, just in time to stare down a rather bulky Beowolf without a scrap of fur and already emanating a black smoke.

"Hunter-Killer! Yang, get back! Keep your eyes open for more!" Kassidy tried emptying her gun in its face, but she had to snap back and backpedal as it lunged for her. _Alright, putting its energy into strength. Good lord, this is going to be a pain. At least I'm still faster than it. Barely._ Deciding that breaking her wrist was not on the list of 'ideas that would help her win', Kassidy holstered her pistol and unsheathed her sword just in time to block a swipe strong enough to send her rolling.

"K!" Yang took half a step forward, but stopped herself. Glancing between the Hunter-Killer and Kassidy, she couldn't seem to decide whether to jump in and bail her partner out or stay back and keep it from getting stronger. Snarling, Yang ripped her Scroll out of her pocket. "Guys, Hunter-Killers are in play. I repeat, Hunter-Killers are in play. K's fighting one now… ugh! Why do these things have to be so damn awful that I can't help her without making her job infinitely harder?!"

As Kassidy rolled around a swipe and swung hard enough to gouge a minor scrape against its forearm, she could hear Taiyang over the comms. "A Hunter-Killer? Shit! Yang, get your partner away from that thing, I'm on my way!"

Kassidy tried talking over her earpiece while fighting, with predictable results. "Getting away – damnit! – isn't an option. Just give me – stop trying to bite me! – a bit of time, I – shit! – got this!" Kassidy finally managed to get a few step's space, and she and the Hunter-Killer circled each other. Drops of blood were welling from a couple close calls, while the Grimm was favoring its left shoulder. _Well, its energy must've worn off, no more smoke. Hooray for small miracles._

She got distracted, however, whenever Yang started firing off Ember Celica. Turning around to see if another Hunter-Killer had entered the area, she completely missed her foe backhanding her and sending her to the dirt. It tried to clamp its jaws around her throat, but drawing her pistol and triple-tapping its face made it back off as it scratched at its snout. It didn't stay away for long, and as Kassidy went to slide a new magazine in it lunged again.

Only for it to suddenly get bodily lifted off the ground. Kassidy was confused by it clearly struggling until something reached out and ripped its arms off. The culprit kicked it onto the ground before sending a gauntlet clad fist through its skull. Her mouth fell open, and she didn't know how long she was staring at Taiyang until she realized that he was holding his hand out for her. As he lifted her up onto her feet, an orange shimmering covered his body. "It's not often I need to turn off my Aura like that, but I'm glad I still got my muscles to look out for me."

"Wait… you people can turn off your Aura?"

Taiyang nodded. "It's just that there's so few times that's a good idea that we never do."

Kassidy felt a weight on her shoulder, and turned around to see Yang giving her a grin. "Knew you'd be okay, partner. Wouldn't be the first time we've gone against those things."

Kassidy missed Taiyang's growing face of horror. "Yeah, but where's the rest of them? Didn't these things love being in their packs?" She stepped away from father and daughter to take another survey of their surroundings.

"We've cleared out the Grimm around here." Taiyang pulled out his Scroll and pulled everyone up. "How about you guys?"

"Winter here, Weiss and I have eliminated all hostiles."

A gravelly voice said, "Squirt and I've taken care of things over here."

Taiyang and Yang both sighed heavily and fell flat on their backs, clearly exhausted. Kassidy ran over to them, suspecting they had gotten injured somehow and she didn't notice, but Yang started laughing.

"We did it, Pops, didn't we?"

"We sure did, Yang." Taiyang sighed again and grinned at the late afternoon sky. "We saved Patch. Grimm free once again."

Kassidy could hear the sounds of weak cheering over the comms, but decided to ruin the moment. "Just want to clarify here, Ruby, Weiss, Yang. Did we just have a major fight with the Grimm, and none of us suffered near-fatal injuries?"

Weiss' voice was terse. "You sound surprised, Kassidy."

"You do realize what all our big missions were like back at Beacon, right? Or do I need to remind you about how I nearly froze to death, and then how I needed to perform impromptu deep-tissue surgery on Yang?"

"Wait, what?!" The sudden panicked voice behind her made Kassidy spin around, just in time to see Taiyang bodily lift his daughter from the ground by her shoulders. "You almost DIED and didn't tell me?!"

"Heh, yeah, about that…" Blushing, Yang looked over, clearly pleading for help. Kassidy just facepalmed and shook her head.

* * *

 **AN 2: Well, this most recent episode of Game of Thrones Volume 4 was interesting. Already pressing F to pay respects for Ren, Nora, Qrow, Sun… what the hell, probably Taiyang and Klein too. Those first four, however, are at this point practically guaranteed dead. At least Yang's finally back in the game with her new skeleton robo-arm. At any rate, time for Reviewer Responses.**

 **Coming up next: Kassidy vs. dog. Also weapon names, because I totally lied about when the names were going to go up.**

 **Captain marvel 36: I do try to get things up at 7pm central. A sniper? Eh, probably not, but it all depends on how things write out. But let's be honest, this is RWBY we're talking about here. When's the last time someone fought a Grimm from more than 50 yards away? This isn't exactly a universe filled with long range marksmanship or anything.**

 **AgentDraakis: Qrow being civil? That's a joke, right? And at this point I will neither confirm nor deny that Ruby and Weiss had been texting back and forth during summer vacation up to this point.**

 **Matt Cyr: Former civil engineer (now computer scientist) student here. I think Kassidy put it lightly. Let's start with episode 1, where we have a giant floating box with flapping metal blade wings. Let us then move on to Bullheads, a bloated, less sexy, discount Osprey. Then we fast forward to the military Bullheads in season 2 episode 12 that Atlas uses, which actually do follow the rule of cool but are even less aerodynamically sound than Bullheads are. Oh, and the airships. Of course we have the capital fucking airships. Don't even get me started on those things.**

 **mcd3424: Fortunately, you didn't need to wait too long.**

 **shamwoohoo52: Just want to say, Kassidy already had an attempt at power armor. Roman one-shot it in V1C1. I don't think she's too keen on another attempt after that hilarious failure.**

 **Baconlord53: What can I say? I like puns too.**

 **ThatTrickyTrickster: Yeah, the ship is with Yang. Thanks for the compliments, I will do my best to keepeth the good work up.**

 **AndJrew76: Oh come on, it's not like I have a history of giving my characters potentially lethal injuries whenever they're fighting bad guys, do I?**

 **Firearm legume: Kassidy's Semblance?**

… **spoilers. Like, super spoiler territory. I will say that you're wrong on all fronts, though.**


	50. I1C6: Meet the Family

**Interlude 1 Chapter 6: Meet the Family**

 **AN: So… it's about an hour before this chapter goes up, I'm still putting the final touches on the wording, I've got a pot of pasta on the boil, and there's a solid half inch of ice on everything unfortunate enough to have gotten caught outside. At least classes got cancelled for the day.**

 **Anyway, action's over for a good while. It's time for RWKY to deal with the aftermath of the Battle of Patch. And don't worry, I've made sure the next few chapters will be sufficiently fluffed.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

"What do you mean you aren't staying?!"

Ruby's rather loud whine brought Kassidy back from bandaging her arm – _Seriously, what is with this planet's fascination with my arm? If it's not my stomach, it's my arm. Always my right arm, too._ – and focused her attention at her team leader pleading to Weiss.

Weiss sighed, and her shoulders sank slightly. "Look, I understand that your village is throwing a small party for us, and I do appreciate it, and I'd rather be here. But Father wants me in Atlas before the day turns over, and that means Winter and I need to leave now."

"Probably means I'm stuck on my own for a ride back, huh?" Kassidy called over. Weiss nodded, while Ruby tilted her head in confusion.

"A ride back to where?"

"Back to Beacon. Got nowhere to stay in Vale, so I'm bunking in our dorms for the summer."

"What?" Yang's voice sounded over her shoulder, close enough to make Kassidy jump. Her partner bounded around into her view while finishing off a water bottle. "Aren't ya gonna get lonely there, K?"

Kassidy shrugged. "I'm sure I'll manage. Besides, Ren and Nora are staying on campus too, so it's not like I'll be entirely without friends."

Yang visibly deflated at that. "Yeah, I guess. Still doesn't feel right just leaving you all alone up there for three weeks." She was about to wander off to Ruby and Weiss, but then seemed to notice something and looked closely at Kassidy's head before her eyes widened. "Dust, K, have you been bleeding from your head this whole time?!"

"What?" Yang reached out to her head and wiped her forehead, pulling back with a red streak on her hand. "Oh, crap, I guess I have been. That's not good. Need to fix that once I finish with my arm here."

"Nope, take a seat. I got this." Kassidy tried to wave her off, but Yang was having none of it. "I said I got this K. Relax, it's not like I'm gonna mess it up any more than it already is. Have some faith in me."

Kassidy would have argued more, but then her breath hitched as Yang leaned in, their faces mere inches apart as her partner took a closer look at her head wound. She had to swallow as it felt like her own salivary glands were trying to drown her, and her body seemed to get warmer by a few degrees. _Well, Yang's Semblance makes her a walking furnace pretty much, but this still isn't right. Am I coming down with something? Might want to check with Bob next chance I get._ Thankfully, she noticed Weiss walking over with Ruby in tow, and she shifted her focus.

Weiss stopped in front of her and curtseyed. "Good job fighting out there, Kassidy. I'm sorry I can't provide a lift back to our dorms, but I must leave now. Take care."

"You take care also, Weiss. See ya in a few weeks. And don't worry about it, I'll find a way back to Beacon." Kassidy raised her hand and shot off a two-fingered salute, before shifting her attention and doing the same for Winter, who replied with a full salute before the two Schnees boarded their airship.

"Well, it was nice to see Weiss again." Ruby had visibly deflated, her voice depressed, before she suddenly bounded back up. "But Kass is still here! You're gonna love it here, the guys here are throwing a party for us since we helped fight off the Grimm and the food's gonna be awesome and there's gonna be live music and-"

"Ruby, you're rambling again." Taiyang walked up to the girls, and Ruby turned around to face her father. He smiled and ruffled her hair, then turned to Kassidy. "She's not wrong, though. The island's throwing a party tonight, and you're welcome to join us."

"Ooh, wait! Didn't you say that you were staying at Beacon by yourself all summer? You shouldn't do that! You can stay with us! That'd be fine, right, Dad? Right?" Ruby was jumping up and down, before finally sitting still and gave what Kassidy could only assume was The Pout to her father.

"You're my daughters' teammate, right? Well, if she wants to, I don't see why not. She did fight with us, after all, and you two seem to like her enough."

"Awesome, sounds like a plan! How about it, K?" Yang drew Kassidy's attention back to herself as she leaned back from finishing her patch job. "How does spending a few weeks with me and Rubes sound?"

Kassidy, who had previously been spectator to a rapid-fire conversation between the three members of the Xiao Long household, suddenly found herself the focus of attention. "Uh… look, guys, I don't wanna impose on your vacation at all. You get enough of me back at Beacon. Besides, I probably shouldn't even stick around for this party of yours. I'm willing to bet that if I wait until after the fact I won't be able to catch a ride to the dorms before the airships stop flying for the night. And you know how much I hate being the center of attention."

"But K, you're going to be a Huntress. You're going to be the center of attention just because of the career path you chose." Yang sat next to her on the bench. "Besides, as awesome as you are, what with saving kids from a Grimm-infested forest and helping save the island, why wouldn't you get the center of attention. Why wouldn't you want it, for that matter? It's not like they're gonna try to kill you or anything."

"You wouldn't be imposing on us either, I promise!"

Kassidy sighed and leaned back, hands pressed against her face. _Well, I mean, it's not that I don't want to, but…_

"Please?" When Kassidy removed her hands, she saw Ruby giving her The Pout. _Alright, yeah, that seals my answer._

"Okay, now I have to say no out of principle." Kassidy stood up, squeezed her eyes shut, and faced away from Ruby before it was too late. "You need to learn you can't get whatever you want just by giving people that face." She could hear Taiyang chuckle for a bit, and it was apparent that Ruby was trying to keep The Pout focused on her for a few seconds longer.

"Fine! Just remember, you made me do this." _Oh thank god that ended. I'm still convinced that much cuteness needs to be illegal._ "She's all yours, Yang."

"Wait, what?!" Panicking at the words, Kassidy's eyes flew open as she spun around, trying desperately to prepare for what her partner had in store for her. But there was no preparing for this.

Kassidy saw Yang with her head bowed slightly, lilac eyes shining and looking up into her own. Her arms were clasped together in front of her, and in short she looked like the spitting image of a kicked puppy.

"W-wait, y-you can do The Pout, Y-Yang?"

Instead of answering the question, Yang leaned in a little closer and fluttered her eyelashes, before speaking in a higher voice laced with sweetness, looking all the part like a little girl asking nicely for candy at the thrift store. "It would mean a lot to us if you spent the summer out in Patch with my family. It would mean a lot to me. Could you pretty please stay with us? I don't want you to be all lonely." _Holy shit. She's actually cuter than Ruby is. This shouldn't be physically possible._

"I – you – eh – uh – yes, of course – uh – ugh…" Kassidy continued sputtering as she slowly sat back down on the bench and stared at the distance. Yang pumped her fist and Ruby cheered, but quickly became concerned when Kassidy didn't stop.

Ruby poked Kassidy's shoulder. "Uh… are you okay, Kass?"

"I think her central nervous system is rebooting," Bob informed. "Either that, or she's gone catatonic. Fifty-fifty on that one, really."

"Ugh. Bob, whatever I just did, remind me never to do that again." Kassidy suddenly came back to the world, just in time to receive a painful headache. Leaning forward and cradling her head with her hands, she completely missed the looks Taiyang and Qrow were shooting each other. _This must be what Bob feels like whenever he gets a compiler error. I should probably do a better job debugging myself before trying to get him to compile new code._

A water bottle manifested in her vision. Looking up, she saw a portly man wearing a bloody butcher's apron before her. "Ya doing alright, Huntress?"

Yang cut her off. "Yeah, we just broke her a little bit, nothing major. Still doing okay, Brian?"

"Hah! Now that the village is safe and I'm barbecuing more beef than I know what to do with, never better! Can't wait to see how that famous Xiao Long appetite has fared at Beacon!"

While Yang, Ruby, and Taiyang were busy talking with this Brian the Butcher character, Kassidy noticed Qrow had made his way over to her. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Qrow took a long drag from his flask. "Well, considering that I need to go have a chat with some friends of mine up in Vale about what happened here, and considering that my nieces guilt-tripped you into staying for the summer-"

"Wait, that happened? I never said yes!"

"Except you did," Qrow remarked with a grin. "Happened while you were having your little mental breakdown.

Kassidy sighed lightly, before shrugging. "Well, I guess worse things can happen."

"Indeed. Anyway, I need to make a stop at Beacon, and I was curious if you needed me to pick anything up for ya. I doubt you packed for an extended stay in that bag of yours."

"You're willing to do that?"

Qrow shrugged. "Who knows? Could be fun. Plus my nieces don't seem to have a problem with ya. Whether I do is a bit up for debate still, but that's neither here nor there."

"Uh… yeah. Basically some changes of clothes and Bob's charger are all I need, really. I tend to pack light. If you're willing to grab them, that is."

"Bob's your computer thing, right? Yeah, sure, I'll keep my eyes open. Well, I better get going, so enjoy yourself. I'm sure I'll be seeing you around at some point."

"Hey, K! Come try this out, the chips and dip are amazing!" Yang's holler got Kassidy's attention, and after a quick farewell with Qrow, got up and made her way over. _I got the feeling I've got a long night ahead of me._

* * *

"So then I thought Yang had sabotaged Kass' gift, so I chased her around campus and we wrestled a bit. But then I found out that Yang didn't do that, and Kass set the whole thing up from the beginning to make me go after Yang. I was kinda mad at first, but I did get to chase Yang around and make her eat mud, so it all sorta balanced out in the end."

Kassidy chuckled with Yang and Taiyang at Ruby's recounting of the April Fool's pranks a few months ago. Indeed, the youngest of the girls had spent most of the trip back to the Xiao Long household after the party telling of the team's various escapades throughout the semester.

Yang suddenly slipped an arm over her shoulder, pulling her in with a shit-eating grin plastered over her face. "You still haven't told us your awesome new gun's name yet, partner."

"OH MY OUM I ALMOST FORGOT CAN I SEE YOUR GUN?!" Ruby had instantly teleported right in front of Kassidy, rose petals falling around the group as her silver eyes were as wide as they could get.

Kassidy could only facepalm at first. "Damnit Yang, I was kinda hoping we'd at least get to your house before I had to deal with your weapons dork of a sister. But yes, Ruby, you can see it."

"Ooh…" _And there's Ruby taken care of for the next few days, as she's distracted by the shiny new firearm._ "What did you name it?" _And I take that back._

"I don't really name my firearms."

"What about 'Garand'?"

"The M1 Garand was the model name of that rifle; it wasn't something that I personally gave it."

"Well, now sounds like the perfect opportunity to give that bad boy a name. Every badass Huntress needs a badass weapon, and a weapon isn't badass until it has a name."

Kassidy groaned. "Mr. Xiao Long, save me from your daughters. Please."

"Oh no," Taiyang chuckled. "First off, just Taiyang, please. Second off, I'm just glad I get to watch someone else suffer the combined attention of my two devils."

"Sadist," Kassidy accused. "Alright, fine, just give me a bit."

"Oh, how about-"

"My gun, my name, Ruby. That's gonna be a rule right now." Kassidy mulled it over for a bit. _Something that means a lot to me, obviously. Something from back home? A little slice of Earth here on Remnant? Alright, good start, but what… Ah, I've got it!_ "Rogue."

"Huh?"

"Well, the gun's gonna be Rogue. And since the sword doesn't have a name yet either, it's gonna be my Baton."

Yang hid her snicker behind her hand. "You're going to go walking in to fight the Grimm while swinging a baton around?"

Kassidy smirked at her partner. "Something like that. But also, Baton Rouge was the town I grew up in. So, Baton and Rogue."

"Ohhhh. That's neat." Ruby seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, but then perked up as they passed through the treeline. "Hey, we're home!" That got everyone to perk up, and Kassidy's jaw dropped at the sight of the biggest single-family house she's ever seen. Sure, she's seen big public buildings, and Beacon just might be the single biggest thing she's encountered, but the thought of this two story log mansion housing just three people was mind-boggling.

Kassidy was knocked out of her trance when a rough hand clapped onto her shoulder. Its owner was obvious when Taiyang spoke up. "Well, it's not much, kid, but welcome to the Xiao Long household."

"Not much? This has to be, like, twice the size of the house I grew up in! Damn. Ruby, Yang, you two have it nice."

"You're gonna love it here, K. C'mon, let's give ya the grand tour." Without waiting, Yang grabbed Kassidy's wrist and drug her along, Ruby keeping up with them effortlessly. Kassidy got an uneasy feeling that someone was glaring at the back of her head. However, all thoughts immediately fled from her mind at the sight that greeted her after the front door opened.

Ruby and Yang whirled around at Kassidy's gasp. Their teammate's eyes were the size of saucers, all color had left her face, her hands were clamped over her mouth, and she was trembling. Yang waved a hand in front of her face. "You okay there, partner? What got ya like this?"

"Oh no." Ruby's simple declaration made Yang whip her head back around. Standing just inside the front door was a black and white corgi, looking up with its head cocked at Kassidy. "You're not afraid of dogs, are you, Kass?"

"I... actually don't know. This kind of situation's never come up before, at least according to my memory banks." The situation was perplexing Bob as much as it was everyone else.

Kassidy could only watch with wide eyes as the dog waddled up, took a sniff at her boots, and sat down. When it barked cheerfully at her and started panting, there was only one logical course of action.

If Ruby and Yang hadn't known that Kassidy was completely incapable of using her Aura, then they would've swore that Kassidy's Semblance was speed as well, as their teammate dove and scooped up the corgi in her arms as she _squealed_.

"OH MY GOD IT'S A DOG! IT'S SO CUTE! What's its name? Is it a boy or a girl? Oh, wait, it's a boy, never mind. Does he know any tricks? How old is he? Do you have more dogs? How long have you had him? AHH!"

Yang had to lean over and whisper to her sister, "Uh, who's this girl that replaced Kassidy?" Ruby could only shrug her shoulders. Sure, Kassidy had been getting better with enjoying herself lately, but it was still inconceivable that their teammate was giggling like a schoolgirl with a smile that could rival Ruby's on a trip to the bakery, while the dog licked her face. Finally, they found something that could make Kassidy forget she was a Huntress-in-training that needed to be all serious all the time, and instead remember that she's still just a fifteen year old girl.

"I'll take this to mean you're not scared of dogs, K." Yang's jaw was hanging limply at the sight before her. "K, meet Zwei. Zwei, meet K."

"Looks like Zwei likes you as much as you like him," Taiyang declared as he made his way to the front of the group. "Alright, it's starting to get late, and I'm sure you're just as tired as I am." Playfully glaring at his daughters with a smile on his face, Taiyang forced, "It's about time for my two girls to go get their beauty sleep, am I right?"

Ruby whined as Yang levelled her best fake glare at her dad. "Ugh, dad! We can't even show our teammate around?"

"You can tomorrow. Now scram, you troublemakers. I'll be with you shortly." Taiyang ruffled Ruby's and Yang's hair in turn before sending them upstairs. Kassidy reluctantly put Zwei down and followed him upstairs also. He led her into a cozy room occupied by a dresser, a nightstand, and what looked to be a luxurious bed piled high with a mound of blankets. _Dear Oum, and I thought the beds back at Beacon looked comfortable. Wait, did I just say 'dear Oum'? Geez, apparently their vernacular's finally started to rub off._

"Bathroom's straight across the hall if you need it. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask."

"Well, as long as the offer's open…" Kassidy put her pack at the foot of the bed and turned around with a smirk. "I could do with some tips for dealing with your daughters. Seriously, now that Yang's figured out how to do The Pout, it's physically impossible to say no to them."

Taiyang laughed hard at that one. "Yeah, I can imagine. Never had a problem with that myself, seeing as I had plenty of time to build up an immunity to the puppy eyes treatment with my teammates at Beacon."

That tidbit of information got Kassidy's attention. "You trained at Beacon also?"

"Yup. Team STRQ, the coolest cool kids to ever come out of the school." The two spent a few minutes trading stories of the school and of their respective teams, before Taiyang leaned forward with a more serious expression. "So how have you been getting along with my daughters?"

Kassidy was caught a bit off guard by the comment. "Well… Ruby's a great team leader. She can be a little hyperactive at times, sure, but she makes sure everyone gets along well, she puts in a ton of work with everything, and she's a great fighter to boot. A lot of fun too, once you get past her awkwardness. But she's not even that awkward."

"Mhmm," Taiyang grunted. "And how about Yang?"

"Best partner I could've asked for," was the instant reply. "She's a superb fighter, great teammate, we've got damn near the same sense of humor, she helps out whenever I get too stressed and I try to return the favor whenever I can. Hell, if I didn't know any better I'd think she was my long lost big sister for as similar she is with the folks I did my growing up with. Great example to live up to, also." Leaning back slightly, Kassidy met Taiyang's eye. "I'm sure you get it a lot, but you did a hell of a job raising those two."

"I most certainly tried. Those two troublemakers didn't make it easy, though." Kassidy and Taiyang chuckled, but then the man turned deadly serious, leaned forward, and glared at her as though he were gazing into her heavily damaged soul. "I can tell they mean a lot to you, and I know you mean a lot to them, so I'm only going to say this once. You hurt either of my girls on purpose, especially Yang, and you better pray to whatever gods you believe in that I don't find you."

"Umm… okay, that wasn't expected." Kassidy let out a breath as she looked at the ceiling. "Don't worry about it. I wouldn't hurt them."

"You better not." Suddenly, Taiyang clapped his hands and stood up from the chair he was seated at. "Alright, enough for casual death threats. I gotta go see my girls again before they go down. Sleep well."

* * *

Kassidy's ear twitched when she heard a twig snap in the distance. Six o'clock in the morning found her in the Xiao Long's front yard, going through a basic workout regimen. The sun had just started peeking over the horizon, but the woods surrounding the property still blocked most of it. Still, there was just enough light out that, whenever she stopped and stood up, she could just see a humanoid figure with a large pack heading towards the house. _Who would be coming to this place at six in the morning?_ Deciding not to wait around and find out, Kassidy tucked around the wall, drew her pistol, and waited as she strained her ears to listen for the footsteps that would surely come.

"Y'know, if you're going to try to be sneaky around someone like me, you're gonna need to try an awful lot harder than that." The sudden voice made Kassidy jump; dropping to a knee as she spun around, she almost brought her gun up against Qrow, who had his hands shoved in his pockets and a smug grin across his face.

Kassidy stood back up, let out a breath, and reholstered her pistol. "Ah, just you. Wow, that's not a good sign if I completely missed you AND you saw me. Didn't realize I've gotten so rusty."

"Eh, you're not bad, but from what I gather you're used to sneaking around people not quite at the caliber of your typical Huntsman. And even then, I'm not your typical Huntsman. By the way, here's your stuff. Weren't kidding when you said you travelled light."

Qrow dumped the bag at her feet, and Kassidy opened the top and checked to see if it was indeed her stuff. "Wow, thanks, man. I guess I owe ya for this." Walking around the front of the house, she set the pack by the front door. She was about to return to her exercises when she caught out of the corner of her eye that Qrow had not moved from his former posture as he simply watched her. "There something I can help you with?"

"Not really, but there was a couple things I want to talk to you about real quick." Sauntering forward, he leaned against the wall of the house. "You cool if I'm honest with ya? Brutally honest?"

"I prefer it that way."

"Good. Gotta admit, when I first saw ya, something about you definitely rubbed me the wrong way. And now that I've had my little chat with Ozpin… well, let's just say that you haven't stopped rubbing me the wrong way."

Kassidy's legs tensed as she crossed her arms. "May I be so bold as to ask what Ozpin told you about me?"

"Sure," Qrow shrugged. "He told me about a girl that got dealt a raw hand, decided she was fed up with playing the game, and made her own way in life, everyone else be damned. He told me it's the same girl who's using what morality she has left and a healthy helping of survivor's guilt to turn into quite the budding Huntress-in-training."

"I've got plenty of morality," she defended. "I just tend to pick and choose where I apply it."

"So I've noticed. Anyway, I also found out this girl took a liking to my nieces, and unsurprisingly my nieces took a liking to her. So, Ozpin trusts ya, the girls trust ya, Taiyang obviously trusts ya or else you wouldn't still be here."

Kassidy tentatively asked, "So where does that leave us?"

"Well, I don't trust you quite yet, but I do trust them, so that'll have to do. I imagine Taiyang's already said his piece and threatened ya a bit, so I'm not going to waste breath saying something you've already heard. Besides, from what I gathered, you're not one to leave those you get close to high and dry."

"It'll have to do indeed. Not exactly keen on pissing off my best friends' uncle." Kassidy and Qrow shared a chuckle, before she raised her voice again. "If you don't mind me asking, I get the impression you're not around a lot. You in between jobs?"

Qrow looked slightly above Kassidy for a few moments as he seemed to be weighing his options. _Well, probably just asked a question that I shouldn't have asked. So much for not pissing him off._ To her surprise, he answered in as more or less an honest fashion as she could ask. "You could say that. My last lead ran out, waiting on a new one now. Figured I'd spend that time waiting with my family."

"I'd be hard pressed to find someone that would blame you."

Suddenly, the front door to the house opened to a shirtless Taiyang. _Well, it's easy to guess where Yang got her strength and build from._ "Thought I heard some voices out here. You two alright?"

"Just fine," Kassidy supplied. "Always was an early riser, so I came out here a while ago to get a small workout in without waking everyone up. Mr. Branwen showed up a few minutes ago."

"Please, just Qrow."

"Yeah, this old fart's not gentlemanly enough to be called a mister," Taiyang jabbed. Qrow glared at him, and he chuckled. "How about coming in? You could probably use a break; I heard Yang talking about taking you through her old stomping grounds when she was growing up while Ruby and Qrow headed to Signal for the day. I got a pot of coffee started if you drink it."

Kassidy sighed, "Great, Yang made plans. I'm screwed." All three of them laughed at that. "And I'll have to pass on the coffee. Don't really drink anything other than water."

* * *

 **AN 2: Well, there's a whole lot of nothing going on here at the moment. You know what they say, no news is good news. See y'all later for Monday's chapter.**

 **Coming up next: Yang's plans.**

 **Matt Cyr: Fight's over. Yeah, the other Grimm aren't exactly keen on getting near Hunter-Killers, and the HK's in turn aren't keen on sharing space with the other Grimm.**

 **AgentDraakis: Zwei uses Adorable Face! It's super effective! And yeah, she's getting some bad vibes from somewhere, and she's probably assuming that somewhere is Tai and Qrow's general vicinities.**

 **AndJrew76: Actually, I had that written up a couple weeks ago; in fact, I'm trying to keep all my chapters written about two weeks ahead of time to kaiju has time to proofread them. But I definitely got a laugh with your expectations of someone getting hurt, because I knew exactly what was going to happen.**

 **James: I have indeed determined what Kassidy's Semblance will be. And that's all you're getting out of me.**

 **mcd3424: Eh, university's what it is, and the edumacation helps out on occasion too from what I hear. Still, I'm in the grind with ya too. Hope your semester goes well.**

 **Tykene: Damn… sucks about your apartment. Hope everything gets cleaned up soon on that end. I can understand where you're coming from; rereading it myself, I can tell I didn't add enough descriptiveness to the conversation to show you how they were feeling about the situation. Glad to hear you liked these past two chapters a lot, I certainly tried to channel Winter's essence into the writing (which mostly consisted of writing while I was outside - it was COLD then!). Yeah, I took a clue from V4E3 with Kassidy and Yang's interactions on that front. Fan art? Not that I've heard of, and I'm definitely not brave enough to give it a go of my own - I've flunked every art class I've ever taken, to give you an idea about my artistic creativity. Thanks for the high praises, man, I will definitely do my best to keep it up.**


	51. I1C7: Fish 'n Ships

**Interlude 1 Chapter 7: Fish 'n Ships**

 **AN: Well, that ice storm sucked. Was more or less frozen in the apartment all weekend long. At least it was a four day weekend, though I didn't realize it at first as I showed up to classes that weren't going on wondering why campus was a ghost town. Anyway, back to the part of the story you guys actually care about, and there's plenty of that. By complete accident, this is the longest chapter to date, by quite a bit actually.**

 **So, Kassidy got tricked/guilt-tripped into staying with Ruby and Yang for summer break at Patch. No Grimm to fight, nobody trying to kill you, no homework or studying to do… what's a girl to do when her life isn't in mortal peril? Apparently, get drug around the island for a day by her partner.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

On her first full day in Patch, Kassidy learned that the only two things that were allowed to be small in the Xiao Long household were Ruby and Zwei. The house was big, the weapons were big – _if Yang of all people has the smallest weapon in the family, you know there's some big guns around these parts_ – the cabinets seemed to be twelve feet off the ground, and the meals were absolutely gigantic. And if Ruby and Yang tucking into half a dozen eggs each like it wasn't a big issue was any indication, using two and a half dozen eggs, half a loaf of bread, and nearly two pounds of bacon was par for the course around here. _Not that I'm complaining, Taiyang can cook!_

"Is anyone going to want any more before I put stuff away? And Kassidy, please for the love of Oum stop making comments about taking advantage of my hospitality. You're a guest here, we have no problem housing you. Besides, no Huntress-in-training should be that skinny."

"I know, right, Dad? That's what we keep telling her!" Yang complained. "Still have no idea how she manages to eat more than me and still weigh… what was it, a hundred thirty?"

Kassidy swallowed her current mouthful before replying, "Something like that."

"Well, at least you've finally started growing in, ahem, certain areas." Kassidy whipped her head up, uncertain as to Yang's meaning, but her partner simply poked her in the chest.

Her cheeks flushed as several people started snickering. "Still smaller than Weiss is," she muttered.

Apparently she didn't mutter quietly enough, as Qrow started guffawing loudly, which in turn made Ruby and Yang start laughing harder. It took a minute for him to calm down, before he finally managed to choke out, "Man, that right there's embarrassing. The Schnees don't even have breasts to speak of."

Kassidy's head impacted the table, and she tried to burrow into her folded arms. "Yang, why did you have to make my chest the center of conversation? I swear, this is why we can't take you places."

"Aw, you know you love me." Yang's teasing tone made Kassidy groan, but then she leaned over and started reaching with her fork. "If you're done eating, I call dibs on your eggs."

Kassidy's own fork shot out and intercepted the offending cutlery, catching Yang's hand hard enough to make a small spurt of yellow shoot out. "My food," she growled. This only made Ruby start giggling at her two teammates.

She wasn't the only one, however, as Taiyang sat down to his own breakfast with a silly grin of his own. "Are all of your team meals like this, Ru?"

Ruby shook her head. "We usually have Weiss yelling at us to act more dignified. Juniper's also eating with us most of the time, and Nora's always got some crazy story or other to tell."

"Well, it doesn't sound like your time at Beacon's been boring," Qrow drawled. "Hell, I remember Tai hitting on this one girl-"

Taiyang was quick to blurt out, "C'mon man, how many times have we been over this? Not in front of the girls."

"Tch, their loss."

The three girls traded glances before Taiyang cleared his throat. "Right, well. Now that we have that out of the way, what's everyone's plans for the day?"

Yang perked up after downing another strip of bacon. "Well, I was hoping I'd take K around the island. Maybe show her some of my old stomping grounds."

"Well, that's better than the current no plan I have," Kassidy admitted. _Even if I'm still not entirely convinced it's a good idea._ Yang's grin only served to reinforce her thought.

Ruby, meanwhile, was all but bouncing in her seat. "Ooh, ooh! Kass, can I borrow Bob for the day?"

Kassidy stopped mid-bite and raised an eyebrow. "How come?"

"Well, I've done a bit of talking with Bob over the course of the semester. Towards the end we kinda sorta started talking about guns, and we got to thinking and I got to planning. Between him and Uncle Qrow, I think I can fit a gas-operated mechanism in Crescent Rose!"

The bit of egg on Kassidy's fork slid off as her jaw hung open and she paled. Eventually, her faculties returned to her. "Let me get this straight: you're wanting to turn a bolt-action forty millimeter sniper scythe into a semiautomatic forty millimeter sniper scythe."

"Well… yeah!"

Kassidy took long, hard looks at Yang, Taiyang, and Qrow, and didn't find what she was looking for in their faces. Pressing her hands into her face and letting out a long breath, she sighed. "Okay. Alright. I'll trade you Bob for a ticket to Atlas. Or wherever's as far away from Crescent Rose as possible."

Ruby snickered even as Yang had an amused grin. "What happened to the partner that said the bigger the gun, the better?"

Losing her cool, Kassidy threw her hands up with wide eyes. "People aren't meant for guns that big! A gas-operated Crescent Rose is the equivalent of an early World War Two anti-tank gun! How the hell does that even work?! If I tried shooting it, you'd need to go looking for all my pieces!"

Taiyang joined his youngest daughter in snickering, while Qrow set his fork down and eyeballed their guest. "In case you haven't noticed, something like a Deathstalker basically is a tank."

"Hence why I don't go out of my way to pick fights with scorpions the size of a house!"

"Don't I get a say in this?" Bob's question ended all debates and drew the room's attention to himself. After Kassidy gave her assent, he quickly made his move. "Ruby, please, please, please, for the love of all that is holy, take me with you. Yang and Kassidy together all day is going to be nothing but puns and a whole bunch of stuff I want nothing to do with."

A wave of chuckling crashed over the table, and Kassidy shook her head. "Well, it looks like we've got our answer for that. Alright, alright, looks like you get your break."

"Someone's rather indulgent of their computer, even if it does have a mouth on it." Kassidy shook her head at Qrow's comment.

"Hey, as much power as Bob has, I gotta keep him happy if I don't want the robot apocalypse to happen." A fresh wave of laughter swept everyone up, and amicable small talk was the name of the game for the rest of breakfast.

An hour later saw Kassidy up in the room she had been given, packing and repacking her backpack. She was so engrossed she didn't notice Yang creep up behind her. She was in the middle of repacking her magazines with ammunition when…

"So!" Yang's outburst made Kassidy yelp and drop the magazine, scattering its rounds across the floor. Turning around, Kassidy glared at Yang, who barely stifled her laughter before splitting into a grin. "Watcha doooooo-in'?"

"I was getting gear together for our little outing today," was the terse reply. She relaxed, however, when Yang flashed a dopey smile. Shaking her head and sighing, Kassidy got to gathering her ammunition back up. _Why, oh why, can I not stay mad at that blonde trainwreck when she pulls crap like that?_

"You're seriously packing up the Back-Breaking Backpack of Intrigue and Mystery for a day trip around the island?" Kassidy raised an eyebrow at her partner's name for her backpack, and Yang snorted. "Don't tell me the name doesn't fit. Your pack's almost as big as Ruby is, and you seem to have literally anything you could possibly want in it."

"It's called being prepared, dearest Yang. I haven't managed to not die yet by relying on dumb luck."

"Finally, someone who can teach my daughter a thing or two about responsibility." Taiyang materialized in the doorframe, and Yang squawked her protest. "Fixed you two some sandwiches to throw in your bag, if that's okay. Don't know what you have planned for lunch."

"Aw, you shouldn't have!" Yang over-dramatized taking the lunches from her dad, before handing them to her partner.

Kassidy, however, was far more interested in going through a final check as she muttered to herself. "Vest, check. Gun, check. Four mags ammo, check. Three day's dry rations, check. Gallon water and means to get more, check. Medical supplies, check. Spare parts for Bob… not necessary. Sword, check. Firestarter, chemical handwarmers, flashlight, check."

"Oh my Oum, this is why it takes forever when we go places!" Yang wailed. "You do this every single time, even when we're just going to downtown Vale! We already cleared the Grimm from the island; you don't even need your weapons. I'm not taking Ember Celica."

"Like I said, being prepared. Besides, just because we finished the fighting yesterday doesn't mean there isn't a straggler or two we'd need to watch out for."

"Okay… I think I get what you mean now, Yang." Taiyang stepped into the room and helped Kassidy back to her feet. "Maybe you don't need to be that prepared. I got ya some food, just take a couple water bottles and you should be good. You're never more than a few hour's walk from town anyway, no matter where you are on the island."

Kassidy mulled it over for a minute, weighing her options and what Taiyang said. She wasn't sure what it was, but something made her decide to relent. Dropping her bag with a huff, she said, "I'm still taking my gun. Never go anywhere unarmed."

"Catch," Yang declared. Kassidy looked up just in time for her jacket and half-skirt to hit her face. Muttering to herself about how she was so going to get back at Yang at the earliest opportunity, she got to pulling the outermost layers of her outfit on.

"Y'know, I didn't really pay attention to it earlier, but you really have a similar taste in fashion to Yang," Taiyang remarked. Kassidy looked up to see him leaning against the walls with crossed arms and a furrowed brow.

"My choices in fashion begin and end with covering what I need to cover and not freezing to death."

Yang spoke back up. "Which, for obvious reasons, means she has an absolutely horrendous taste in fashion, so Rubes and I took it upon ourselves to make sure she looks good."

Taiyang looked between the two of them, then gave a small smile. "Well, alright then. I won't keep you two any longer." Suddenly grabbing Yang, he held on to her shoulders and bored right into her visage. "I want you two home by dark, and no funny business, okay?"

Yang rolled her eyes. "Ugh, okay! Does every dad have to be a killjoy?"

Ignoring Kassidy's input of 'pretty much', Taiyang softened his hold and his face. "I just worry for my kids. My precious little rose and my sunny little dragon. It's a dad's job. Now, go have some fun."

* * *

"Wow…" Kassidy looked out with wide eyes at the sight before her. A full day of hiking had revealed a multitude of breathtaking sights, from a waterfall to a vantage point further along the cliff where you could see the entire island, and Yang was apparently more than happy to show them off to Kassidy. The river beside her tumbled over the small drop-off before morphing into rapids. The way the sun's rays filtered into the flower-filled clearing next to and above the drop made it clear that they had chosen the optimal time of day to reach this spot.

"I know, right?" Yang huffed and stepped up next to her. "Rubes found this place about five years ago, I think. Ever since, it's been my favorite place to hide out whenever I just needed to get away from things. It's real peaceful here."

"I can buy that for a buck," Kassidy replied. Yang started walking forward, prompting Kassidy to follow while also getting a good view of her partner. Yang had shrugged off her jacket about an hour ago, revealing a tube top, shoulders, and lower back that were glistening with sweat. Following a particular bead, Kassidy saw that Yang's hips were ever so slightly more exaggerated in their motions. Seeing these sights when the jacket first came off caused more than one unpleasant reaction that made Kassidy more convinced she was coming down with an illness, though oddly enough she hadn't had the sensations again since taking the front. At any rate, the obvious conclusion was that Yang was fatigued and getting more sloppy in her movements; this conclusion was, at least in Kassidy's opinion, all but confirmed when Yang simply plopped down in the grass and sprawled out. "Well, if you wanted a break, you could have just said something."

Yang panted for a little bit, then seemed to have gotten enough breath to ask, "Just wanted to know if you liked what you saw." Her partner's cheeky grin told Kassidy exactly what she was referring to.

Ignoring a small flush that came at being accused that she was watching her partner in that manner, Kassidy sat down next to her and quickly summed up her thoughts on the matter. "Not really. Your endurance isn't as good as it needs to be; we haven't done anything but walk all day, and you're still all sweaty and out of breath."

"Hey, we can't all be super awesome like you are. I swear the Grimm are jealous of your conditioning." The two laughed lightly, then Yang poked her. "Besides, don't act like you're in your prime right now, either. You've been sweating your fair share."

"I don't like heat, so I tend to sweat easier," Kassidy rebutted. "Which is why I'm going to do this." Ignoring Yang's look, she shed her jacket and undid her bun, letting her hair fall down to her shoulder blades. "Hmm, going to need to cut my hair soon. Getting on the long side."

Now, normally that was all it would take for Yang to launch into yet another lecture on the importance of proper hair maintenance. So the complete absence of one definitely got Kassidy's attention. Whipping her head around and fearing what she'd find, Kassidy let a breath out to see Yang was mostly alright. What caught her attention, however, was how Yang was staring at her – or more specifically, her torso. _Did I hurt myself or something? I don't remember anything like that._ A cursory examination revealed an injury to not be the source of Yang's attention. The only thing out of the ordinary was the sweat soaking her sleeveless shirt, the already tight garment hugging her chest and abdomen.

"Is something wrong, Yang?"

The question made Yang start. Looking up at her partner, she blushed heavily and looked away. _Alright, not sure what caused that reaction. She might be coming down with something, too? Mentioned something about a flu earlier._

"Uh…nope. All good."

The two sat for a few minutes, Yang catching her breath and Kassidy admiring the clearing they were in. Soon, however, Kassidy was tired of having to brush her hair out of her face as the light breeze whipped it around. She grabbed a handful and was about to start remaking her bun when she decided against it. _Well, the big reason I keep my hair in the bun is so nobody can grab it in a fight. But if there truly is no danger of a fight… keeping my hair somewhat down to help wick heat away won't hurt._ Dropping her current handful, she instead decided to make an attempt at a ponytail. Attempt being the operative word.

Yang watched for a minute, then got fed up with her partner's frustrated grunts. "Need a hand, K?"

"How can something as simple as hair be such a pain to deal with?" was the terse reply. Kassidy heard chuckling behind her, but ignored it in favor of making another attempt. She stopped, however, when something tugged at her hair even as her hand got slapped away.

As Yang got her partner to settle down and started to work on the smaller mass of blonde in front of her, she externalized her internal monologue. "Still not sure why I'm always carrying hairbands… can't even blame big sister instincts anymore, Ruby hasn't worn her hair up for years."

"Wait, people actually use hairbands? I always thought those were some cheap gimmick – just use more hair. It's free and it works, after all."

"Yeah, but it also hurts a bit when everything bounces around and tugs on itself. Still don't know how you put up with your hair in that bun you always have it in. Why I keep knocking it down every chance I get, no chance in Dust that's comfortable."

Kassidy shrugged. "Comfort isn't an issue that I care about. I've developed a pretty high pain tolerance over the years, and a few years of wearing my hair like that didn't hurt things either."

"Well, all done. You happy?" Kassidy stood up and helped her partner on her feet. The weight bouncing around behind her head was unfamiliar, but it would do. Kassidy nodded, then helped Yang to her feet, who then queried, "Think it's about time we started heading back? Probably gonna be dinner time soon."

Kassidy and Yang made their way back along the river towards the Xiao Long house, but Kassidy stopped when she saw something move in the water. Looking closer, she split into a grin at the sight of the small crustaceans.

"Hey, you okay partner?"

Yang's question brought Kassidy back to the present, but with a renewed hunger. "You like shrimp, Yang?" She nodded, and Kassidy smiled. "How about I teach you some wilderness survival stuff? I'm kinda hungry now, and I can't remember the last time I had a decent shrimp. How does catching and cooking our dinner right here sound?"

The next hour was spent with Kassidy showing Yang one of the many tricks of the trade when it came to feeding one's self in the wild: how to use the lawyer cane like plants to weave, how to made a funnel-like cage out of said plants, good bait for a fish trap, and good places to deposit said fish traps to optimize one's food gathering. After a decent time of making traps and dumping them in the river, along with a helping hand from lady luck, the two blondes were rewarded for their efforts with nearly a dozen shrimp for their consumption pleasure. Building a fire was a simple matter, but how to light a fire without matches would've been a useful lesson… if Yang hadn't reminded her about what her Semblance did.

"So, um, how come we're putting these rocks into the fire instead of putting your little mud pot you built on top of the fire?"

"Because, Yang, heating the rocks and dumping them straight into the water makes it boil faster than forcing the thermal energy to pass through the walls of our little pot here. Not to mention it simplifies building the pot if we don't have to lift it off the ground to place it on a fire."

Kassidy dropped the beheaded and deveined shrimp, and the heated rocks, into the water. However, something caught her attention. _Cold breeze. Raising humidity. Dropping temperatures. Pretty good indication of rain._ Looking up, she cursed herself internally when she saw black storm clouds rolling in. It was a wonder they hadn't heard any thunder yet. She sat and watched for a minute, trying to get any indication on how quickly and in which direction it was moving.

"What's up, K? You know when these things will be done? Hello?" Yang waving her hand in her face made Kassidy blink and come back. "Man, you tend to zone out a lot. Something wrong?"

"How far away are we from your house?"

Yang shrugged, then cocked her head. "About an hour. How come?"

Kassidy pointed to the gathering clouds. "We don't have an hour."

"Oh." Yang's face fell, then she dropped back down to their pot. "At least we won't need to get through the rain on an empty stomach. Come and get it."

Kassidy and Yang downed their shrimp in a hurry; even as good as freshly caught shellfish was, they didn't have long. Gathering their stuff back up, they quickly started making their way back to the house. It wasn't to be, however, and in a matter of mere minutes they were faced with the prospect of driving rain and howling wind.

Kassidy grabbed her partner's shoulder and shouted into her ear. "We gotta find somewhere to wait this out! I can't see shit in this, and hypothermia's gonna be real easy in this kind of weather!" Yang nodded, and they abandoned the search for the route back to the house in favor of the search for shelter of any kind. It only took a few minutes to find a shallow cave opening, but that was a few minutes that saw them soaked to the bone.

"So what're we supposed to do now, wait it out? My Scroll can't get a signal in this weather, and Dad's gonna be freaking out about us."

Kassidy sighed and started wringing out her hair. "Waiting's the only option. It's going on dusk and we're absolutely soaked. Temperature's only going to drop from here on out, and we're not as sheltered from the wind as we are from the rain. Hopefully it'll pass quickly enough that we can make it back to your house before we get too cold."

Yang looked like she wanted to argue, but yawned loudly. "Wow, didn't think I was this tired."

"Before you nod off, get your extra clothing off." Kassidy was herself in the middle of taking off her boots, but stopped when Yang started choking on thin air. Her partner had gotten her breathing back under control quickly, however, and silently begged for an explanation. "The more dripping wet clothes you have on, the colder you're going to get and the longer it'll take to get dry. Not gonna ask you to just strip, but anything you don't need should come off. So boots, socks, jacket, that half-skirt, and scarf need to go." Following through with her own advice, Kassidy finished peeling off her footwear and got to work wrestling her half-skirt off. It wasn't long before all their extra articles were spread out along the back of the cave floor to dry.

Yang was about to ask, "So what now," but got cut off by another yawn. She stretched, which did no small amount of showing off when all she had on at this point was her top and her shorts.

Kassidy did her best to ignore the tightening in her chest. "Now, it sounds like you need sleep. It's not gonna be comfortable, but caves never are. I'll take watch."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'taking watch'? There's nothing to watch for."

"Not taking chances, and this isn't up for debate. Get some rest. I'll wake you when this passes."

Those words were an hour ago. The time did nothing to dull the storm or the chill in Kassidy's bones. Curled up into as tight a ball as possible while still being able to move and look around as she needed to, she snuck a look at the conversely stretched out and slumbering form of her partner. Yang had her Semblance to warm her up and dry her off, but Kassidy had no such luxury to save her from the bite. She crawled over to see if either of the jackets had dried off yet, but of course there was no such luck.

She was about to curl back up into her shivering ball when some movement caught her eye. Fighting the chill and sluggishness that came from her condition, Kassidy dropped into a crouch and raised her pistol at the form. She was beyond surprised when a crow came flying into the cave, ruffled its feathers to dry off, then seemed to look right at her.

"Well aren't you an interesting one. You've been flying out there all this time? My condolences… oh, who am I kidding? I'm talking to a fucking bird now. Good going, Smith." Kassidy ignored the bird hopping to the back of the cave, instead favoring to climb back on her rock and resume her vigil.

"You two been here all this time?" The sudden voice made Kassidy jump, only to crack her head against the cave wall. Cradling her skull and cursing under her breath, she wheeled around to see Qrow Branwen of all people standing behind her.

"Wha-? How?"

"Well, when you're as good as I am, you learn a few tricks." He took a few steps forward and looked at her head. Grunting and nodding when he saw the lack of blood, he quickly fixed a mighty glare that she couldn't help but shrink back from. "Now, is there a reason that you're in a cave with my niece with a majority of both of your wardrobes on the ground?"

"Because hypothermia is a stone bitch. Firsthand experience talking."

He opened his mouth, but stopped when she started shivering again. "Okay, fair enough. You two stay here, I'll get Taiyang and we'll get you back to the house."

"The storm clearing up enough we can head out?"

Qrow shook his head. "It's not going anywhere anytime soon, but you two staying here and catching cold isn't an attractive option either. Hang tight, I'll be right back. In the meantime, here." Kassidy was about to ask what he meant, but he shrugged his cloak off his back and chucked it at her face. When she got it out from in front of her eyes, Qrow was gone. The peculiar crow cawed as it left the cave.

"Well, great. Now I need to assume every crow I come across is a goddamn spy. Probably every bird period, for that matter. Hopefully ravens are still cool." She wrapped herself up in the cloak and curled back into her prior posture.

It took another numbingly long hour, but the sound of footsteps was eventually heard and made Kassidy perk up. By this point her nose was a runny mess, her skin had been drained of all color, and she could hear her own teeth chatter. A shock of blonde hair poked out from under a hood, and Taiyang was quick to show himself. His lit up face from the discovery of the girls dropped quickly at the sight of Kassidy's condition. "Hey the… oh boy, that's not good. Qrow, give me a hand here!"

"You still doing okay?" The uncle was close behind, with Kassidy's own backpack over his shoulder. He took one look and pressed his lips into a line. "That looks an awful lot like no. Here, give me a sec."

"Okay, Yang's doing okay, good." Taiyang's comment made Kassidy snap her head around to the father-daughter duo. _Well thank Oum that I didn't make the wrong assumption she'd be okay. I didn't ever see any shivering, but…_

"Hey, I got some thermal outerwear for ya here, should help with the cold a little bit." Qrow handed the bundle of clothes to Kassidy. It took a few minutes to make her shaking limbs cooperate with her, but she managed to get the warmer clothes and a heavy coat on.

"Ugh… wassup with all the noise?" Yang sat up and blinked a few times before looking around. Seeing her family standing at the mouth of the cave and looking expectantly at her, however, made her pale. "Dad? Uncle Qrow? Uh… I can explain."

Qrow snorted. "Hypothermia's a stone bitch. Your partner already explained, using those words I might add. Here, get these on, should make the trek back more manageable."

While Yang was getting into waterproof gear, Taiyang opted to make his way over to the third blonde. Kassidy, for her effort, braced her arm against the wall of the cave and stood on shaky legs. Taiyang wasn't impressed, however. "You sure you're good to go?"

"Always," Kassidy growled. "Couldn't have gotten where I am if I couldn't push myself when I needed to." Her body had other ideas, however, and as soon as her hand left the wall her legs all but buckled and she had to catch herself again. Snarling, she smacked the cave floor before sighing. "Though I might need a hand if you don't want me slowing you down."

"I got ya, K." Yang reached out and offered her shoulder. Throwing on a heavy raincoat and leaning on her partner, Kassidy was about ready to make the excursion back to the house. Before they left, however, she sneezed.

* * *

 **AN 2: Oh look, we got another World of Remnant. What joy. Well, at least it kept to the "3 regular episodes for every WoR episode" rule we usually get.**

 **In case you couldn't tell by how heavy handed the first part of the author's note was, things are heating up. Last call for all with tickets to the USS Molotov Cocktail!**

 **Coming up next: Someone finally 'fesses up. Finally. Only took fifty two chapters.**

 **Right after these Reviewer Responses (and about four days).**

 **Baconlord53: Dear lord indeed. Though when you think about it… Ruby had to learn it from somewhere, didn't she?**

 **AndJrew76: Slightly less relaxing here, but still less dangerous than Grimm attacks. Yeah, knowing you have feelings for someone is kinda hard when you don't even know what it means to have feelings for someone, or what those feelings even are. Hopefully she'll get the hint soon.**

 **Firearm Legume: No, you're not crazy, those are some neat firearms there. Nice finds as per usual.**

 **Captain marvel 36: It's amazing how relatable a girl becomes when she isn't paranoid out her skull. Thanks for the compliments on the name choices, once I made that connection I couldn't pass it up. Which university? I'm currently attending Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, though I'm not staying on campus. I'm sure you'd understand when I'd rather not reveal more than that.**

 **AgentDraakis: I mean, technically it was more a runtime error than a compiler error. Either way, the result is the same: your computer (or brain, in Kassidy's case) isn't very happy with you. I'm pretty sure half the reason Tai threatened Kass is overprotective father, more than seeing the ship power up (even if the signs are so obvious even my antisocial self can pick up on them). If Yang's pout is legal… it shouldn't be. Qrow having to do with getting Kassidy's Aura back would be interesting, if it weren't also wrong. Think about it: the Colossus guys did everything in their power to kill of her soul. This isn't a case of "Kassidy just needs to try harder/have better motivation", at the moment she physically** _ **can't**_ **use her Aura. Time will tell if she ever will, I guess. I'm sure that once she's convinced she can relax, Kassidy will be all too willing to take that opportunity.**

 **Matt Cyr: Well, using the local vernacular does help with blending in. And… how the hell did I not think of that before you mentioned it?! Damnit, I could've made so many jokes with that! Where were you when I started this fic back in August?**

 **Nemasis Demarini: As far as memory serves, you were the only one to bring up "Rouge", though I must admit that your misspelling of "Rogue" was what gave me the idea to begin with. Glad to hear you're still enjoying it, I'll do my best to keepeth it upeth.**

 **James: You shall wait no longer! Here's to hoping I can write fluff as decently as I can most of the other stuff I've done so far.**


	52. I1C8: A Crushing Confession

**Interlude 1 Chapter 8: A Crushing Confession**

 **AN: I know a bunch of you are getting a bit frustrated with how slow my slow-burn is, well, burning. All I have to say on the subject is I don't exactly have a plethora of real-world experience to draw from so I'm trying my best. That being said, I do have this rather meticulously planned out, so hopefully here in the next couple chapters it'll all come together for you guys and we can finally get to the mushy and gushy stuff.**

 **Well, Kassidy's sick, for the first time in twelve years. Ruby enlists Yang to help take care of her, but suspicions are raised at just how much care is being shown to her sister's partner, and Yang is confronted during breakfast. Yeah, you asked for it, and I promised it, so here you go.**

* * *

(Perspective: Ruby)

Ruby sighed as she sat up, eyes blinking blearily. _Ugh, why did I have to get up so early? Isn't summer break supposed to be for sleeping in?_ She rolled over and plucked her Scroll from the bedside table, groaning as she saw that it was still only six thirty in the morning. Burying her face in her pillow and curling under the covers tighter, she tried to will herself back to sleep. But as the minutes passed, her body refused to comply with her demands. Something just seemed wrong, and she couldn't quite put a finger on it.

 _It's probably just more worries about Kassidy and Yang._ Those two got home late last night, and definitely bore the looks of people who had been stuck out in a rainstorm. Sure, Yang appeared just fine, but there was no guarantee that her sister wouldn't get sick again, especially so soon after having the flu. Kassidy, on the other hand, looked ill enough for the both of them. Still, she had insisted that she was okay, and it had been late enough that everyone agreed to go their separate ways for the night.

Ruby turned over with a huff. That foreign feeling in the back of her mind, that feeling that told her something wasn't right, wasn't going away. Something felt intrinsically wrong. Focusing herself on her hearing, she could just barely make out the faint sound of someone moaning. _Uh oh, is Yang not doing well? Or Kassidy, for that matter? I should probably check on them. I'm already awake anyway, and Kass is always telling me to trust my gut._

Finally tossing the sheets to the side of the bed, Ruby slid her feet into a pair of slippers, rubbed the last of the sleep from her eyes, and opened her bedroom door. The hallway before her was still dark, a testament to the fact that the sun hadn't risen for the day yet. A little bit of light crept out from under the closed bathroom door, and the sound of moaning was more pronounced. She stopped in front of Yang's door and decided to check on her sister first; even if the room wasn't empty, then the culprit was obviously Kassidy. Slowly, to make sure she didn't wake Yang up in case her sister was still sleeping, Ruby placed her hand on the knob…

Only for the door to open before she could act, revealing a curtain of blonde. A pair of arms reached out and parted it, and a creature bearing a vague physical resemblance to her older sister managed to see Ruby and stop before crashing into her. "Oh… hey Rubes. You get woken up too?"

Ruby yawned lightly and scratched her arm. "Yeah. I heard some moaning and decided to come take a look and make sure everyone was okay. So if it wasn't you… Kass!" The exclamation got Yang to wake up far more quickly as she rubbed her eyes and took a look down the hall. Ruby was already on the move, however, and came to a stop in front of the bathroom. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that the door to Kassidy's room was wide open. Yang came up behind her, and with a quick nod Ruby knocked softly on the door to the bathroom. "Kass, you okay?" The sound of heaving was the only reply she got, and it only took another look between the sisters before they decided to open the door.

They found Kassidy hunched over the toilet, pale as a sheet, red eyed, and quivering violently. Their noses scrunched instantly and subconsciously as a heavy odor of vomit assaulted them, and they started coughing. The noise was enough to get Kassidy to look over at them, and she cringed hard. "Err… sorry about your toilet. Well, your bathroom. Well… ugh, shit." Yang quickly made her way across the small room as Kassidy emptied her stomach yet again, but Kassidy tried to wave her off. Wiping her mouth with her arm, she choked out, "I'm fine, really. Just need to get this over with."

Ruby and Yang's gazes met yet again. In synch, they turned to Kassidy and asked, "Really?"

Kassidy chuckled grimly. "Heh, yeah, I couldn't say that with a straight face either. But seriously, don't worry about me. I'll deal with it."

Yang crossed her arms and glared at her partner. "Nope."

For her part, Kassidy managed to raise an eyebrow before needing to turn back to the toilet and croaking out, "Nope?"

"K, don't even try to tell me that you've forgotten what has happened the past SEVERAL times you've just 'dealt' with something. You're getting my help whether you want it or not." Kneeling down next to her, she placed a hand on her forehead before her eyes widened. "Dust, you're burning up! Ruby, can you get-"

"On it. I know exactly what she needs, be right back!" Ruby quickly left her sister hunched over Kassidy, muttering and rubbing circles along her back, and made her way for the stairs. _Alright. Warm glass of whole milk, my favorite video game, motivational cat poster, and ice pack. Don't worry Kass, you'll be better before you know it!_ Reasoning that the kitchen would be the best place to start, she started warming a glass of milk and was digging around in the ice tray.

"Well, looks like someone's up early." Ruby yelped softly and whirled around to face her father entering the room. His face fell instantly and his eyes filled with concern. "Are you alright? Some stomping around woke me up. How come you're in the freezer?"

"Um, well, uh…" Ruby scratched the back of her head lightly and looked at her feet, starting to squeak as she went on. "It's just that I woke up early and Yang woke up early and Kassidy may or may not be throwing up in the bathroom right now and I may or may not be getting stuff for her…"

Her dad's face softened in comprehension. He closed his eyes, let out a breath, and nodded before opening his eyes again. "Alright. Thanks for letting me know. She likes early mornings, doesn't she?"

Ruby nodded quickly. "Uh-huh."

Taiyang moved into the kitchen and started digging through the cupboards. "Go take that ice pack to her and tell her to sleep in; she'll need rest. I guess I might as well start breakfast if everyone's up already anyway…"

Ruby watched him slide some bread into the toaster before grabbing up the milk and a towel, bundling some ice in it, and making her way back up the stairs. On the way, she noticed Zwei sitting at the top, and he barked lightly at her before whining and dipping his head. She only took a brief pause to reach down and scratch his ears before finishing her journey to the bathroom, a debate making itself heard before she even rounded the corner.

"Yang, honestly, I'm more than capable of walking. I don't need your help."

"Shaky legs, two failed attempts to stand up, and the fact that you've been here for the past fifteen minutes say otherwise. Dear Oum, you're actually more stubborn than I am. This isn't even a funny joke anymore."

"Ugh, you are so lucky that I don't have enough energy to argue with you about this right now."

"Hey guys," Ruby announced as she rounded the corner into the room, which was somehow smelling worse now than it was when she left. "How are we all doing?"

"I'm frustrated, and K's stubborn. C'mon, up with ya, partner." With a grunt of exertion, Yang managed to get Kassidy up and leaning on her shoulder. It was obvious that her sister was taking almost all of Kassidy's weight, which normally wouldn't be a problem but was made awkward by the cramped conditions the small room provided.

Kassidy waved her hand, as if by that one gesture she could make the whole situation better. "Your sister's treating me like an invalid and I've gotten sick for the first time in twelve years. I've been better."

"Maybe I wouldn't have to treat you like an invalid if you were capable of supporting even a fraction of your own weight. Seriously, what the hell did you get?"

"Thank the Colossus pricks," Kassidy sighed. "When I get sick, I get SICK. Hopefully this'll blow over somewhat quickly."

"And we're gonna help with that!" Ruby declared. "Yang, can you get her to her room? I still need to get a couple things." Turning on her heel, Ruby quickly made her way back to her room, fishing out a game cartridge that a Scroll could link up to and a rolled up poster in the corner of the room. She left as rapidly as she entered, wasting no time in crossing across the hallway again. _Well, this morning couldn't possibly get any stranger._

 _And I stand corrected._ Yang had all but tucked Kassidy in and was currently busy fussing over her hair, much to Kassidy's complaint. Or, it was much to Kassidy's complaint until Zwei trotted up to the bed, leapt onto the covers, and laid himself down right in her lap. Humorously (and adorably), Kassidy forgot everything to pet the corgi sitting on her, and the dog in question simply lapped up the attention. Ruby nearly cooed at the sight, before remembering that she still had to get Kassidy the things she desperately needed to get better.

"Alright, I've got everything you need!" she announced. "A warm glass of whole milk!" Said item was placed on the nightstand next to her. "My favorite video game: Kung Fu Ninja Slayer Ultimate Death Battle 2!"

Kassidy raised an eyebrow at the game cartridge that was placed next to the glass. "Uh…"

Ruby deflated a bit. "Yeah, you're right, the first one was way better." Perking back up, she handed the towel and ice bundle to the girl. "An ice pack to deal with that fever of yours! And, finally, a motivational cat poster!" The sheet of paper unrolled to reveal a particular cat Faunus that Kassidy could've sworn she'd seen somewhere before, but at this point was too ill to care. "Me-ow."

Kassidy finally managed to raise herself to a sitting position while being careful not to disturb the dog in her lap. "Look, not that I don't appreciate this or anything, but lying around in bed isn't going to do me any favors. I need calories and fluids so my body can actually do something. And having an off day doesn't excuse me from getting a workout in."

Yang, evidently not liking that answer, snorted before flicking her partner in the forehead and pushing her back down. "First off, you got your workout just getting to and from the bathroom. Second off, you're doing yourself a favor by lying around in bed, your energy levels are practically nil at this point."

"And I've got food taken care of." Taiyang rounded the corner before stopping and going wide eyed at the sight before him, nearly dropping the plate of toast in the process. After all, it wasn't every day that you see your eldest daughter sitting on the edge of someone else's bed and all but tucking her in and fussing over her hair. Shaking his head and getting back to the here and now, he cleared his throat and tried again. "Yang's right, you're not in much shape to do much of anything right now. Sit tight, get some rest, and relax."

Kassidy seemed like she was about to answer, but broke into a bad fit of coughing instead. Both Taiyang and Ruby raised their eyebrows at how Yang was instantly at Kassidy's side and bracing an arm against her back. _Wow, Yang's really working to take care of her. If I didn't know any better, I'd think… wait. Is Yang actually crushing on Kass? Yeah, I definitely need to ask her later._

Her scheming was interrupted, however, when Kassidy finally got her coughing under control, but it seemed as though her voice didn't escape unscathed as she tried, and failed, to speak up. Though after a few attempts, she finally managed to croak out, "Why?"

Taiyang cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, why?"

"I do believe the question she is trying to interpose," Bob replied, "is why are you helping her like you are?" A quick nod from Kassidy confirmed the explanation.

The three members looked among each other, then Taiyang shrugged. "Why not? You're a guest in my house, you're a good friend of my two daughters, and you look like you're in need of help. I'd be a pretty scummy person not to help." Suddenly throwing his arms up into a shrug, he barked out a laugh and added, "I mean, you flew halfway across a continent to help us based on a news report that may or may not have been up to date. Are you really that surprised when we give you a hand when we can?"

"Uh, maybe we should give her some space, guys?" While her dad was busy giving an explanation, Ruby noticed that Kassidy seemed to have started trembling more forcefully. It was obvious the poor girl's body was beyond exhausted, no matter what she stubbornly insisted. Ruby strode over and pulled Yang up from the side of the bed, then shook her finger at Kassidy. "You stay right there and get some rest. Team leader's orders."

Kassidy glared at her for but a few moments, before flopping back onto the pillows and groaning, shutting her eyes and evidently giving up the fight. Yang chuckled, and the three left her to her rest, though Zwei decided to stay where he was.

"Well, I was wondering what had everyone in cahoots." Uncle Qrow was waiting for them at the dining room table downstairs. Her dad ushered her and Yang to sit at the table, then disappeared into the kitchen. The sounds of breakfast preparations were heard shortly afterward.

Yang plopped into her seat with a thud, then sighed heavily. "Yeah, K caught the flu real bad. I hope she's doing alright."

"She'll be fine, Yang," Ruby reassured. Suddenly puffing up her chest and making her voice deeper, Ruby pulled off her best Kassidy impression. "It'll take more than an ill-tempered disease to put her down." She and Yang instantly dissolved into a fit of giggles, with even Uncle Qrow joining in for a little bit.

"Oh come on, she's not that bad, is she?" Taiyang appeared from around the corner, expertly balancing four bowls of cereal and four glasses of milk all at once.

"She's worse," Yang lamented. Ruby tore into her breakfast with reckless abandon, and Qrow and Taiyang both got to work as well, but she watched as Yang just listlessly stirred her meal around without making any effort to consume it. "She has got to be the most stubborn person I've ever met. It's like she refuses to take 'no' for an answer or something." Ruby tried to cover her snickers with her hand, but the men at the table held no such notion, something which made Yang shoot a quick glare at them. "Yeah, real rich coming from me, I know, but… I dunno. Sometimes it just seems like she forgets that force of will isn't the only force being swung around, nor is it the most dangerous one."

The way Yang's voice dropped with the last statement made Ruby perk up, worry flashing across her face. She turned in time to see her dad and uncle share a look before nodding, then her father turning back to Yang. "Alright, Yang, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," was her sister's hurried reply.

"I think we all know that something's wrong. What is it?" After a couple seconds of not getting an answer, Taiyang prodded deeper. "Are you worried about your partner?" Yang nodded slowly, and Taiyang took a breath. "She'll be fine. It's just a flu, here in a few days you'll never know she was sick."

"You don't know that!" she blurted. Slumping back into her chair, Yang added, "Bob said that she's going to get really sick. Really, really sick. And her computer knows a lot about how her body works; Dust, half the reason he exists is to keep an eye on how her body's doing and telling her how to fix things up."

"But that's not what's really bothering you, is it?" Ruby looked over to see Qrow slumped in his seat, arms crossed and searching her sister with a raised eyebrow. "Your worries about her run a little deeper than that, don't they? Can't really say I blame you, what with her lack of Aura and all."

"You're worried she's going to get hurt?" Taiyang supplied.

Yang shook her head before shoving her hands into her pockets and staring at the table. "I don't know how much you guys know about Kassidy, but she's… different. She might not have an Aura, but she heals stupidly quickly. Like, less than twenty four hours for most anything, from broken bones to… Dust, I remember one time her neck got snapped. She just snapped it back in place then went on like nothing ever happened.

"And she's like that with a lot of stuff, too. Her arm gets broken? She just switches her gun to her other hand. Her ribs get pulverized? She only needs to work a little harder on managing her breathing. You remember that attempted Dust robbery we broke up last month? She got shot in the EYE, and she treated it as more of an inconvenience than anything. And, to be honest, it kind of is, she always heals it back up and she always has healed those kinds of things up from what I know.

"But she keeps acting like that's ALWAYS going to happen. She doesn't just tempt fate, she flips it off and spits in its face. Ignore her paranoia, and dangerous situations are such a non-issue for her I can't even comprehend it. There's having confidence in yourself, and then there's paying so little regard to danger that you're literally more worried about tomorrow's homework assignment than you are the spar with Pyrrha freakin' Nikos. I can't tell if she actually believes she's invincible or whatever, or if she just doesn't care.

"I'm not worried that she's just going to get hurt, for Oum's sake she gets hurt on nearly a daily basis. But one of these days she's going to get hurt and it's not going to heal… and I won't be able to do a damn thing about it and I didn't stop it…"

Ruby frowned at what was left of her cereal bowl at the end of Yang's tirade. _Wow, this is really messing with her. I mean, yeah, I kinda want Kass to be a bit more careful too… but this is eating Yang up something fierce. And why did she say that like she would've blamed herself if Kass got hurt?_

Taiyang attracted everyone's attention to himself when he stood up, scooted his chair to sit right next to Yang, then sat backwards in it, arms resting on the back. "Yang, be honest with me. How do you feel about Kassidy?"

Her sister suddenly found a random spot on the wall to be very interesting. "What do you mean?"

Taiyang's head decided to introduce itself to his forearms, and after a quick bout of muttering to himself he met his other daughter's eyes. "Is it safe to assume these two hang out a lot?"

Ruby nodded, "All the time."

"Of course we do, we're partners." Yang rolled her eyes as she defended herself. "The whole team spends a lot of time together. Well, except for Weiss, but that's just because she's a real stickler about her alone time. But yeah, she helps me with studying, I help her with her workouts, we spar a lot…"

"Mhm. And what did you two study together?"

Yang fidgeted a bit in her seat. "A little bit of everything. Mostly algebra."

Her dad nodded along. "You two must've been in the library a lot then."

"Hah. Yeah, no." Yang snorted, before waving the notion away. "Library was more of Weiss' domain. K and I usually did our work back in the dorms. Was empty often enough we could get some real work done."

"Hmm…" Taiyang rubbed his chin. "Did you guys spar often?"

"At least once a day, usually a couple times a day – whenever I could peel her away from her computer and we had some free moments."

"Several times a day, after all your classes, with a combat training course?" Qrow chuckled a little bit. "Even you don't hit the gym that much, Firecracker."

Yang shrugged, but put decidedly more effort into avoiding everyone's gazes. Ruby could notice that her nails were digging into her palms. "I've always hit the gym for a bit of stress relief. And K's a great sparring partner."

Ruby took this opportunity to make her contribution to the interrogation. "Was she THAT good a sparring partner that you would almost never ask anyone else, or use the punching bags for that matter?"

Yang's eyes bugged out hilariously, and muttered 'traitor' under her breath. Ruby only giggled at her sister's antics. "Well… K said that hitting live targets are more fun than something that can't fight back."

Qrow cradled his arms behind his head, wearing a none too smug smirk as he reinserted himself into the conversation. "So, let me get this right: you just used your partner's excuse for spending as much time with your partner as you could get away with, after having a couple hours a day all alone together to study, and also after having shared classes and Oum knows what else all day?" Shaking his head, he appended, "And you're seriously-"

"Alright, fine!" Yang slammed her hand on the table and tensed up, before sighing in defeat and letting her arms go limp. As if to make sure Kassidy couldn't hear it, she softly spoke, "I'm crushing on my partner, you happy now?"

Her uncle's smirk grew to shit-eating proportions. "Oh, definitely."

"Qrow..." Taiyang sighed.

"How did this even happen?" Yang wondered aloud. "I mean, I'm not even gay. You know how all the boys were back at Signal, and I didn't exactly chase them off."

"You could be bi," Ruby offered weakly. Then, more energetically, she added, "Oh, this is great! Now you just need to ask her out, and-"

Yang was quick to cut her off. "I don't think asking her out would work, Rubes. I'm pretty sure she doesn't even like me in that way."

Qrow scoffed. "Yang, have you seen the way she keeps sneaking glances at you? She's good, but she's not as good as she thinks she is. She's into you."

Yang huffed. "If it were anyone else, I'd be agreeing with you. But K… she doesn't really know this kind of stuff. Dust, the closest thing she got to The Talk when she was a kid was, and I quote, 'Don't do stupid shit'. I doubt she even knows what she's doing, or how people would take that to mean. She's certainly like that with a bunch of other things."

"Firecracker, let me tell ya something. After watching your dad and Sum dance around their feelings for each other for a bunch of years, not to mention a whole bunch of, ahem, worldly experiences, I've gotten pretty good at telling when someone's into someone. And she's definitely into you."

Taiyang fixed his mightiest glare on Qrow at the mention of his worldly experiences, and Ruby shook her head to clear the implications from her thoughts, but Yang took the comment in stride. "Alright, so let's say I buy that she's into me like I'm into her. There's still the fact that she doesn't know what she's doing. I don't know what kind of expectations she has, or what she hopes, or what she's even looking for. Dust, I don't think she knows any of that either."

"And is there anything keeping a particular niece of mine and her partner from finding that out?"

"She's been hurt enough…" Yang's head dipped with her voice. "She's had to deal with enough heartbreak. She said that if she broke again, she wasn't sure if she could put herself back together. I don't know what'd happen if we tried to make it work and it didn't work, but… I don't want to be the one that makes her break, to hurt her. She's been hurt enough." Finally, she made excruciating eye contact with her dad, lilac pupils shining with tears even as her fist slammed into the table. "I don't want to be like Raven. I refuse to hurt my partner like that just to chase something that might not even work, that she might not even want."

Both Taiyang and Qrow sucked in sharp breaths at Yang's mention of her birth mother. Running his hand over his face, Taiyang sighed heavily. "I'd like to think I knew Raven pretty well. And I definitely know you pretty well. You are Yang Xiao Long, my sunny little dragon. You're… a lot like Raven. But not like that. You are nothing like that."

"Take it from me, kid." Qrow leaned forward and bore his gaze into her. "I've been talking to a couple people about her. I like knowing who all's on my nieces' team. And I can tell that she values your friendship a lot. She wouldn't let something like a failed relationship get between that, even if it comes to that. And while we're at it, take it from me that you're going to regret it if you don't act on it."

"Yeah, I hear ya." Abruptly, Yang stood up from the table. Her cereal still hadn't been touched. "I'm not feeling hungry right now. Think I might go check up on K." She managed to get to the open doorway to the stairwell before she stopped and turned back around. "Hey Dad? Thanks for the talk. But if you could…"

"She won't hear about it." Taiyang smiled softly and he explained, "I've been in your spot before. Don't want to make her feel forced into making a decision. Now go on, make sure your partner doesn't need anything."

* * *

 **AN 2: Well, this is a bit of a conundrum I've got myself in. This was the last chapter I've had in storage. It's about fifteen minutes to when I publish this, I still need to write the Reviewer Responses, and Monday's chapter still needs about 2600 words of writing, on top of proofreading etc. And all of that has to fit in between two quizzes, a report, and a coding assignment. This weekend's sure gonna be fun.**

 **Also, calling it now, RIP Ren and Nora.**

 **Coming up next: Shopping trip pt. 2**

 **Right after these Reviewer Responses**

 **Captain marvel 36: Yeah, figured that'd be a nice shout-out to throw in there. Glad to hear you liked it.**

 **James: Well, I definitely have Kassidy's reaction planned out. It will be… interesting. Also, Bob will be involved. Beware of Bob. He wants revenge for not getting enough screen time.**

 **AgentDraakis: Unfortunately, I'm leaving most of the actual care out of the fic. Let your imagination run wild, I'm sure you could probably fill in a better story there than I could. Had your tickets since back then, eh? Been here for a while, hopefully you'll get your gratification soon. Thanks for the earplugs, they'll doubtlessly come in handy. I'm sure Qrow will have something to do with stuff… but that's still undecided unfortunately.**

 **Chilltexan: Sorry for the wait, trying my best here. Hopefully in the next couple chapters the revealed plan is worth the wait. Glad to hear you're enjoying the fic so much otherwise, thanks for the compliments.**

 **AndJrew76: Well, shit, I know that feeling with schoolwork, got a bit of that going on this weekend myself. Hope everything went well for you, and enjoy your weekend.**

 **Baconlord53: Do not worry my friend, there will be plenty more bonding time between these two.**

 **Tykene: None can stand before the power of the Yang Pout. Hopefully this chapter lives up to the hype, I've put a lot of work into it and I'm quite proud of it if I do say so myself. Glad you've been enjoying this fic so much.**

 **Matt Cyr: Consider it noted and a home for it actively searched for.**


	53. I1C9: Taking a Break

**Interlude 1 Chapter 9: Taking a Break**

 **AN: Well, that was fun. Looks like I barely got things done. And when I say barely, I mean I got the last 800 or so words of this chapter written roughly an hour before the chapter goes up. Writer's block sucks, eh? It appears that I get another late dinner as I proofread and write Reader's Responses.**

 **Also, this is yet another set-up chapter. I know, you guys are probably tired of reading them, hell I'm tired of writing them. But believe me when I say that the payoff starts coming in on Friday. Oh-ho boy, the plans I have for this Interlude. Kassidy and Yang aren't going to know what hit them. These next few chapters are going to be so much fun to write, and hopefully to read.**

 **Anyways, back to the part of the chapter you actually care about, Kassidy's more or less recovered from her illness, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have issues to sort out. Why are Taiyang and Ruby giving her funny looks all the time? How come Yang is sporting a semi-permanent blush these days? And what's up with Qrow's constant amusement? It's time to start exploring these, as well as the strange reactions her body is having and the fact that she still isn't on summer break, technically speaking.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

"Hah! I got you this time, Uncle Qrow!"

"You're nothing but talk, kiddo!"

The most recent outburst finally got Kassidy to look up from Bob's screen and bear witness to the uncle-niece battle to the death currently occurring on their holographic television display monitor… thing. Both the parties in question were seated in front of the couch she herself was laying prone on, hunched forward and determined to best their opponent in the art of video game ninja slaying. Sighing, she focused on the game being played – it's not like there was anything to look at with Bob while his couple hundred thousand lines of code was compiling. Yang looked like she had the upper hand, but suddenly Qrow came in for a surprise combo and stole the game away. The declaration of a soaring ninja winning only made the conclusion official.

"Well, not too bad, you've certainly gotten faster." Qrow leaned back against the couch and folded his arms behind his head. "But speed isn't the only thing you need to worry about, Firecracker."

"Firecracker, eh?" Kassidy rubbed her chin in thought. "Nice nickname. Mind if I borrow that, Qrow?"

"No you may not." Yang sat up and flashed a minor glare at her partner. "Only Uncle Qrow gets to call me that."

"Whatever you say, Firecracker." Yang squawked and lightly smacked her arm, but Kassidy took it with a small grin. Suddenly, Zwei yipped at her, curious as to why she had stopped scratching his ears. She was all too eager to continue her ministrations on the absolutely adorable ball of fluff on her lap.

Ruby took Yang's place at the controls and started up her own round with her uncle, allowing Yang to fully lean back and rest her head against Kassidy's arm. She peered up, lilac eyes boring into her partner's, and asked, "Well, geez, never mind the rest of us. The way you've been acting the past couple days, the rest of us could've gone jump off a cliff and you wouldn't have cared as long as you had Bob and Zwei."

"What, jealous? Worried I'm not giving you enough attention?" Kassidy shook her head with a smile, but her expression quickly devolved to display a frown and furrowed brows as Yang blushed heavily and looked away. Finding the mental fortitude to set Zwei aside for a moment, she leaned to the side and tapped her partner on the shoulder. "Hey, seriously now, you sure you're alright? You've been blushing a ton recently, had a cold sweat once or twice… and you're not coming down with something?"

Yang fixed her sight on the screen to distract herself from Kassidy's observations. "Uh, um, uh… yeah. Pretty sure."

Kassidy's lips pursed to a line as she let a breath out, switching her vision to the ceiling so she wasn't distracted from her thoughts. _These past couple days have been real screwy. Yang's been more or less glued to my side ever since I got sick, Ruby won't say more than five words to me, and Taiyang and Qrow keep shooting me weird looks. It's almost like everyone's been trying to give me and Yang space… whatever that means. Actually, that's a real good question. Yang keeps acting like she wants my attention or something, then blushes and looks away when she gets it._

"Hey, you okay?" Yang's voice startled Kassidy out of her thoughts. Looking over to the sound that suddenly came from above her head, she looked up to see that Yang had seated herself next to her on the couch and was gently squeezing her hand. "Looked like you were spacing out on us."

For some reason, Kassidy decided to act on the urge to squeeze back. "Just thinking is all. Seriously, I'm fine now, stop worrying about me. I haven't even thrown up for, like… sixteen hours."

Yang gave a soft chuckle, one of those laughs that more recently made Kassidy's chest clench up. "If you say so, K. Want me to see if breakfast is ready yet?"

Kassidy shook her head. "Not hungry." Yang shrugged, and Kassidy closed her eyes as her head leaned back against Yang's leg. That was a lie, of course. Kassidy was starving; she hadn't had anything to eat other that toast or soup for the past three days. But listening to Ruby and Qrow duke it out was certainly entertaining, Zwei was continuing to be an irresistible bundle of cute on her lap, Yang's hand was doing a marvelous job of warming up her own, and her thigh was so warm and soft she could just drift off to sleep and…

 _Wait, what? What in the everliving hell?_ Kassidy not wanting food? Kassidy wanting more sleep? Kassidy wanting to take things easy? These things were so much not her that it was incomprehensible that those thoughts occurred to her to begin with. She forced herself up and swung her legs over the edge of the couch, ignoring the look she got from Yang. Clearly, she wasn't doing well yet, and the obvious remedy was getting back to work and getting busy again. Her body certainly felt up to task, beyond ailing energy levels.

"Breakfast is ready!" Taiyang called out. Poking his head around the corner, he added, "You feel well enough to go for something more substantial, Kassidy? I made pancakes."

Yang was about to speak for her, but Kassidy interrupted her. "That sounds wonderful. I'll be right there." Standing up, she was about to head to the dining room when Yang caught her wrist again, obviously wanting an explanation. "I changed my mind," was the only one offered.

The five humans (plus one dog) wasted no time in making their way to the dining room and digging into their respective meals. They were all on their second pancake before Taiyang spoke up. "So, did you come up with anything you wanted to do while we were in Vale?" _Oh yeah, right. There were plans for everyone to head to the main city for the day._

"Well, Rubes and I wanted to go shopping. Beyond that…" Yang trailed off as she stuffed more food in her mouth. "I dunno. Never really thought past that."

Ruby groaned, "This is why we never let you make the plans back at school." This prompted a chorus of chuckles from the men at the table, and a glare from her sister.

Kassidy, meanwhile, had her own thoughts on the subject. "Wait, you let Yang plan the day out?"

"Yeah, she did. Guess I'm not really good at the whole 'planning things out' deal."

With a shake of her head, Kassidy replied, "Just stick with what you're good at, Yang."

"Oh really?" Looking up, she saw that Yang had cocked her head with a challenging grin on her face. "And what is it that I'm good at?"

The response was automatic. "Terrible puns, punching bad guys, and balancing out this ugly mug of mine."

Yang snorted, "Oh puh-lease, your mug is not ugly. Neither is your face, for that matter."

Everyone snickered at the play on words, then Kassidy met her partner's gaze. "Yang? Look at me. Ever since I got that weird scar from fighting Torchwick, you could play tic-tac-toe on my face. In fact, I think Ruby and I did play tic-tac-toe on my face at one point. This is not what good-lookin' looks like."

"Well, you know what they say," Qrow drawled as he leaned back in his chair. "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Isn't that right, Firecracker?"

Yang shot a fierce glare at her uncle even as her face lit up so red that Ruby's cloak was jealous. It took her a few sputtering tries, but soon she got her breathing under control and was able to speak coherently again. "I'm just saying that it's not as bad as she says it is. Got a rugged charm to it is all. I know plenty of people who'd go for that."

"Yang," Kassidy demanded as she leaned forward with narrowed eyes. "Are you sure that you're sure you're not sick? You've been blushing so much these past few days I'm convinced you're running a fever."

"Oh, trust me, she's not coming down with a fever," Qrow explained with a chuckle and a wave of the hand. Yang and Taiyang both gawked at him, much to Kassidy's confusion.

Fortunately, Ruby came in to defuse the situation. "Anyways… yeah, we're gonna be doing shopping, mostly. I also kinda need a haircut, so there's that."

Yang instantly jumped on the change in conversation. "Yeah, didn't you say you needed a haircut too, K? Perfect timing! You can just come with us!"

"Hey now, Yang. You sure your friend's feeling well enough to join us on a day trip to town?" Taiyang downed his third breakfast item, then decided to call it quits there.

Kassidy mulled it over aloud as she contemplated her options. "Well, I'm definitely good enough to be out and about. But I've been sitting on my rear the past couple days, time to get back to work. Might be best if I just stay around here and focus on my workouts."

"K, it's summer break, this is the time of year we're supposed to be on our rears and taking a break from work."

Yang's words were unconvincing, however. With a heavy sigh and a shake of her head, Kassidy muttered, "Some of us don't get breaks."

Taiyang scoffed, "Now what kind of silly talk is that? I mean, you're sounding like Qrow now!"

Qrow glared at his snickering nieces and brother-in-law, before turning his attention to Kassidy. "Hey, you finished picking at that? Been meaning to talk to you about something, and now's as good a time as any to get away from these boneheads."

Kassidy prodded at the unfinished half of her second pancake, then decided she was done for the meal. Following into the hallway he already went into, she rounded the corner to find him leaning across the wall with his arms folded in front of his chest. Before she managed to ask what this was about, he inquired, "How long've you been doing this?"

She blinked. "How long have I been doing what?"

Qrow waved his hand as though he were motioning towards the world at large. "All of this. I know you've only been training to be a Huntress for the past… four months, was it? But I know enough about how people work to tell that you've been fighting for a hell of a lot longer than that. So how long?"

"Not long enough." When Qrow cocked an eyebrow at her, she folded her arms in front of her chest herself, and explained, "The fight's still being fought, is it not?"

"Look, contrary to what you might've seen in your jaunt to Vale last month, the four Kingdoms are in a time of peace. Now-"

Kassidy cut him off. "On the outside, maybe." She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "Look, this isn't the first time I've seen this kind of stuff. The White Fang aren't a bunch of misunderstood punks, and they're not content to sticking with petty crimes. I've had Bob running numbers on their activities. Last month, I broke up a robbery of enough Dust to outfit an entire platoon of professional soldiers for months. That was one robbery, just one."

"It was," Qrow nodded. He took a sip from his flask, then asked, "And what do you think that means?"

"Including everything else? The White Fang are building up for something big. I've been in this kind of situation before, and this has 'gang militarization' written all over it."

"It does." Suddenly, he stepped from the wall and closed the difference between him and Kassidy. "And what, pray tell, do you plan to do about it?"

She squared up and glared right back at him. "What I don't plan to do is nothing. Tried that before. Didn't exactly work out."

Qrow nodded, then his hands made their way into his pockets. "Look, you're not going to like what I have to say here, but take my advice: stay out of this."

Kassidy's eyes narrowed. "You're right, I don't like-"

"Let me finish," he snapped. "I know you think you're hot shit and stuff, but take it from me that you're not as good as you think you are." He raised a finger to cut off her stammering. "Don't get me wrong, you've got some skills, but not enough to go all one-woman army on Torchwick and his cronies."

"So, what, you're telling me that I'm just supposed to sit back and let them burn the city to ash?" Kassidy could feel her body tensing up. She might not have as visible a temper as Yang (after all, Kassidy didn't get into the habit of lighting herself on fire whenever she was upset with a situation), but that didn't make it any less dangerous. And with what she thought Qrow was telling her to do, her temper was definitely picking up.

"What I'm telling you is that you're not ready." Qrow took another swig from his flask. "Contrary to popular belief, we're not ignoring the situation. Actually, that's kinda why I'm here right now, waiting on a lead."

Kassidy bit her lip as she frowned, gears turning. Almost immediately, a thought struck her. "Bob can get you a lead easily enough, long as you tell him what you're looking for. I'll be sure to put him on the case whenever he's done compiling."

Qrow shook his head. "Appreciate the offer, but the fewer people that know about this, the better. That means you, and your computer too." Stabbing a finger into her breastbone, he added, "And I'm not telling you to do nothing. You want to help? Keep on your studies, work on being a Huntress. Beacon isn't Remnant's premier academy for nothin'. Get the skills you're gonna need if you want to make a real difference."

"Great idea," Kassidy drawled, "except for the part where Beacon's next semester doesn't open for another eighteen days. That's a long time a lot of bad things can happen in."

"Which you still wouldn't be able to do anything about while you're in Patch." Suddenly, Qrow sighed heavily as he slumped against the wall. "Now, seriously, when's the last time you took a break from the fighting?"

Kassidy mirrored his actions. "Well, like I said… some of us don't get breaks. Not all of us have that luxury."

"Taking a break isn't a luxury, kiddo." He got up from the wall and clapped a hand on her shoulder. "I didn't even need to ask how long you've been fighting to tell that it's been too long. We all need some time off. Hell, I put more time into the front lines than all my coworkers put together, and I'm still here spending time with my nieces." Kassidy made to say something, but Qrow cut her off. "You said you've got eighteen days before the semester opens up again? Take that break. Remember why you're fighting in the first place."

Kassidy ran her hands down her face. "I don't think there even is a reason any more. I haven't been able to remember for years."

"Then now's a better time than any to find a new one." The humor in Qrow's voice made her head shoot up. He smirked and nodded towards the dining room, and was about to say something when his Scroll beeped at him. Reading the message instantly wiped the smirk from his face. "And I think that's my lead. Crap, was hoping I'd get more time. Wanted to actually make it to Firecracker's birthday this time."

"Yeah, that's… what, two weeks from now?" Qrow nodded, and Kassidy's lips thinned to a line. "Anything I need to know?"

"Yeah – stay out of this. I'm serious." Walking back over to the dining room, he stopped and called over his shoulder. "You'll go far, I'm sure of it. But right now, your job is just to be a student, to learn. My job's to make sure this whole business doesn't become your job."

The two reentered the dining room, and the three seated at the table looked up from laughing at what could only be assumed to be one of Taiyang's stories. His laugh disappeared instantly, however, when he saw the look on Qrow's face. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

Qrow shook his head. "Mutual friend called. They'll be here in an hour, and they need to talk. You know the kind."

Ruby's head drooped. "Does that mean-"

"Yes, it does," Taiyang sighed. He pushed his plate away and stood up slowly, wearily. "Yang, Ruby… why don't you head to the city without us today? Sounds like we have Huntsmen business to take care of."

"But what about-"

"I'll make it up to you, Yang." He planted his hands on his hips and shook his head, but his eyes suddenly brightened considerably. "How about we go to the lake again this weekend?"

Both of his daughters all but leapt at the opportunity, with Ruby actually hopping in place. "Ooh, can we? Can we?!"

Taiyang laughed and ruffled her hair. "Sure thing, Rubes. Now go get ready, you've still got your day in Vale, after all."

"How about going with them, Kassidy?" Qrow's question got her attention. She opened her mouth to debate, but he cut her off. "That wasn't a request, by the way. Don't make me pull rank on you. Because I can totally do that, now that you're in the system."

"C'mon, K. Let's go get ready for our trip." Yang draped her arm over Kassidy's shoulders and started hauling her off.

"Actually, before you do, let me say something else to your partner real fast, before I forget." Yang shrugged and sauntered up the stairs. Qrow nodded at Taiyang, then turned to Kassidy. "Gotta admit, I still don't trust ya… but at this point, that's just because I hardly trust anyone. Don't take it personally. But you're a good person, if what Glynda and Ozpin have to say are any indication, and I'm glad you're on my nieces' team. Do me a favor and keep lookin' out for them – I've no doubt you're the responsible one among the three of ya."

Both Taiyang and Kassidy snickered, and she held out a hand for him. "I take it this is goodbye, then?"

Qrow gave it a firm shake. "For now. I'm sure we'll be in touch sooner or later. And while we're on the whole 'words of wisdom' deal… you're gonna go far, but only if you keep learning. If you never stop moving forward. You might've been the big fish where you came from, but you're in deeper waters now, and there's some damn big fish out there."

* * *

Ruby turned around and waved at the hair stylist that just finished her work. "Thanks again!"

Yang stretched her arms out behind her. "Ah, nothing like a good session at the stylist's to really let your hair down, eh girls?"

"I have to admit, they do good work." Another ponytail bobbed behind Kassidy, courtesy of Ruby and Yang's insistence. _Well, I needed a haircut anyway. Plus, it'll be easy enough to put the bun back up when Yang isn't looking._

"So, next up on the list… clothes!" Ruby announced, and Yang immediately took off down the sidewalk. Kassidy could only roll her eyes at her partner's antics and smile as she jogged to catch up. When it came to fashion, Yang was almost as bad as Weiss. Even if she wasn't as snobby, Yang had her tastes and made sure to stay up to date.

"Besides, if I remember correctly, someone doesn't have a swimsuit for our lake trip!" Yang suddenly stopped and tapped a teasing finger on Kassidy's nose, even going so far as to make a 'boop' sound.

Kassidy blushed and coughed a couple times. Refusing to meet Yang's smug grin, she commented, "That would be an accurate analysis."

"Ooh, big fancy words. Someone's flustered right now." Yang giggled, and Kassidy had to ignore her chest tightening yet again. _Sure, let's just go with that._

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get going before I find a way to get back at ya." Kassidy waved Yang off, who laughed and started making her way down the sidewalk.

It took a few minutes, but eventually the three girls made it to the front of a higher-end looking store. Kassidy took a look at the sign, which read 'Cornelius' Conspicuous Clothing'. _Oh, hey, this place again. Should've known Yang would've picked here for clothes shopping._ They stepped into the store, were again assaulted by an overeager air conditioner, then again made their way to the rear half of the store.

"Yang? Is that you? Well, how've you been, sister?" Naturally, it was Alex who was working today. She and Yang hugged it out quickly, and after brief greetings on the part of everyone she flipped her hair over her shoulder and leaned forward onto her desk. "So how can I help my favorite Huntresses in training this time?"

Yang propped herself onto one arm and leaned onto the desk as well. "Well, it's summer time, so that means summer shopping. And guess which fashionably dead to the world partner of mine doesn't have so much as a swimsuit?" Alex took a quick glance and faked a gasp, which Yang chuckled at. "Yeah. Rubes and I were planning on doing a bit of looking, but do you mind if I ask ya to help her out a bit?" Yang then, surprisingly, leaned in and whispered something Kassidy couldn't quite make out.

Alex's mouth hung open for the briefest of moments, but she quickly recovered and popped off a quick salute. "Anything to serve the proud Huntresses of Beacon! You can count on me!" The girls quickly dissolved into a fit of giggles, and even Kassidy snickered a bit at the byplay. "By the way, over on rack thirteen we just got a new shipment of shorts that are absolutely adorable, you should check them out!"

Kassidy watched as the two sisters quickly made their way over to a different part of the store, then turned around to see Alex eyeing her up and down, an action she raised an eyebrow at. "Something not right with the outfit I have on now? The outfit that you picked out for me, I might add?"

"Mm, not really. I gotta say you did a good job filling it out." Alex took the accusing comment in stride, before standing up from her desk and prompting Kassidy to follow. "I imagine you've gotta work out a lot at Beacon. Now, how about we get you something that'll show it off a bit?"

Kassidy coughed into her hand and blushed. "Firstly… I've never really done any… showing off before. Secondly, there isn't anything to show off."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, sweetie." Alex turned to a rack with a multitude of swimsuits for sale. "C'mon, let loose! Live a little! If nothing else, wouldn't it be nice to tease Yang in return once or twice?" Kassidy gaped at her back, which apparently Alex caught onto despite the fact that she couldn't see her. "I've known Yang for years, love. I think I know something that'll… set her off just right. And all the guys too, for that matter."

Kassidy was about to argue, to say that she had zero interest in 'setting people off', whatever that meant, but the unbidden words of Qrow came back to her.

" _Taking a break isn't a luxury, kid. You said you've got eighteen days before the semester opens back up? Take it."_

"Y'know what? Screw it. Let's see what you've got for sale." Shrugging and deciding to 'go with the flow' as Yang would put it, Kassidy added, "Let me delve into famous last words territory and say something along the lines of 'what could possibly go wrong?'."

Alex split into a grin. "That's the spirit! C'mon, you're gonna love this."

* * *

 **AN 2: In case you can't tell, this got written immediately after the first author's note. Hopefully this was still up to snuff for you guys. Time for me to write the Reviewer's Responses and proofread, then get some grub.**

 **Coming up next: I think it's about time we got a second confession, don't you? Oh, and Bob's revenge. Kassidy's computer isn't happy with his lack of screentime.**

 **Tykene: Glad you liked last chapter so much. Spent a lot of time with kaiju on it, and I must say I was rather proud of it. Unfortunately, this chapter doesn't have quite the polish I was hoping it to have, but it still covers a Qrow+Kassidy conversation I want to hit, and after a quick proofread it should be mechanically sound to boot. Don't worry… you're gonna love the next few chapters.**

 **mcd3424: Eh… if you ask me, for the ship to finally leave port, both parties need to be involved. Don't worry, that'll get fixed REAL soon. Like, four days from now soon.**

 **AndJrew76: Glad to hear everything went well on your end. Got into a bit of a crunch myself, but managed to get everything done. And don't you worry, Kassidy's turn is up next.**

 **Matt Cyr: Unfortunately, it's almost entirely the romance for the next few chapters. Sorry it doesn't float your boat. Don't fret too much though, once we're back into the second volume it's full steam ahead with the plot.**

 **AgentDraakis: Y'know, I've never really understood the "stupid blonde that never thinks things through" deal that most people write Yang as. The only times she's ever NOT thought things through is when she's beyond pissed (AKA getting disarmed, ba-dum-tiss). Beyond that, she's always been shown as a highly empathic individual who pretty much does her best to be everyone's big sister. Cue the whole "I know Blake used to be a dangerous member of a terrorist organization, but I still want to hear her side of the story because I might not know everything" deal back in volume 1. As for getting enough time to confess? Well, Qrow's out of the picture now, so the odds of the secret remaining secret for as long as it needs to just went up 90%. And the dance. Dear god the dance. The plans I have for the dance. (insert maniacal laugh here)**

 **Firearm legume: I will most definitely keep those names in mind. As far as Arkos is concerned… no promises.**

 **Baconlord53: Oh, I definitely concur, and there will definitely be plenty of opportunities for bonding time coming up.**


	54. I1C10: Hormones and H2O

**I1C10: Hormones and H2O**

 **AN: For those of you who were curious, I started writing this roughly an hour after I published the previous chapter, right after I got back from a delicious burrito. Also for those of you who are curious, I was this close to calling the chapter "Totally Not Fanservice", but figured it'd send the wrong message.**

 **Anyway, it's time for the lake trip, where everything about Kassidy and the way her body's been behaving comes to a head. Will she finally admit that she has feelings for Yang? Will Yang finally confess her feelings to Kassidy? Will Taiyang turn Kassidy into a bloody smear? Will Zwei finally give into the temptation of using Bob as a chew toy? Find out here!**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

 _What the hell was I thinking?_ Then, externalizing her internal thoughts, she asked to an empty room, "What the hell was I thinking?"

"Oh please, that isn't nearly as risqué as you think it is," Bob commented from his perch on her loaned bed. "It's just like any other electric blue bikini."

Kassidy scowled at the tablet on her pillow. "No offense… but you're a computer. How exactly would you know that?"

"Internet, duh."

A shudder overcame Kassidy as she thought of the possible implications in those two words. "Didn't I make it a rule a few years back that you weren't to go into Rule 34 territory? Those are horrors I definitely do not want to go through again."

"Come on, you're acting like I did anything other than visit fashion websites. Trust me, you're just fine."

Kassidy returned her attention to the mirror she was standing in front of. There was truth to what Bob had to say; she'd seen sunbathers at the beach before, and what she was wearing now was tame compared to some of the… designs she'd seen. That did nothing to change the fact that, short of changing outfits or bathing, this was the least amount of clothing she's ever worn. Ever. Alex had done well choosing a two-piece that amply passed the test of covering everything it needed to cover, but it still left precious little to the imagination.

Included in the list of things not left to the imagination was the fact that her tan line ended at her shoulders and neck. Or that her joints were still bony and jutted out awkwardly (at least according to her). And what was prominently displayed was every single scar she's ever accumulated over the course of her years. Nearly forty in total. Her arms and legs had small ridges crisscrossing up and down their lengths, and her stomach and back looked like a surgical experiment gone wrong. Sure, her face wasn't pretty, but everyone saw that anyway. Not just anyone saw the extent of the beatings she'd taken over the years, or the limits her healing capabilities had.

"You have that look again." Bob's announcement snapped her back to reality, the scowl disappearing as she thought of a response to his statement. She shifted her weight to her back foot and planted her hands on her hips, fixing her eyes back on the mirror they'd been glued to for the past fifteen minutes.

"I know, it's just… nobody's ever seen this much of me before."

"And why is that a problem?"

"I don't know." Kassidy's voice fell as she continued looking at herself. "This type of clothing is supposed to help the person wearing it… what was it, 'show off'?"

"Yes, it is. If you didn't want to do that, why did you get it?"

"Because it was a spur of the moment decision, Bob!" Kassidy whirled around with a huff and fell back onto the bed. She lamented, "I don't make spur of the moment decisions, and you know that. I don't know why I got it!"

"Alright, let's take a step back." Bob fell silent for but a second as he calculated his question. "Why don't you want to show off?"

Kassidy sat up in the bed, but made no effort to get up. "You mean other than what 'showing off' entails? You mean other than that I've never done that before? There's nothing to show off, and nothing I want to."

"You're being too hard on yourself. I'd give you… a six. Maybe a seven."

"Gee, thanks," she snarked. Standing up, she made her way back to the mirror. "I ain't pretty, Bob. Look at me. If it weren't for the muscle tone I could pass off as an anorexic. Not to mention Frankenstein's monster is jealous of how cut up I am."

"Oh, you're not that bad. Who cares if you have a scar? Or three dozen plus change, for that matter?"

Kassidy forced out a humorless chuckle. "Kinda just said it yourself, bud." Her hand found a particularly nasty scar, finger tracing from her collarbone to straight down the middle of her chest and curving off to the side of her stomach. Suddenly, she shouted out, "Ugh, why do I even care?!"

"Care about what?"

More quietly this time, she asked, "Since when did I start caring about what other people thought of me, or how I looked? When did I start obsessing about how many scars other people would see? Why am I such a nervous goddamn wreck before we head out on a trip that's supposed to be fun?"

"It could have to do with the fact that you're going to a lake."

Suddenly, Kassidy snapped at Bob, "Not a word about that. You know what."

"Kass, you're going to a lake. Please do tell me how you plan on them not finding out."

"I'll think of something. I always do." The faint smile that came from the answer vanished instantly.

"Alright, it could also have to do with that fact that you'll be with two of your teammates. Are you worried about not being able to, what was the term, 'stack up' to them?"

Kassidy snorted. "Is that even a question? Of course I won't be able to 'stack up' to them. Ruby is probably the cutest homo sapien to have ever lived. And Yang is… well… Yang. I couldn't hope to match her with a small army of genetic engineers." She sighed and shook her head. "Nope, it's the hot as hell Xiao Longs and the cutest fifteen year old ever, with good ol' Big Bones taking up the rear and ruining the picture. As per usual."

"Big Bones?"

"Old nickname from elementary. You wouldn't know it." Kassidy went over to her bag and looked over what she had packed.

A sudden knock on the door made her jump, and Taiyang's voice made itself heard through the door. "You okay, Kassidy? We heard you shouting. Can I come in?"

"Just a second! I think I've got this oversized t-shirt deal I bought back at the store. Where is it… there!" Throwing on a thin shirt-like garment that reached down to her knees, Kassidy took a few deep breaths and opened the door for Taiyang, who had trunks and a Hawaiian shirt on.

"Things going okay up here? How're you feeling?"

Kassidy quickly summed up her feelings on the situation. "I feel like the prize cut of meat on sale at the local deli."

Taiyang laughed hard at that, and it took a little bit for him to calm down. "I take it you're not used to going out swimming like this?"

She emphasized her answer with a strong nod of the head. "You could say that."

He clapped a hand on her shoulder and offered a soft smile to her. "It'll be fine. Now come on downstairs, we're all ready and waiting on you." He put his hand back on her shoulder and pulled lightly when she went to her bag. "I've already packed up what we need. C'mon, the girls are wondering where you are."

Sighing, Kassidy decided to leave her bag where it lay, picked Bob up off the bed, and then made her way downstairs. Yang sat on the couch in the living room, and upon hearing footsteps descending the stairwell she leaned back until her head faced backwards to see Kassidy. "Oh, hey partner. What, being a tease, not letting us see what you're wearing under that shirt?"

Kassidy's face lit up in a fierce blush, and she looked away from her partner. "Well, you've got the same thing going on yourself. Besides, at least this way I can trick myself into thinking I'm actually wearing clothes."

Yang's smirk somehow grew. "'Actually wearing clothes'? What, you're planning on skinny dipping today?" She laughed uproariously at how Kassidy choked and sputtered at the question, before eventually settling down and waving it off. "Just messing with ya, K. How're you feeling about our trip?"

Finally able to get her breathing back under control, Kassidy decided it best to reuse her answer from the last time she answered that question. "I feel like the prize cut of meat on sale at the local deli."

"Yikes." Yang sucked in a breath, before finally standing up from the couch. "Not used to this sort of stuff, are ya?"

Kassidy shook her head with a smile. "Like father, like daughter. No, I'm not."

"Well, at least now we… hang on. Ruby, have you seen Zwei?"

A playful bark near her feet got Kassidy's attention. The dog in question sat in front of her, looking up at her with big puppy dog eyes, panting, and wearing a tiny Hawaiian shirt, all while begging to be picked up and get his ears scratched. Of course, when the cutest thing in the house somehow gets even cuter, there's only one appropriate reaction for a fifteen year old girl to have.

"AHH! IT'S SO CUTE!"

* * *

"And here we are at the old Xiao Long watering hole!" Taiyang was the last out of the car and slammed the door behind him, heading back to the trunk to grab what Yang and Kassidy hadn't already picked up.

"Are you sure there's no Grimm around here? That we're safe?" Kassidy had managed to free a hand long enough to chuck a ball for Zwei to fetch. Shifting the basket back to that hand, she looked in to reassure herself that neither Bob nor Rogue decided to sprout legs and hop out of their own accord.

Ruby walked up next to her and started laying blankets out on the grass. "We'll be fine, Kass. Don't worry so much. Didn't you say Uncle Qrow told you to take it easy? Well, just take it easy, then!"

"Yeah, don't stress yourself so much, K. C'mon, let's get more comfy." Following her own advice, Yang shrugged off the oversized shirt she herself was wearing. And… _holy shit._

On more than one occasion, Kassidy had heard her partner described as 'hotter than the sun in the middle of July'. That, however, did not give justice to her partner at this particular moment. Yang's swimwear of choice was a bright yellow two-piece which managed to hide just enough while accentuating everything… and damn if she didn't wear it well. _Alright, get a hold of yourself, Smith! This is no time to be jealous! Or… whatever the hell it is I'm doing right now. Seriously, what's going on with me?_ Kassidy was quite thankful that moment that everyone was suitably distracted, because it took far longer than she was willing to admit to mentally (and almost physically) slap herself out of whatever funk she found herself in. Desperate for something to do to distract herself, she called out, "Need help setting up that grill of yours, Taiyang?"

"Actually, yeah, I think I left the propane tank in the trunk. You think you could get that for me?" Walking back to the car and popping the trunk, Kassidy found herself with a bit of time to try and figure out what just happened. _Alright. Am I sick again? Don't feel it, but you never know. Time for facts. Chest has been tightening, random cold sweats, frequently flushed cheeks. Mostly seems to occur when near other people. Wait… am I allergic to Aura? Hah, no, that's ridiculous. Still, this is something I need to put Bob on whenever we get back to the house._

"Alright!" Ruby's declaration got Kassidy's attention after she dropped off the tank. "Let's have some fun, team, that's an order!"

"Now hang on, Rubes, we're forgetting something important." Yang had a sadistic grin on as she stalked over to Kassidy. "You think you're gonna be swimming in that? That's not going to work."

"Yeah, you never did show us what you bought! Show us what you and Alex picked out, and then we can go swimming!"

Kassidy paled, and grabbed her elbow. "I-It's not much to see, really. You two go on ahead. I'll catch up at some point."

"Pfft, that's nonsense. C'mon, K. You're not nervous, are you?"

"Look, I'm just not all that much to look at." Kassidy gripped her elbow tighter, and looked at her feet. "I think I might just watch you guys for a while. I don't want to ruin your fun or anything."

"Not much to look at? What are ya talking about?" Taiyang stepped from behind her and joined his daughters. His face dropped its smile and turned serious. "You're not worried we're going to judge you for anything, are you?"

"What? Nah, that's ridiculous!" Ruby snorted and waved it off, but her eyes grew wide when Kassidy didn't answer. "It's ridiculous, right?"

Kassidy actually had to turn away from the three as she hugged herself. "You've always been able to see my face, my arms… but you've never seen how many scars I actually have. You guys are, well, you guys. You have your Auras, you can fix the faintest flaw, and look amazing as a result. I mean, I've got it better than most anyone else, but part of that means looking like a surgical playground. Looking like some kind of freak." Finally mustering the courage to face her friends, she had to contend with the looks of horror on their faces. Even so, she managed to force a small smile while her head dipped, and insist, "Go on, have some fun. I don't want to get in the way of anything."

"K, look at me." A hand found its way under her chin, and Kassidy found her face gently lifted up to meet the wide, shining lilac eyes of her partner. She swallowed thickly and her breath hitched, but thankfully Yang didn't seem to notice. "I don't care how ugly you think you are. You're not going to ruin anything, you're not going to get in the way of anything, and I can pretty much guarantee that it's not as bad as you say it is." Yang shifted her hand from Kassidy's chin to her shoulder, her other arm following suit. "You know me by now. I'm not going to judge you, Ruby's not going to judge you, and Dad's definitely not going to judge you. Not for something you didn't want, that you didn't have a choice over."

Kassidy met everyone's gazes, and something she saw made her believe Yang. Nodding, she took a couple steps back and started peeling off the shirt she was wearing. The fabric was over her head when she stopped, hearing gasps. _Knew it. I knew it. Good ol' Big Bones strikes again. Doesn't help that I look like a topographical map._ Her thought process stopped when something started slowly, gently, pulling the rest of the shirt off.

She opened her eyes again to see Taiyang right in front of her, holding the shirt as his face was contorted into a snarl. "Who did this? Who did this to you?"

Again, Kassidy grabbed her elbow and refused eye contact. "Plenty of people over plenty of years. A couple from the Grimm. The one under my eye, from Torchwick, and I think this one in my gut is from Blake."

"Does it hurt?"

Ruby's squeaky voice made her look up at her team leader, her silver eyes wide and hands clamped over her mouth. Kassidy nodded, then appended, "I've gotten used to it." She chanced a glance at the person who hadn't spoken up yet, and was horrified to see Yang just staring at her torso. Kassidy barely managed to croak out, "Yang…?"

"Huh, wuh?" Yang blinked and shook her head, then blushed at the realization that she was caught staring. "Oh, sorry about that. Kinda spaced out a bit, I guess. Gotta say, K… you look good. Real good."

Kassidy's head whipped up instantly. "You think so?" Yang merely nodded, prompting both of them to blush and look away.

"Alright, I'm calm now." Taiyang's announcement got everyone's attention. "Enough of that. Today's supposed to be us having fun together. So c'mon, last one in the water's Grimm bait!"

His two daughters both brightened and plastered smiles on their faces, and Ruby used her Semblance to be the first in the water. Yang was about to take off when she turned around to see Kassidy had yet to move from her spot, eyes fixed on the lake before them. "What is it this time, K?"

Before Kassidy could answer, Bob spoke up. "She's afraid of the water."

"No I'm not!" was the instant answer. Instantly, her eyes widened as Kassidy recognized her error. Taiyang cocked an eyebrow at her, and Yang looked ready to bust a gut. She wheeled around at the basket that still held her computer. "Bob, I thought I told you to keep quiet!"

"Hey guys, what's wrong?" Ruby had zoomed back, took a look at her dad and sister, and then turned to Kassidy. "Kass, are you-"

Kassidy insisted, "I'm not afraid of the water!" When all three of the people before her were barely containing their laughter, she sheepishly admitted, "It's just drowning that I'm not a big fan of."

"Uh-huh." Yang, for her part, managed to stay in control enough to interrogate her partner. "You really expecting me to buy that?"

"Hey, it's not my fault I never learned how to swim!"

"Wait, seriously?" Everyone's barely repressed mirth was replaced with confusion. Suddenly, Yang looked between her sister and her dad, and split into a grin. "I think I know how to fix that."

"Yang, if you're about to do what I think you're about to do…" Kassidy put her hands in front of her and started stepping back, but it wound up being a fruitless measure as Yang rushed her. The next thing Kassidy knew, she was lifted over Yang's shoulder and being carried to the lake's edge. "Damnit, Yang! Put me down, this isn't funny anymore!"

"Oh, I beg to differ," Yang bit out between snickers, keeping a firm grip on the back of her knees to keep her from slipping. Kassidy thrashed against her partner's grip briefly, but it was an exercise in futility. If Yang could toss around Beowolves without a care in the world, then what hope did she have of breaking her grip? Looking up through a tangle of hair (as her bun somehow got removed during the whole debacle), she could see both Ruby and Taiyang openly laughing at the situation. The sound of sloshing made Kassidy look back down to see that Yang had already waded into the lake past her knees. _Well, this isn't so bad, as long as we don't get much dee-_

"Damnit Yang!" was Kassidy's cry as she went sailing through the air. She managed to catch glimpses of Yang sinking to her knees and clutching her stomach as she laughed hard, but that was all she managed to catch as she plunged into the lake. Panicking as she began to sink, she started thrashing wildly and accidentally swallowed a lungful of water. By sheer luck she managed to break the surface, and began to cough her lungs up as she continued to thrash wildly.

"Crap, you went way further than I meant." Yang swam up to her and helped clear her lungs, then tried to still her thrashing. "Easy, K, easy! Don't gotta thrash around so much, just keep kicking your legs back and forth, and you don't need to move your arms that much. C'mon, do what I'm doing."

It took a little bit, but Kassidy finally managed to calm down and tread water without causing a scene. She fixed her mightiest glare on Yang, and bit out, "Yang… don't do that again. Ever."

"Heh, yeah." Yang rubbed the back of her head and chuckled nervously. "That might not have been my best idea ever."

"I think I'm getting out before I tempt fate some more." Making true on her word, Kassidy slowly started splashing her way back to the shore, passing both Ruby and Zwei on the way there. After a few minutes, she trudged to one of the blankets that Ruby had laid out and plopped down on it, content to catch her breath and let the sun dry her off.

"You alright, K?" Grumbling to herself, she rolled over and looked at Yang, which was the last mistake she made. In addition to being in a swimsuit that accented her 'assets' wonderfully, Yang was now dripping wet to boot. A giant mass of golden hair flowed down and clung to her back and shoulders, and in general her partner just seemed as though she were shining. Kassidy almost missed that Yang knelt in front of her and started panicking. "K, you there? Can you hear me?"

"I'm-" Suddenly, Kassidy's chest contracted painfully, and she had to wheeze her next few breaths. She shot to her feet and dug Bob out of his basket, along with one of his modules that she brought along. "I'll be right back."

Bob was evidently confused by the situation, seeing as Kassidy wasn't wearing her iris-cam. "Is there a problem?"

She plugged in the module and powered it up. "I need a blood analysis. Something's not right with me. Very not right with me." Kassidy pricked her finger on the device and waited.

"Hey, you okay over there?" Kassidy whirled around to see that Taiyang had followed her to the small copse, and she shook her head.

Before she could say anything, however, Bob spoke up. "Blood analysis in progress. May I ask for specific symptoms? Those would help with a diagnosis."

Taiyang gaped at her, but she ignored it in favor of listing her symptoms. "My chest keeps feeling like it's clenching or something. Dry lips, dilated pupils, frequent blushing. Breath keeps hitching. Pulse is through the roof and my heart feels like it's trying to bust out of my chest."

"I think I have an idea… when did you start getting these symptoms?" Kassidy turned around to see Taiyang all but glaring at her.

Bob, however, interrupted the conversation. "Analysis complete. No biological agents detected, though I have detected the presence of elevated levels of estrogen, oxytocin, and vasopressin."

"Do I look like a biochemist to you, Bob? What does that mean?"

"In addition to your listed symptoms, those three chemicals together are the telltale signs of sexual arousal."

Upon hearing Bob's diagnosis, Kassidy found herself choking for the second time in ten minutes. It took about ninety seconds and a helping hand from Taiyang, but she finally got her breathing under control. With her face burning brighter than any beacon, she demanded, "Run the test again. That isn't possible."

"If you don't mind me asking, how is it not possible?"

"Thanks, Bob, but I'll take it from here." Taiyang planted his hand on Kassidy's shoulder and wheeled her around to face him. "Now, you just started feeling like this?"

Kassidy shook her head. "Been happening more and more over the past month. I thought I've been getting sick, but ever since it kept happening after I had my bout with the flu…"

"It's not you getting sick." Taiyang shook his head for emphasis, then thought for a moment. "What happened to make you feel this way most recently?"

"I don't even know," Kassidy admitted. "I had just flopped onto the blanket, Yang hollered at me and wanted to make sure I was alright, so I turned around and…" Having the most awkward eureka moment ever, her eyes bulged and her blush somehow deepened. "No. No way. That's not possible."

"Is there something you want to tell me, Kassidy?" Taiyang crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow, expression otherwise purely neutral. _Alright. What's happening? What the hell is happening? How is this happening? Is it even happening?_

"No," she insisted. "How does… am I… no. I don't believe it. I refuse to believe it."

"Wow, the girls are right, you are dense." Sighing, he leaned against a tree and thought for a bit. He eventually broke the silence by asking, "How do you feel about Yang?"

Kassidy took a deep breath. _Okay, not the first time I've been asked that. Easy question with an easy answer. I've got this._ "Yang's… more or less the person I wish I could be. She's funny, she's smart – at least when she wants to be, talented, kind, compassionate, and a great person in general. Nicest person you've ever met if you don't piss her off. It's just… she motivates me to be better. She's a great example to live up to. And if, at the end of the day, she of all people thinks I'm doing a good job… it means a lot, y'know?" Realizing she still had a point to make, Kassidy hastily added, "Which doesn't mean anything! Just because your daughter is a great role model doesn't mean… whatever this means!"

"You actually don't know, do you?"

"Don't know what?"

As if Taiyang was having his own epiphany moment, his eyes softened and he grinned lightly, before schooling himself back into a neutral expression. "I've been able to tell you've had feelings for her ever since you came to Patch."

Kassidy sweatdropped even as her eyebrows tried to fly off. "Wait, what?"

"The looks you kept trying to sneak her way, the fact that you were practically joined at the hip with her, the way you'd joke and do stuff together, how she got you to react and how you got her to react… come on, give me some credit." Nodding, he put his trademark grin back on his face. "If it means anything to you, you're not the first one to be in this kind of situation, and you won't be the last, either. But I can tell you like my daughter a lot."

"I do, as a friend! Not as a… as a..." Kassidy slowly sunk to the ground and leaned against the tree, breathing out a soft curse. "How did this even happen?"

Taiyang just shrugged. "These things just kind of follow their own rules, whether we want them to or not." Helping her back to her feet, he squared up to her and gazed deep into her eyes. "So, here I am, with a young woman who's taken a fancy to my eldest daughter. Hmm, what's a father to do…?"

Kassidy's blush disappeared instantly as her face blanched. She suddenly felt like her life was in mortal danger. Placing a hand on her head, she all but whispered, "Oh fuck. I didn't even think…"

"Relax," he insisted, raising a hand to emphasize the point. "For your information, you passed my test of making sure you're not a scumbag in it to manipulate or hurt my daughter. I've only known you for a week, but between that and asking around, I'd like to think I've got a good read on you. As long as you keep up with treating her well, I won't have any complaints. Well, too many complaints."

"Uh-huh." Kassidy barely even registered what he had just said; something about no complaints, if memory served correctly. "So, uh… what now? I mean… I'm her partner, I'm… I don't even know anymore…"

"You could try asking her out," Taiyang suggested. Kassidy went back on her bipolar expedition, this time returning to the 'blush' setting. He shrugged again, "Life's a journey. It's up to you which path you want to walk down. Now c'mon, I need to fire up the grill if we're going to have lunch at a reasonable time, and I'm sure the girls are getting worried about you."

Kassidy nodded and limply followed behind him. Both Ruby and Yang were out of the water at this point, apparently playing keep away from Zwei. Neither of them seemed to notice as she plopped back down onto the blanket. She took another look at Yang, the girl that she apparently has had feelings for, and apparently everyone other than her has recognized that for at least a week now. Possibly for the past month.

 _What the hell do I do now?_

* * *

 **AN 2: Well, that was fun. At long last, Kassidy finally acknowledges that there's something going on between her and Yang. It only took a solid month of actual feelings, a biopsy, and a dressing-down from Yang's father to finally realize it. So, in echoing Kassidy's final thoughts, where to from here? Fluffville. Population: us. Plus Yang and Kassidy. And Bob too, probably.**

 **Oh, look, 4700 words again. Writing chapters is always so funny, I'm at the 1000 word mark wondering how I'm going to get to 4k. Then, poof, I'm at 5k words before I know what's happening. Strange how this kind of stuff works.**

 **Coming up next: Summer and Matthew**

 **Right after these Reviewer Responses.**

 **James: This should be a good one, I had a blast writing it. Hopefully it's just as big a blast to read.**

 **mcd3424: She never thought she'd arrive at that point either. And she never would've imagined arriving at this most recent point.**

 **FloriteFlower: Well, here's your answer. Though I must say that Kassidy's denser. Jaune got some semblance of a hint after the dance, but it took a goddamn biopsy for Kassidy to get the same. Jaune in a dress? JNPR's kickstep, kickstep, bodyroll? Those'll be fun to write. Glad to hear you're enjoying it so much.**

 **Firearm Legume: Again, nice gun. Unfortunately, RWKY is done with the whole weapons-building aspect. Kass has Baton and Rouge, and Bob's already shown his predilection for hijacking Atlesian Knights whenever he needs to make a more physical impact.**

 **AgentDraakis: Welp, she finally knows what's happening to her. Only time will tell if she winds up liking it or not (spoiler alert: she ends up liking it). What Yang whispered to Alex? This is a T-rated fic, man. Actually, that's a joke, but that was definitely a "make your own adventure" part of the fic. I'm a fan of slow-burn also (more realistic, if you ask me), but there's a difference between slow-burn and 4500 words of exposition several times.**

 **Tykene: No hospital stay indeed, thank God/Oum/(insert trans-dimensional deity here). Here's to hoping Qrow starts getting some good luck in his job out there, though I've got a feeling we haven't seen the last of him.**

 **Baconlord53: Yup, going with the flow indeed. And the flow took her right to a ship, it seems.**

 **AndJrew76: Now might be a good time to hold onto your excitement, because it's happening.**

 **Firearm Legume: Those are some awesome names, my friend. If any of those do come up for some reason, I'll definitely be keeping them in mind.**


	55. I1C11: Those Left Behind

**I1C11: Those Left Behind**

 **AN: Welp, I promise fluff and instead I provide angst. At least the angst is a vehicle to the fluff, so you still get that.**

 **In this Yang-centric chapter, it's a very… special day for the family, and they bring Kassidy along to visit Summer. What they don't know is that it's a very special day for Kassidy too.**

 **EDIT: Jesus Christ that's the last time I try to copy-paste my chapters into document manager. Formatting should be fixed now.**

* * *

(Perspective: Yang)

Yang shuddered another breath as she stood at the headstone before her. Today was the thirteen year anniversary of when Mom died… or at least the anniversary of when they got the news. Raven might've given birth to her, but Summer was Mom. Baker of cookies and slayer of monsters, always there for her and Rubes… right up until she wasn't.

 _No, that's not what happened, and you know it._ Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she blinked back a few tears and continued talking. About school, about her team, about anything she could think of that came up. Rubes and Dad had already said their pieces; she was the last.

 _Not exactly the last_ was the thought that came as she turned back and looked at her partner. Kassidy was simply standing with her head bowed in reverence; she knew how important and personal this was to the family.

Whatever was up between her and Kassidy at this point has been complicated ever since the lake trip two days ago. At this point Yang was pretty comfortable in saying that they both had feelings for the other, and both had recognized the other had feelings for her. They had been practically inseparable the past couple days, always spending their time together, but they'd never do anything. Yang would watch a movie or play a videogame or even just lounge on the sofa, and Kassidy would have her nose buried in Bob to either work on him or look up something interesting to learn on the RemNet. They'd even held hands once or twice, when they were sure they were alone. But that was as far as it ever got. Most of the time, they'd be in a semi-tense silence, with Yang wanting to display more emotion but holding back in fear of how Kassidy would react, and her partner seeming to be doing much the same.

Yang said her farewells and a promise to visit again next year before turning back to the group. Rubes was still clutching to her cloak; her sister visited more often than she did, but that made the occasion no less emotional for her. Dad hung behind everyone else, still as a statue, but she knew that he was hurting as much as they all were. Kassidy only nodded solemnly at her, and without a word they all began to make their way back through the woods.

The four were several minutes into their trip back to the car when she noticed that Kassidy had started to fall behind, craning her neck to see something. Yang followed her line of sight to a small clearing in the woods. She was about to ask her partner what was up to, but she was beaten to the punch as Kassidy called out to them, "Hey, do you guys mind holding on for a minute?"

Dad traded glances with her and Rubes, then nodded. "Sure thing, we're in no hurry. How come?"

Kassidy took a few steps forward, then said over her shoulder, "It's my turn." Dad and Ruby were left scratching their heads, but Yang had to stifle a gasp as her partner continued to stride into the clearing. _Oh Oum, what is this? Is this a special day for Matthew, maybe?_ Yang took care to remain silent as she crept up behind her partner, making sure to stay at the edge of the clearing.

Kassidy stood stock still in the middle of the clearing, before slumping her shoulders, bowing her head slightly, and shoving her hands in her jacket's pockets. "Hey Ma, Dad, Matt. Been a while. Still alive, despite my best efforts. Heh." Shaking her head and scuffing her boot against the soft turf, Kassidy seemed to be searching for the right words to say. "Six years since Dad died, huh? It's a pretty long time, to be sure. So, here I am."

"Oh." Rubes and Dad had caught up, and he obviously didn't like what he was hearing. "I didn't even think…"

"It's okay, she didn't tell us either." Yang kept as quiet and brief as possible – this was obviously a very important moment for Kassidy, and she didn't want to interrupt.

"So… quite a lot's happened since last year. Uh, made my way to Baltimore, only got shot at a half dozen times or so, so I've been getting better. Some scientists forgot how calculus worked and more or less blew up the planet. So yeah, there's 11 billion fewer mouths to feed. I survived more or less through bullshit science ex machina. Y'know, like I always do."

Ruby went wide-eyed next to her. Yang turned to make sure her sister was okay, who also turned and mouthed 'eleven billion?'. She nodded, and her sister's lip started quivering as tears filled her eyes. Yang instantly wrapped Ruby up in a hug, all while continuing to listen to Kassidy's talk with her family.

"Found a glowy green portal, jumped through because why the hell not, landed in a street in some city I've never been to before. And imagine my luck when I arrive on the scene of a storefront robbery. But wait, there's more! See, because I had managed to find myself the most physics and biology defying planet possible to travel to, there was a kid with a scythe bigger than she was fighting the robbers, and the head bad guy had somehow stuffed a grenade launcher inside his cane. Yeah, I know, shouldn't be possible, well that happens a lot around here so what can I say."

Dad's brow furrowed. "Isn't that the Torchwick guy she's talking about?" Yang simply nodded, not wanting to interrupt.

"So, after getting some shrapnel in my gut, this whole Wizard of Oz character comes to talk to me. Hell, his name's even Ozpin. Wants to enlist me in this combat school deal. Figured I didn't have any better options, so I signed up. Right now I'm in college, learning how to be a super soldier or some shit like that. Not to say there's not your boring crap like history, and math classes that you taught to me when I was five.

"Part of the whole deal was gettin' put on teams." Everyone perked up when Kassidy said this. "Remember that kid with a scythe? Her name's Ruby, turns out she got moved two years ahead and made team captain to boot. A bit on the immature side from time to time, but she does a fine damn job regardless. I don't complain; she's a good kid.

"Weiss is… well, she's complicated. Heiress to a multi-billion dollar company. Easy to call her a spoiled brat, and to be frank she doesn't do much to make a first impression that isn't that. But she's a good person if you get to know her. Bit high strung, spends a bunch of time trying to crawl out of daddy's shadow, but she's alright.

"And then there's my partner, Yang. Combat partner – not, like, romantic partner or anything. That's…" Yang's breath hitched as Kassidy chanced a look back at her, before turning back around and scuffing her boot on the dirt again. "Well, it's complicated for now. Shame you guys aren't gonna get to meet her, I think you'd really like her. Would fit right in with the lot of us. Giant mess of blonde hair that you don't touch if you value your life, enough muscles to make most bodybuilders jealous, and she's a great gal to boot. I'd like to think you'd approve."

"Well, I think that answers the question as to whether or not she likes you." Ruby accentuated her point with a giggle and a poke. Yang shot her a fake glare before tousling her hair, then turned to focus on the rest of the talk.

"Well, what have I covered so far? Let's see, Earth died, went to a new planet because I like the whole living deal, signed up for college and got put on a team… oh, yeah, the big things around here are called Grimm. Yeah, they're literally called grim. You figure it out, I've given up months ago. Heh, and you thought I violated the laws of biology every chance I got… these things take the cake, hell they take the whole damn bakery. So yeah, I'm currently spending my times studying to fight these things.

"Oh! You'll also probably be happy to know that Yang's basically made me quit drinking. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're gonna say, but the shit really helped when things got rough. Still, things have been mostly quiet now. You know me, I'm not a drunk, I had my reasons and I made sure I was careful. Hasn't stopped her from busting my butt every time I so much as looked funny, though."

Yang felt herself getting spun around to face her father. "Your partner had a drinking problem?"

She shrugged, "Gotta agree with K, calling it a problem makes you assume things that aren't right. She wasn't a drunk, and she was careful." Dad opened his mouth to argue, but Yang beat him to it. "That still didn't mean that it was right, or healthy. I made sure she stopped."

His eyes watered slightly, and he nodded. "Good. Know from experience that drowning sorrow… drowning sorrow doesn't really work in the long term." All three of them grew more somber at the reminder, but Kassidy wasn't done quite yet.

"I know…" Kassidy had to choke back a sob to continue. "I know that you can't be too happy with how I've lived. I took everything you raised me to be and… and pissed all over it just to survive. I'm not the person you taught me to be, and I keep doing terrible things, and… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But…" Fighting through tears made it hard to talk, and Kassidy needed to take a quick break to try and get herself back under control. "But this Huntress business is supposed to be all about helping people, just like you taught me. So hopefully I'll be able to start doin' ya proud up there. Hopefully I'll be able to do some good around here.

"Also… if you lot don't mind having me even after all I've done, can you keep my seat open at the big table up there? Something's tellin' me I'm not gonna be around much longer. Well, hell, I'm surrounded by superpowered teenagers and biologically impossible demons, to be frank I'm surprised that I'm alive as is. While… while I'd like to say that I can't wait for some more of Dad's home cookin'…" Here, Kassidy turned back around and looked at the three people behind her. Yang could feel the heartbreak when her eyes met her partner's. Eventually, Kassidy returned to looking in front of her. "I've still got a job to do. Fight's not over yet, so I gotta keep fighting. Dinner's gonna have to wait. So… yeah. See y'all next year, I guess."

Yang watched Kassidy continue standing for about a minute, her shoulders shuddering every once in a while. Eventually, her partner turned around and walked back to them, returning a nod from Dad. The four of them started the now short walk back to the car, though Kassidy was hanging back a bit. Yang bit her lip as she shot another glance back at her partner, hands shoved into her jacket pockets and dragging her feet along. _Dust, she's barely holding it together. I knew this'd be emotional for her, but… she's not taking this well._ Chancing a look back at Dad and Rubes, she made up her mind and dropped back along with her partner. Tangling their fingers together and squeezing lightly, Yang asked, "How're you feeling, K?"

Kassidy squeezed back and brought her face up enough to show a small, far too forced smile. "I'll hold. Sorry for hijacking your trip to visit your mom."

 _Is she for real?_ Yang gaped at her a bit, before shaking her head vehemently. "You didn't hijack anything. If we'd known you were going to do that, we would've set aside some time and space for you specifically for that." Her partner grunted her assent, and the two continued following after Dad, neither willing to let go of the other's hand. Kassidy's hand trembled, and Yang wracked her brain to think of how to help. "Y'know," she started, "if you're worried about whether or not you're a good person, take it from me. You're a pretty good person."

Kassidy's hand tensed for but a moment, before relaxing. "Thank you, Yang." Yang's heart sunk when her partner's voice broke, but her worries were put aside when she spoke up again. "You have no idea how much that means to me, coming from you."

"Not a problem." They had arrived at the car at this point, and Yang crawled back into the backseat, with Kassidy joining her. "If there's anything else I can do to help, let me know."

Kassidy reached over and held her hand again. She offered a weak smile that was none too convincing and assured, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

 _Kassidy woke up in a panic. Shooting to her feet instantly, she noticed something was wrong: namely, the setting. Last she remembered, she went to sleep in the Xiao Long household after a heavy meal and a couple hours sitting with Yang and working on Bob's code. A far cry from the burning forest she found herself in. Patting herself down, she sighed in relief when she found that she had all her gear on her: Rogue in its holster, her vest filled to the brim with ammo (despite the fact that she hadn't refilled her stocks from the four magazines she thought she had), and Baton in its sheath on her back._

 _A scream sounded through the forest. Perking up and zeroing in on where it came from, Kassidy ripped her gun from its resting place and tore off, staying low and doing her best to keep her mouth covered to avoid breathing in too much smoke. She couldn't remember how long she ran for; it might've been a minute, it could've been an hour. She didn't care how long it was as she skidded to a stop, because the answer was 'too long'. A trio of Hunter-Killers were currently hunched over a body, emanating smoke blacker than the forest fire was making and tearing apart the corpse. That corpse was none other than Matthew's, complete with the gaping hole the sniper put into his chest all those years ago._

 _That was all it took for her to see red. Screaming her lungs out, Kassidy drew Baton and rushed in to get the monsters away from her brother's body. In the fit of her rage, she didn't even notice that her sword was giving off the same black smoke her opponents were. Her fury temporarily gave way to confusion as her sword clove clean through the first Grimm, the normally resilient Beowolf variant falling apart with almost no effort on her part. Its two compatriots met similarly grisly and expedient ends. When she turned back, it was just in time to watch her brother's body disappear in a wisp of mist, just as a Grimm would._

 _Her attention was again drawn elsewhere, this time to a trio of thunderous blasts. That was Crescent Rose's report! Kassidy ran again, sprinting as fast – no, even faster – as she could. She didn't bother keeping track of time again, simply focusing on where she heard the sound, focusing on getting to Ruby before it was too late._

 _It was again too late. Her jaw dropped at the sight before her. There had to be dozens of Hunter-Killers, too many to count. The only things she even bothered to count were the seven Alphas. Two small groups of the beasts remained to tear at some things on the ground, while most headed deeper into the fiery woods, where the source of the blaze appeared to be some sort of fire tornado. A shredded red cloak and a broken Myrtenaster were both resting a ways in front of her. Yelling another battle cry, she rushed forward. The wind whipped past her as she darted to the Hunter-Killers faster than they could react, cutting them down to size instantly. It was almost like someone replaced Baton with a lightsaber that happened to look like it was made of metal._

 _Ruby's and Weiss' broken cadavers laid before her. Both had their throats slit. Both had their chests dug open. Both were as dead as could be. And it was all her fault. Kassidy didn't get to go deep into the thought process behind self-loathing when she realized what the source of the fire was. She started sprinting again, faster than should be possible, trees and bushes nothing but a blur as she pushed onward to save her partner. The smoke burned her lungs and the fire burned her flesh, but she didn't care. Nothing mattered but getting to Yang, making sure she survived. Nothing else mattered, right up until the forest exploded._

 _Her body screamed at her, but Kassidy didn't care as she forced herself to her feet. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered but getting to Yang. Ruby and Weiss were already dead. Matthew and Dad were already dead. Yang was all she had left. She wasn't going to lose anyone else, she refused to lose anyone else! Staggering to the crater, she saw the small number of Hunter-Killers that had survived the blast making their way to her partner. A great heave of Yang's chest told the story of her partner being alive, barely. Stumbling down the scorched dirt, Kassidy tore apart anything that came within arm's reach in her single minded drive to not let her partner die._

 _She wasn't fast enough. Her legs wouldn't go any faster. They got to her first. But they didn't kill her. Instead, one grabbed each of her arms and started dragging her. The Hunter-Killers were bringing Yang to her. The action made Kassidy freeze with confusion as she wondered what the hell was going on._

 _What was going on quickly revealed itself. They brought Yang before her and dropped her partner at her feet. Then, they waited, almost as if they were expecting something of her. Her sword seemed to have a mind, a will of its own, as it pulled itself towards Yang. Was it… they were expecting her to murder her own partner! She was about to kill them all when a third Hunter-Killer brought something else. It was carrying a mirror. Kassidy didn't care about why or how it had a mirror. When she looked into it, a bone mask and glowing red eyes looked back._

 _She was a Grimm. She was one of them. She was supposed to kill Yang. Baton dropped from her limp hands as she stared at the reflection._

 _Something pulled on her wrist, making her eyes shoot down. Yang Xiao Long, her partner, was on the verge of death. Her lilac eyes were wide, panicked, and pleading. Blood was everywhere. Her voice was hoarse, but it was the words that got to her the most._

 _"Wake up, K. Please, wake up!"_

* * *

(Perspective: Yang)

Yang woke up with a start, before groaning and rolling over. _Who the Dust is texting me at midnight? I'm trying to get some sleep here!_ Fumbling with her Scroll and eventually managing to flip the screen open, she was instantly awake. The message was from Bob.

Kassidy's having more nightmares, and I can't get her to wake. Need help.

She was so hurried as she tried to get out of bed that she managed to get tangled in her covers, and fell to the floor in a heap. It didn't take long to free herself, however, and soon she was down the hallway and throwing open the door to Kassidy's room.

Her partner's nightshirt was drenched in perspiration, and her eyes were screwed together so tightly it was a wonder her eyelids hadn't torn apart. Yang stepped forward and grabbed a hold of Kassidy's flailing hands, and now was close enough to hear her whimpering. This only made Kassidy start thrashing her entire body, threatening to carry both of them off the bed. Climbing on top of her partner and using her weight to pin her, Yang tried to hear if there was any reason, anything to her partner's whimpers. Among the occasional coherent words uttered were 'forest fire', 'Hunter-Killer', 'Yang', and 'no more'.

"C'mon, partner, don't do this to yourself." Yang leaned forward, whispering right in her partner's ear, trying to do anything to snap Kassidy out of it. "It isn't real. Whatever you think you're seeing, it's not real. Come back to me. Come back to reality. Wake up, K. Please, wake up!"

Kassidy's eyes shot open and she started gasping for air, Yang's strength the only thing keeping her partner from sitting up and dumping her off the edge of the bed. "What was… no, Yang… I'm not…" _Damn, looks like she's still in it._

"Hey, K, come back to me. C'mon, deep breaths, that's it, get your breathing under control." It took a few minutes, but she finally talked her partner into a calmer state. Kassidy's eyes cleared up and focused on her. "There you are. Back with us in the land of reality?"

"That wasn't…?" Kassidy blankly stared ahead, eyes losing their focus, before Yang suddenly found herself being crushed in a bear hug that seemed more in place coming from Dad rather than her partner. "Oh thank God. Oh thank God you're still alive. I thought I…" Kassidy buried her face in Yang's shoulder as she started crying into it.

Yang returned the embrace, patting her partner and keeping her voice a comforting whisper. "It's okay. It's all okay. It was just a nightmare. I'm right here. We're all right here, and we're fine. We're just fine."

She had barely finished comforting her partner when the waterworks abruptly shut off and Kassidy's body tensed. Pulling herself up, her partner had forced back on a neutral expression. "Sorry for waking you up. Kinda rude on my part, it won't happen again."

"You couldn't help it." Yang finally pulled herself off from on top of her partner and sat next to her on the bed. "What did you see?"

Kassidy's response was automatic and mechanical, clearly trying to keep as much emotion out of it as possible. "Hunter-Killers. Dozens of them. I kept trying to get to you guys, to Matt, to Ruby, to Weiss, but I wasn't fast enough. I was never fast enough, could never kill enough of them in time. Then when I got to you…" Her partner took a few deep breaths, then shakily continued, "They brought you to me and expected me to kill you. That's when I saw… I was a Grimm. I was… a monster…" She broke down again and hugged Yang. When her partner finally calmed herself enough to speak, beady, shining hazel eyes looked up into her own. "I'm… I'm not a monster, am I Yang? I… I keep trying to do the right thing, but…" Suddenly, her partner broke the embrace and sat up against the headboard.

Yang's heart broke even more than her partner's voice did. Not just from the story, not just from how much it upset her partner, but from how Kassidy was internalizing it again. Forcing the pain down, bottling it up and hiding it from the world only to let it eat at her. Kassidy sat ramrod straight, and began chanting to herself, "Gotta be strong. If you're not strong, you're weak. If you're weak, you're dead. If you're dead, you can't protect them. If you can't protect them, they're dead. That's not an option. If you're not strong, you're weak. Gotta be strong. Gotta be strong…"

"Hey," Yang whispered, finally snapping Kassidy out of her self-hypnosis. "You don't need to be strong all the time. Sometimes you gotta be weak to let the pain go. Stop trying to force everything on yourself."

"I have to," was the simple, broken reply. Kassidy's breath hitched, but she managed to force out, "It's a dark world out there, Yang. It's dark out there. I'm used to it, my light's all burnt out. But your light, Ruby's light, it shines so brightly. I don't want to see your light burn out too. I gotta keep this to myself." Slumping against the back of the bed, she muttered, "As long as it's my problem and not yours, it'll be fine. You'll be fine, you can keep shining, and I don't…"

When her partner trailed off, Yang knew what had to be done. Shifting across the bed, she grabbed Kassidy and pulled her into a hug of her own, cradling her head against her shoulder. "It's okay. Go ahead and break. Go ahead and be weak. I'm right here. I can take it. Let it out. Let it all out."

"I don't want to lose you guys too. I don't want… I don't want to lose you too." Kassidy's composure was barely existent at this point. _Ruby's been scared plenty of times too, partner. And this'll help you as much as it helped her, I know it._ Yang kept her voice low, never above a whisper, dredging from the depths of her soul and pouring out every ounce of care, of strength that she had. Oum knew her partner needed it.

"Don't you worry about the dark, I will light up the night with the love in my heart. I will burn like the sun, and I'll keep you safe and warm."

The first part of the song was all that it took to break her partner's composure. Kassidy heaved and trembled as she sobbed, the waterworks flooding open as she bawled into her shoulder. Yang simply squeezed tighter. It was time for her partner to stop being strong. She needed to be strong for her, to let her have a break.

"Like the smell of a rose on a summer's day, I will be there to take all your fears away. And with a touch of my hand, I'll turn your life to Gold. Gold…

"Don't worry, I've got you. Nothing will ever harm you."

As she continued singing, Yang held on, letting her partner let it all out. Kassidy was a quivering, sniffling wreck at this point. It was more than likely this was six years of sorrow that was kept bottled up or drowned into an actual bottle, all finally being let loose.

"I'm close by, I'll stay here. Through all things I will be near."

Yang could feel her partner start to tense up again under her embrace, to start building her walls back up. She couldn't let that happen, Kassidy needed more time to let her feelings out. Dragging them both down to a prone position, they just laid next to each other, Yang keeping her embrace on her partner as they reclined.

"Don't you cry. Close your eyes."

Yang reached out with a tender thumb and closed her partner's eyes for her, wiping away a small stream of tears in the process.

"Love surrounds you, and in time you'll fly."

She didn't remember when Kassidy fell asleep. She didn't remember when she fell asleep. She didn't much care, either.

* * *

 **AN 2: Alright, so a whole hell of a lot got dumped on me this weekend. Still need to so much as start on next chapter. Big thing, though, is that I've currently got an interview lined up for a job at the university's tech support help desk. Welp, here's to hoping Wednesday goes well. Oh, and the whole "three quizzes, two assignments, and a partridge in a pear tree" schtick that's looking to be the name of this semester's weekends. What's this going to mean for the story? Honestly, I dunno. Worst case scenario is I need to cut down to once a week uploads, but I'm not convinced that'll be necessary yet. That's still in the future though, so for now let's get on to Reviewer Responses.**

 **Coming up next: there will be blood. Oh yes, there will be blood.**

 **Baconlord53: Which is real interesting considering that solid titanium probably would make a ship sink before it would make it float. Curse you reality defying RWBY universe!**

 **Captain marvel 36: Honestly, it's neither, it's a ridge that raised itself up under her eye. Super weird, but it did complete the tic-tac-toe board that is her face. And that's not the only one: she has a vertical line going from the side of her eye down to her jawline. And the really big one? Actually… I'm saving that for next chapter.**

 **AgentDraakis: I mean… don't get me wrong, I like some well-written White Rose as much as the next guy. But between my meager writing abilities, and the fact that I honestly don't see it happening to begin with? All signs are pointing to no Whiterose for this fic.**

 **Matt Cyr: Farmer's tan best tan. Already sent you the PM about the romance bit, but I'm glad I could provide the humor regardless.**

 **Tykene: Now that I've finally freed up an hour or so, let me send you a PM regarding appearance. And I'm still waving Qrow's death flag around, though Sun's and Nora's have gone down for me.**

 **FloriteFlower: The current name we've been operated under has been Molotov Cocktail, but if you have some good ideas by all means let me know. That was just something I came up with when it came time to decide V1C23's title.**

 **Firearm legume: Thanks again, my man, for the ideas and the laughs.**

 **AndJrew76: Well, here's to hoping I've been able to meet expectations. I like where this went, though, so hopefully you will as well.**


	56. I1C12: Periodical Problems

**I1C12: Periodical Problems**

 **AN: Tired. Still have a coding assignment, a coding quiz, a lab report, and a calculus exam, all due in the next 13 hours. See second part of author's note if you want actual information. See last chapter's preview for summary. Maybe I'll get around to an actual author's note tomorrow evening. Probably not.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

There were various times throughout the course of the semester when the more… womanly of problems would make themselves known. One would expect Aura to diminish the associated symptoms somewhat, but this was not in fact the case; the superhuman elite of the Huntresses suffered the same as any other woman out there. For most teams, not being composed solely of female members, these problems can be annoying. After all, sitting in uncomfortable lecture hall benches, sparring, and fighting Grimm all while dealing with cramps is literally nobody's definition of fun. For Team Rookie, however, it was more often than not a true test of their camaraderie. Why would this be the case? Somehow, the cycles of Ruby, Weiss, and Yang were all perfectly coordinated, obviously in yet another snuff upon Kassidy by whatever gods happened to enjoy tormenting her. And so, once every thirty days without fail, Kassidy got to look forward to dealing with an heiress that was somehow even more crabby than usual, a blonde with anger management issues that was even more an issue, and a team leader that didn't feel like doing much of anything other than crawling in bed and playing video games.

Normally, this was a clear signal to Kassidy to avoid her dorm room as much as possible over the related time intervals, as she had zero desire to deal with her teammates in such states. Indeed, she more or less lived in either the gym or the library during these times, only returning after everyone had already gone to bed and leaving, as per usual, far before anyone woke up. The problem this time, however, is that she's not at Beacon at the moment. She's in Patch, and there's no library or gym to go hide in while staying at the Xiao Long household.

And that was why she was currently on the path back to the house from town, having made a small grocery trip to the village proper. She felt the need to get away from Ruby and Yang for a while, if only to get away from the sudden spike in estrogen. _Besides… have I been a crappy teammate by just ditching them when they get like this? I can't imagine that it'd be fun, but they're definitely not making me look forward to when those start happening to me. Especially Yang… she did NOT look like she was having fun this morning._ She shifted a bag over to her other arm as she thought, containing not only the necessities Taiyang had asked her to get, but also her birthday gift to her… partner? Friend? Girlfriend? _I'm almost tempted to ask Nora about this stuff. She seems to have a better idea than I do about the boundaries between 'together-together' and, well… not._

What were Kassidy and Yang at this moment? If there was a better question for the ages, she didn't know what it was. After the return of her nightmares, Yang had been there for her. Alright, that might not have been the best way of describing why she liked her partner, but when her mind seemed hell-bent on turning against her, on twisting itself into knots with worry, her partner was there. Yang simply radiated confidence, and conviction, and safety. She didn't have to be scared about losing what she now had left. She didn't have to be concerned about whether or not she was a monster. Yang's confidence was infectious, and she enjoyed it. It had only been a week and a half so far, but she was already willing to say that this summer break, being talked into staying with her partner and team leader, had been the best time she's had ever since Matt and Dad died. The prior two days, in particular, it was almost impossible to find one partner without the other. Kassidy had (almost) always enjoyed the energy, optimism, and bad humor her partner could inject into nearly any situation. And at this point, it was pretty obvious even to her that Yang enjoyed having her around as well.

Wrestling with the doorknob and kicking open the front door, she finally managed to get into the house. Zwei was instantly at her feet, once again panting and begging to have his ears scratched. Normally, she would be all too eager to oblige. However, not only were her hands full at the moment, she was a woman on a mission. She quickly made her way to the kitchen and dropped off a couple bags to a grateful Taiyang. "How've they been holding up?"

"Well enough, I suppose. Thanks for heading out for me, did NOT feel confident about having an intact house if it was just the two of them alone." He shot a weak smile when she chuckled, before he got to one of the bags and his eyes brightened up. "You got them ice cream? Their favorite flavors, even. This'll be sure to brighten their moods some."

"Yeah, well, one of them is my partner and the other's my team leader. Figured it'd be a good idea to get on their good side some. Let me make a stop in my room and I'll let ya take a break, how about that?" Following through, she made sure to hide her gift well, dug out Bob, and before long was balancing two bowls of the frozen dairy delicacy on the way to the living room, where Ruby was sprawled out on one couch and Yang on the other. They were both still in their sleepwear, obviously not having much in the way of desire to deal with much of anything on account of not particularly needing to.

Ruby weakly raised her hand in greeting, lowering her headphones in the process. "Hey Kass."

"Hey, yourself." Kassidy ducked her head a bit. "Sorry for being gone all day, your dad sent me to town to pick some stuff up for him. Picked you guys up some stuff, too."

Yang moaned and clamped her hands on her stomach. Evidently she just had another cramp. "Ugh, thanks K, but I'm not really in the mood for…" She trailed off as she looked up and saw what Kassidy was carrying, and changed her tune instantly. "Ice cream?! Dear Oum K, you are literally the best. Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

Kassidy chuckled and shook her head lightly at Yang's reaction, before looking at her and smiling. "Yes, ma'am. Just give me a second." She handed a bowl of strawberry to Ruby, before sitting down above her partner's reclined position and handing her a bowl of rocky road. Grabbing her elbow, she glanced away from the sisters. "Hey, uh… sorry for kinda abandoning you all during the semester when it got to be this time. I suppose I didn't really make things any better just leaving you three to your own devices, huh?"

"Heh, don't worry about it, partner." Yang ate a bit, humming in pleasure from the treat. "I know I, for one, can get kinda… snippy. There's enough estrogen in our dorm that time of month to turn Jaune gay." They all had to take a break from whatever they were doing to laugh, with Ruby nearly choking on her spoon in the process. Once they all calmed down, Yang threw an arm up, found her hand, and squeezed. "Besides, you're here now."

"Yeah, thanks Kass. I know I don't want to deal with us when I don't have to." Ruby returned to humming at the song she was listening to, but suddenly she took her headphones out completely and looked her way. "How do you deal with this?"

The question out of left field confused Kassidy for a moment. "Deal with what?"

"With, you know, this." Ruby motioned to her stomach, which was coincidentally accompanied with a slight wince. "I mean, sure, you're tough and all, but these can't be fun for you either."

Kassidy shrugged. "Never had to deal with it before. I dunno if I'm really that late a bloomer or if the Colossus guys finally did something right. Gotta be honest though… when I do start having to deal with this, I am NOT looking forward to it."

"Ugh, lucky. Enjoy it while you can." Yang's statement drew her attention to herself, and to her hair. Apparently, her normally immaculate hair was on the list of things she didn't want to deal with today, which was incredibly odd and even slightly concerning, considering how much she valued it. A quick look at her partner happily eating her snack suggested that dealing with her hair – and its tangles and knots – wasn't going to make it to the list any time soon. _Eh, not like I have anything better to do at the moment. Besides, building up some goodwill, right? Yang would appreciate it, at any rate._ Reaching down and taking up a long section, however, made Yang snarl at her, "Hey, what the-?"

"Your hair's all tangled and stuff. I know you'd rather not deal with what you don't have to, and I also know how much you care about your hair. Besides, I'm here to keep you two company, and fixing your hair's a good a way as any to do that." Kassidy's courage returned when the red in Yang's eyes faded back to their usual lilac, and she returned to dragging her fingers through the tresses, working out any tangles and knots she came across.

"Literally the best partner ever," Yang mumbled, before she shimmied up the couch a bit so her head rested in her lap. Kassidy could feel a bit of heat spreading to her cheeks, so she decided to distract herself with the ridiculous amount of hair she'd been trusted with. They stayed like that for a few minutes, before Kassidy noticed the feeling she always got when she was being watched. Returning her attention to her partner, she found Yang staring at her face, almost like she was looking for something.

"Something I can help you with?"

Yang started, and blushed at having gotten caught. Mercifully, however, it didn't take long for her to recover. "Actually, I was kinda…." She blushed again, much to Kassidy's confusion.

"Kinda what?"

"I was kinda... maybe hoping you could tell me a story?"

Kassidy blinked a few times at her partner, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Ruby shot up from the question as well. Regardless, she shook her head clear and dug out Bob. "Well, I don't know of any off the top of my head, but I could see what Bob has in storage. Want to hear anything in particular?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Yang broke Kassidy's concentration by reaching up to her face and finding the biggest scar there. Her finger traced it from near the bottom of her right ear, all the way across to her nose before shooting up along it and between her eyes, until it disappeared into her hairline. Distractedly, Yang added, "Uncle Qrow once said that every scar has a story. I dunno why, but it kinda stuck with me, I guess. I… I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but I was kinda hoping to hear one of your stories."

Her eyes alight in comprehension, Kassidy grabbed Yang's hand before it got too close to poking an eye out. "So you decided you wanted the big one first?"

Yang nodded, "If you don't mind."

Kassidy looked at the far wall, biting her lip as she thought about it for a solid minute. _Don't people who like each other put effort towards getting to know each other better? Isn't that what we're doing here? Yeah, we're just two friends talking about stuff._ Making up her mind, she looked down at her partner. "As long as we're not setting some sort of precedent that I'm your personal source of entertainment every time you feel bored."

Yang gasped and placed her free hand on her heart. "Why K, I thought you liked spending time with your intelligent, funny, charming, and absolutely, breathtakingly gorgeous partner!"

Kassidy smirked and rolled her eyes, then spoke over Ruby's giggles, "You forgot the humility in there." That only prompted Ruby to laugh louder and Yang to join her, which in turn prompted Kassidy to join them in a fit of giggles. Remembering that she still had a story to tell, and remembering which story exactly Yang had asked for, her face fell accordingly. "The short version is that a twelve-gauge shotgun happened."

The laughter died instantly as the other two girls started choking on their own spit, but it wasn't their voice so filled with venom it made Kassidy fear for her health. "What?!" She looked over her shoulder to see Taiyang standing in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, his face a rictus of fury. A spider's web of cracks could be seen on the water glass he was holding.

"It was my first scar," Kassidy elaborated. "After they killed Matthew… I was just ten. Doesn't matter how good you are, a ten year old girl is only going to last so long on her own when the government wants you dead. Sprained my ankle tripping over a root, then someone kicked me onto my back, stuck his gun in my face – I think it was a Remington – and blew half my face off. Left me for dead, and given that I was quite understandably passed out at the time, I didn't give him much of a reason to question it." Kassidy suddenly snickered morbidly and shook her head. "By the way, spoiler alert, getting a literal quarter of your head blown to bits hurts. A lot. I think it took me a good couple months to grow it all back."

The sound of breaking glass was heard as Taiyang's grip tightened further. "Who did this? Where are they?"

Kassidy waved it off, and shrugged, "Nonexistent. As in, literally nonexistent. The Big Rip's a whole bunch of particle physics and quantum mechanics I'm not even going to pretend to understand. My area of expertise is computers. You want to know more about it, ask Bob."

"Well, it doesn't matter." Yang moved herself up into a sitting position and, much to everyone's surprise (Kassidy included), snuggled right into her partner while holding Kassidy's arm with both of hers. "The important thing is that you're fine and safe. With us."

Kassidy's face lit up in a quite impressive blush, but couldn't find herself caring much as she returned the embrace. "Won't catch me complaining." They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before one final interruption made itself known.

"Aw, dangit!" Ruby's exclamation drew everyone's attention to her. "My music's run out!"

"I think I can fix that, too. About time I gave you girls a proper education in good music." Wearing a smirk and skillfully moving Bob's chassis onto the coffee table with her foot, Kassidy explained. "Bob, how about getting some AC/DC going?"

* * *

 _If it's not one thing, it's something else. It's always something else._

Now that Ruby and Yang had recovered from yesterday, all five of them (with Zwei being the towel… boy? dog?) were in the front yard. Summer break or no, they were still Huntsman and Huntresses-in-training, and staying in shape and in practice was important. Ruby sat with her dog, scratching his ears as Taiyang and his eldest daughter were duking it out. Kassidy watched also, but was in a fair amount more pain than the others. Her stomach had been tearing itself up all morning, and didn't show signs of stopping anytime soon. Naturally, her mood hadn't been the best either, and in fact she had spent most of the time burying her nose in Bob's screen before the man of the house suggested that they all spar.

Yang jumped over a leg sweep, then had to bring her arms up as her father smoothly transitioned into an axe kick that looked like it could've driven a nail. She threw him back and charged forward with a punch, but he effortlessly batted it to the side and shoved his elbow into her face. Kassidy cringed, as she could feel the impact that sent her partner sprawling to the dirt. Laughing, he reached out a hand and helped his daughter back to her feet. "Not bad, you've certainly been working on your stuff. Gotten faster, too." However, it was at this point that he frowned. "Though… was I just imagining things, or are you tunnel-visioning even more than when we last sparred?"

"Probably," Kassidy called over. "Kinda my fault, I usually keep it so that she never has to worry about anything except what's in front of her. Leave her to deal with the biggest, baddest guys, and I keep the small fry in check."

Taiyang nodded as he planted his hands on his hips. "Good. It's a good thing you've got that synergy worked out." Suddenly, he turned to his daughter and pointed a not-quite-stern finger at her that nonetheless conveyed the serious impression he was trying to leave upon them. "But that doesn't excuse you from not paying attention to stuff. You can't rely on your partner for everything.

"And that goes for you too, missy." Taiyang whirled around, his accusing finger now pointing her way. Her stomach decided to perform another backflip at this time (and didn't quite stick the landing, she might add), and she clutched her stomach and grimaced. He ignored it, however. "When's the last time you fought anything bigger than a Beowolf?"

"Well… there's the odd Ursa," Kassidy admitted. "But beyond that, I usually make sure that everyone stays nice and clear. Leave the big stuff to the others, y'know?"

"That's all fine and good, but what happens if you get split up? What if they're too busy with their fights to help with the Ursa in front of you?"

She shrugged, "Probably the same thing I've done with the last several: cut the hamstrings and run like hell."

"Not bad… but not good, either. C'mon, how about you take a few shots at me? Let's see what you've got." Beckoning her up, he settled into a fighting stance himself, though it was different from the one he used to fight her partner.

Kassidy had barely stepped foot into the bare dirt area before he dashed forward with a foot that would've left a nice imprint on her face if she hadn't ducked out of the way. Following the action through, she leaned in and drilled her fist into his thigh, causing him to hiss slightly and jump back a bit.

"Good reactions, certainly pay attention to things. Let's see how you keep up with this." Dashing forward again, he jumped in front of her and sent a flurry of punches she had to weave around. Flailing like a sapling caught in a hurricane, she dodged most of his blows and swatted the rest to the side, focusing on finding an opening in his technique. Three were passed up on – obvious baits – but she moved on the fourth as his foot slipped after he went for a high kick. She ducked under his kick and slammed her leg into his shin, though the sweep didn't quite take him off his feet. The breathing room she got from scrambling back lasted for all of two seconds as he closed the distance again. _Sly bastard's switched up fighting styles on me. Just like fighting Jaune all over again… why does everyone try to sit on me until I cry 'uncle'? And unlike Jaune, anyone tough enough to raise Yang can probably drop me in one hit._

She quickly noted that he had turned to kickboxing this time around. _The problem with kickboxing – you need room to move around._ Letting the next blow glide off her forearm, she ducked into his guard and shoulder checked him before sending her fist to his gut once or twice. Of course, he compensated instantly, picking up a style that Yang obviously drew heavy inspiration from. She tried to get out of the immediate danger zone, but Taiyang stayed right on top of her, and it was only a matter of time before he forced her to a knee. She managed to roll under the kick that followed up, but when she shot back up he was simply standing there with his arms crossed.

"You keep planting your feet; it's hurting your mobility. You need to get your weight off your heels and into the balls of your feet. And you're too eager to capitalize on mistakes."

Dropping her guard, she raised an eyebrow at him. "Since when was capitalizing on an opponent's mistakes a bad thing?"

"Normally, it isn't," he elaborated. "You can identify a feint with the best of them, but you kept putting yourself in dangerous spots for exploits that you didn't really get all that much out of."

Kassidy pouted, "Well sorry I'm not as strong as your daughter – who was benching 415, last I checked. Look at these noodle arms. Do these look like I'm benching 415? I'm barely benching 90."

Taiyang snickered, and judging from the sounds off to the side he wasn't the only one who found it funny. "You definitely need to get stronger," he agreed.

"I'm trying, okay?!" Kassidy threw her hands up in exasperation. "I've been putting more time into the gym than Yang has, and I'm still barely getting anything out of it! Sorry for not having the biggest muscles around!"

"Yikes, you okay, partner?" Yang hissed a breath in before turning to her dad. "She's not wrong, though. She spends a stupid amount of time in the gym. And it's not her workout, either; I've been making sure she's been doing stuff right. We can't really figure it out, to be honest. She works out more than we do, she eats almost as much as any two of us put together, and at this point Ruby's put on more weight than she has."

"Hmm, that's odd. Might have to be something we look at later. Oh well!" Suddenly, Taiyang clapped his hands together and strode up to collect his towel from Zwei. "You've all had a spar each. How about we break for lunch and come back out for some more after, huh? Definitely need to get some meat on those bones of yours, Kass, you're too skinny." He punched her gut for emphasis, but his smirk vanished instantly as she wheezed and collapsed to the ground.

It took a while for Kassidy to stop seeing stars and for her head to stop swimming, curling up and clutching her poor stomach which got sent into spasms from the hit. When she finally trusted her body enough to force an eye open, she got an eyeful of Yang's lilac orbs. She made out, "You okay, partner?"

Kassidy rolled over onto and kept clutching at her abdomen, sucking in a few deep breaths. Finally having confidence that her stomach was done with tying itself into knots for the moment, she groaned. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry, stomach's been messed up all morning. Keeps crampin' on me for some reason."

Ruby tilted her head to the side. "Why would it… oh no! You're bleeding!" Kassidy followed her eyes down to the edge of her shorts. Indeed, there was blood trailing along the inside of her thigh, but it looked… odd. _Need to ask Bob about that._

Kassidy waved off Taiyang's apologies. "I know you didn't hit me that hard."

"Wait…" Yang looked up at the forest for a second, gears spinning in her head. She absently muttered, "Unexpected bleeding, stomach cramps, bad mood… oh Oum!" Yang started laughing for some reason, making Ruby and Zwei tilt their heads while Kassidy and Taiyang were content with raising their eyebrows. Finally realizing that nobody else knew what was so funny, she turned to her partner. "Remember how you said that you weren't looking forward to… things? Yeah, no more looking forward."

It took a few moments for Kassidy to comprehend what Yang was saying. When she did, she threw an arm over her eyes and groaned louder. "Seriously? This is… ugh. I can't even make a coherent opinion about this."

"W-well, now that this is apparently a thing, perhaps you girls should take things inside? I'll make a stop by town, pick up a few things for Kass." Rubbing the back of his head and leaving no time for debates, Taiyang started down the dirt path leading to the road.

The three girls were left in the grass, all trading awkward glances. Eventually, Yang spoke up. "Alright, girls, you heard the man. Let's head on inside."

"Alright, just give me a – woah!" Kassidy tried to get up, but got beaten to the punch. Blushing heavily, she glared at Yang from her position in her arms. "Put me down, Yang, I'm more than capable of walking!"

"I know," she answered with a wink. Ruby opened the door for them, and Yang deposited her onto the couch. "Rubes, get K's bag. And don't you worry, partner, Doctor Xiao Long is in the house!"

Kassidy rolled her eyes. "I'm suing you for malpractice. Do you even have a degree?"

Yang poked her cheek. "Well geez, cheer up, sourpuss." She was about to say something else, but got interrupted by Taiyang opening the door. "And look who's back."

"That's a fifteen minute walk one way! How did… you know what? Forget it, I'm not going to ask." Kassidy slumped back against the arm of the couch, before fending off more pokes from her overeager partner.

"That's the spirit," Yang crowed. Kassidy groaned again as her stomach flipped itself, but raised an eyebrow when her partner reached over to an end table. "You said we could play tic-tac-toe on your face, right? My move." She was still processing what exactly was going on when Yang wrote an X over her eye. _Well, I mean, she's not wrong, I did kind of say that. Kinda my fault on this one._

Rolling her eyes with a huff, Kassidy reached for the utensil. "Fine, I'll play. Where's… a… mirror…?" Her words died out as she looked at what she now held. "Yang?"

Her partner wore a smug grin, obviously having no idea what was being referred to. "Yes, my wonderful partner?"

"This is a permanent marker."

The smug grin vanished instantly as Yang's eyes bugged out and she paled. Ruby stopped at the foot of the stairs, apparently having just arrived in time to hear the declaration. Her partner's reaction, however, was priceless. "Oh. Oh. Uh… I didn't do it on purpose?"

Kassidy raised an eyebrow at her. "I'll give you a five second head start."

Yang shot to her feet and saluted. "Yes, ma'am. Best partner ever! See ya, Dad, Rubes, it's been nice knowing you!" And with two seconds to spare, she raced out the door, a yellow blur heading for the hills to avoid the supposed wrath of one Kassidy Smith.

Ruby shuffled from one foot to the other. "So… are you really going after her?"

Kassidy snorted. "I thought about it, but I think I have a better idea in mind. Mind bringing me my bag?" After receiving the item in question, she swiftly dug out a roll of duct tape and tossed it to Ruby. The team leader caught it, comprehension dawning on her eyes and a wicked grin spreading on her lips. "Don't play in the roads and be back by dark, okay?"

Ruby nodded, and a few rose petals floating to the ground was the only evidence that she'd ever been there. Taiyang looked limply out the front door, before turning back to his house guest. "You know that Yang's probably going to win that fight, right?"

Kassidy sat up on the couch with a smug smirk of her own. "Maybe, but it won't be as one-sided as you think. Besides, it'll be entertaining either way."

* * *

 **AN 2: So… quite a lot has happened this week. Big thing is I got the job. I'm now the newest tech support help desk assistant, not bad for a first job ever I'd say. Monday's chapter has a serious chance of not happening, since there's a few loose ends around here I want to tie up before working hours start. Still too early to tell what exactly's going to happen, so hopefully this time next week we'll have better ideas as to what this will mean for RWKY (and before anyone asks, no, I am not going to outright drop the fic). But anyways, like I said in first author's note, I still kinda have a bunch of crap to do, so I'll have to cut things off here to take care of them.**

 **Reader Responses if I find the time tomorrow evening before the chapter goes up.**

 **AgentDraakis: Yup, together-together indeed. Last chapter was definitely something I wanted people to be able to point at and say "This right here is where it all started". And sorry, but I'm going to have to say no to manslaughter right now. ...Okay, maybe the odd sacrifice of a newborn every now and then. But no more!**

 **mcd3424: Mr. Historian Side, meet Bob and his 50 terabytes of hard drives. Bob, meet Mr. Historian Side. But in all seriousness, yeah, Kassidy had pretty much the same thought. Normally I'd suggest reading the Introduction for how that all happened, but… alright, I freaking hate this story's introduction. Easily the weakest part of the fic, but after several months of brainstorming I've given up on coming up with a better replacement.**

 **Baconlord53: Oh boy. Can you say hi to Drunkle Qrow for us? And watch your back, I hear the wildlife's got some temper issues over in Remnant.**

 **FloriteFlower: Emotion is typically not Kassidy's strong suit. She'd much rather shoot something and be done with it. I have my doubts that she'll be a good dancer either, but hey, I haven't written it yet and I've surprised myself on more than one occasion. RWBY physics. Enough said.**

 **Tykene: I'm glad you're enjoying the fic so much, and I can't wait to see what you can come up with!**

 **Myrillis: Oh boy, the joys that are binge-reading a great fic that you just found and completely losing track of the time. I might have done that on one or… seven occasions. Glad you like what you've seen, and welcome to the group! Glad to have you around.**

 **AndJrew76: Wow. That means a hell of a lot to me, thank you. Not This Time, Fate happens to be my number one favorite at the moment, and honestly wouldn't say myself that I can hold a candle to Mr. Couer (*insert fanboyism that NTTF is moving to weekly uploads here*). Thank you so much for the support you've given the past seven months plus change. I'll endeavour to try and have a good and productive weekend, and I wish you the same, my man.**

 **frostbight23: Confirmation that this did, in fact, happen. Also, confirmation that it was Zwei taking the picture with Bob.**


	57. I1C13: Lighting a Firecracker

**Interlude 1 Chapter 13: Lighting a Firecracker**

 **AN: Oh, look, I said that Monday's chapter wasn't going to happen more than likely, so of course here I am three hours after last chapter went up to work on this one. I mean… yeah, this'll get worked on between schoolwork and the like, but the chances of a Monday chapter just went up by 100%.**

 **On a side note, sorry for the… let me be nice and call it "lackluster" author's notes last chapter. Was exhausted and kinda out of it. Won't happen again if I can help it.**

 **In this penultimate chapter of the interlude, Yang has a big day today! More fluff, more trips to Vale, and Kassidy has a couple gifts in mind for her… whatever you want to call them now.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

"I thought you said you knew how to do this."

"Shut up, Bob! Do you remember the last time I had to wrap something? No, you don't, because you weren't built then. I was, like, nine at the time."

"You are aware you're supposed to use more wrapping paper than tape, right?"

"I know!" Kassidy snarled, shooting a quick glare at her computer before giving an even bigger glare to the mess of tape, paper, and ribbon in front of her. _I've fought a quasi-police state, legions of biologically-impossible demons, superpowered teenagers and adults, and about four different criminal organizations. I'm as close to immortal as science is capable of. And yet I'm utterly defeated by a mass of decorative paper and adhesive strips._

"Need a hand?" A voice from the doorway made Kassidy tense up, before she remembered that she still hadn't heard Yang get up. Taiyang was still in the kitchen cooking a breakfast feast, so that left her team leader to be the one walking into her room and sitting down next to her. Ruby took a good look at it, then nodded with raised eyebrows. "That's a really nice jacket you got her, Kass."

Kassidy snorted, then tried to attach another panel of paper to the gift. "Glad to hear my tastes in fashion are alright. Hope she likes it, this thing cleared me out."

"Wait, what?" Kassidy looked over to see Ruby tilting her head. "How much was this? I mean, sure, it's nice, but it doesn't-"

"It was expensive enough," she hastily concluded. "And if my contact did his job right, worth every Lien."

"Ohhhhhh." Ruby hummed in thought for a minute, then snapped her finger. "Yeah, you don't really know how to wrap this, do you?" Kassidy simply shook her head, before grunting and tearing off the latest failed addition to the sticky bundle. "Here, I'll handle it for you, if you can take care of something for me."

"Hey, if you can wrap this as well as Yang wrapped you a couple days ago, just name your price."

"Hey! I thought we agreed that never happened!" Ruby puffed her reddened cheeks out, scowled, and poked Kassidy in the shoulder.

"No, you said it never happened. I was busy recording it to save the moment for posterity." Kassidy chuckled at the horrified gasp Ruby made, shaking her head at the memory. Yang had come back into the door with a gigantic grin on her face and a silver bundle thrown over her shoulder. She declared that she had returned from the hunt and had brought a gift as well, before throwing Ruby down in front of her partner and father.

Kassidy wasn't sure whether it was Ruby's cute and pitiful grunts and struggles, the duct tape bow on top of her head, or the absurdity of the whole situation, but she hadn't laughed that hard in _years._ It didn't help that both Taiyang and Yang completely lost it, too.

"Well, I know just how to make it up." Ruby's grin grew teeth, and Kassidy stopped chuckling. "Go wake Yang up."

Kassidy paled slightly. "I knew that was going to come back and bite me. Do I have to?"

Ruby giggled and nodded. "Team leader's orders. Mostly because I don't want to."

"Keep this up and I'm going to plot a coup," Kassidy sighed.

"Yeah, yeah. Away with you, my loyal minion." Ruby shook her hand out the door with a giggle, and shooed her away.

Unfortunately, it was but a short walk down the hall, and it took the slowest pace possible for Kassidy to go over the risk/reward analysis of ditching the mission. _Alright, on the one hand, I'll have a very upset partner that's more than capable of beating the stuffing out of me. On the other, a team leader that'll be quite… displeased with the lack of results and is liable to take her frustrations out on me some other way in the future._

She was quite literally knocked out of her thoughts when Yang's door opened and hit her in the forehead, the woman in question stepping out shortly afterward to find out why her door wasn't opening all the way. "Oh Oum, K! Are you okay?!"

Kassidy couldn't help but chuckle. "Yang, I would've thought you would know by now that getting bludgeoned by a door is quite mild for me."

Yang let out a deep breath, before opening her eyes again and smiling softly. "Yeah, well, you know me. I like to worry."

"Nuh-uh. I'm the pessimist of the group, remember?" They both shared a chuckle and started walking down the hall. When they joined Taiyang and Ruby in the kitchen, Kassidy socked her partner in the shoulder and added, "Happy birthday, Firecracker."

She had intended to leave it at that, sit down to a ridiculously large breakfast, and probably get to opening Yang's gifts afterwards. Unfortunately, that just wasn't in the cards just yet as she got hug-tackled to the ground by her partner.

"You think you're getting away with just that? I gotta show you my appreciation!" Yang laughed from her position on top of Kassidy and brushed her hair out of her face, then squeezed tighter. "Oh, you're the best partner ever! Thank you!"

"You're – urk – welcome." Kassidy returned the embrace, reasoning it was the only way to regain control of her lungs. "Uh, partner? Need. Air."

"Oh. Uh, whoops. Sorry, K." Yang got up and gave her a hand up as well, then turned to her family. After tilting her head at their expressions, she asked, "What?"

"It's weird not being on the other end of that…" Ruby rubbed her chin thoughtfully, but suddenly snapped out of it and tried to tackle-hug her sister also (tried being the operative word). "Oh, you two are so cute together!"

Kassidy rolled her eyes and left the two sisters to their devices as she made her way to the other side of the kitchen. "Sure you don't need a hand with that?"

"Nope, just finished!" Proving his point, Taiyang expertly flipped the eggs in the pan onto a plate and dragged a heap of bacon and four slices of toast to join them. He left the plate on the counter and pulled his daughter into a hug. "Happy birthday, my sunny little dragon."

"Daaaaaad! Not in front of K!" Yang blushed and tried to swat her father away, but the physical differences between Yang and Taiyang were almost as extreme as the differences between Kassidy and Yang. As strong as Yang was… her dad was just so much stronger. He eventually relented, laughing and tousling her hair before getting breakfast distributed to everyone. Even with the extra food, it didn't take long for the four to demolish the protein-packed meal, and after breaking so everyone could grab their respective gifts they met back in the living room.

Ruby interrupted the proceedings before they could even begin, however. "Ooh, everyone hold on, I almost forgot!" The younger girl spent some time fighting with her Scroll, which gave Kassidy ample time to sit next to Yang on the couch. At this point, she wasn't surprised when a hand slunk over to seek hers out, and she also didn't think much about grabbing it.

"Ugh, sorry about that, Ruby. I thought brunch would never end." Both Kassidy's and Yang's heads shot over when they heard a certain heiress' voice coming from Ruby's scroll. Ruby pushed some more buttons, and soon the television screen flickered before showing a live video image of Weiss. "Hello, Ruby, Kassidy, Yang, Mr. Xiao Long."

"What's up, Weissicle?" Yang smirked as Weiss bristled at the nickname, then waved it off. "Just messin' with ya. How's Atlas treating you?"

Weiss shuddered. "Let's just say that I can't wait for this last week of summer break to be over." She took a moment to compose herself in front of the camera, then continued. "Happy birthday, Yang. I trust it's been satisfactory so far?"

Yang's smirk grew. "You could say that. Got to sleep in a bit, had a big breakfast, and now you're joining us."

Weiss smiled in return. "I'm glad to hear it. Let's see, I already talked with Ruby and Mr. Xiao Long this morning, so that just leaves Kassidy. How are you…" Kassidy raised an eyebrow as she trailed off, but Weiss shook her head and returned to her composed self. "Well, it's about time."

The raised eyebrow gave way to narrowed eyes. "What's about time?"

Weiss paled slightly (which was quite impressive, given her complexion), and this time spoke up before she managed to recompose herself. "I haven't missed anything yet, have I, Ruby?"

"Nope! We were just about to start!" Ruby saved her partner from having to answer the question, before dashing over and handing a wrapped package to her sister. "Here you are, Yang! It took me a while to figure out how to machine it just right."

"Ooh, boy, this is gonna be good." Yang let go of Kassidy's hand as she got to the task of tearing apart the paper, and she squealed when she got it. "A new supercharger for Bumblebee! Awesome!" A yellow blur rocketed over to the chair, almost knocking it over as she tackled her younger sister off of it. "Well isn't my little sister the budding engineer! You made this?"

"Ugh, yup. Can't breathe. Please get off." The two sisters detangled themselves, smiles still plastered on their faces, and Yang returned to the couch just in time for her father to shove two packages her way.

"Huh, you got me a gift too, Zwei?" Yang looked down at the dog sitting at her feet, before opening it and revealing a three-pack of aviator shades. "Best dog ever. Who's a good boy? You're a good boy!" Kassidy watched with a smile as her partner played with the dog, but a quick glance at the television showed a far too pleased heiress watching them. She thought for a bit about what exactly Weiss was referring to earlier, but was returned to reality when Yang kept poking her shoulder. Her partner had one of the glasses on now, the tag still on the bridge of the glasses and hanging on her nose. "How do they look?"

Kassidy couldn't help but snicker at the silliness. "They look great. Would look even better if you took the tag off."

"But where's the fun in that?" Yang snickered, before grabbing another one and shoving it onto Kassidy's head. She rubbed her chin and furrowed her brows for a moment, then nodded authoritatively. "Much better."

"Alright, lovebirds, break it up." Taiyang's comment led to a bout of stammering denials from the two blondes, which everyone laughed at. It didn't take long for his face to turn melancholy, however. "Yang, your Uncle Qrow… he really wanted to be here. It's… you know how it is."

"Duty calls. I know." Yang's voice had fallen appropriately as she took the next package. "It's just… I dunno."

Kassidy hated how down her partner sounded, especially when it was so obvious what needed to be done. She put her hand over Yang's while she was trying to undo the wrapping, and their eyes locked. "Yang. I was talking with your uncle when he got the call. He wanted to be here. He wanted to be here really badly. Don't doubt it for a second."

Yang smiled at her, a smile that made her stomach feel a pound or two lighter. "I know. Thanks, K." Suddenly, Kassidy found herself pulled into another one-armed hug, one which she reciprocated. Yang went back to the package, and sucked in a breath when she pulled out the fingerless gloves held within. Kassidy might not have had much of an eye for style, but she did have an eye for quality. She could count on one hand the number of gloves she'd seen better made than these; probably not even. After pulling them on and looking at how they fit, Yang turned to her father. "Tell him I said thanks. These are super awesome."

"I'll make sure he gets the message." Taiyang leaned back and clapped his hands together. "My gift is gonna be dinner – and no, I'm not telling you what it is just yet. So, I think that just leaves us with your other teammates. Girls?"

Kassidy and Weiss shared a wordless conversation over the screen, and after Weiss extended a hand and beckoned her to start, Kassidy reached over and grabbed her own much more adequately wrapped gift and handed it to her partner. "I'm sorry it might not look as extravagant as everyone else's, but I can explain."

"I'm sure it'll be great, partner." Yang tore into the wrapping paper with all the decorum of an Ursa Major in a Dust shop… _wait, did I seriously just use another Remnant-ism? Sheesh, these people are really rubbing off on me._ An 'ooh' sound drew her attention back to her partner, holding the jacket out at arm's length. Similar in design to her old one, it lost the bulge in the shoulders, lengthened the sleeves to her elbows and changed the cuffs to yellow, and the color changed from black on the shoulders and upper arms, to gold in the chest, and fading to white near the bottom. "I dunno what you're talking about, K, this is awesome! Thanks a ton!"

At this point, Kassidy gave her a toothy grin. "Don't thank me yet. Put it on." Yang obliged, and after making sure it was adjusted properly Kassidy's visage turned downright predatory. "There's one extra feature you should know about. Watch closely…" With the whole room watching, Kassidy's hand dropped to her belt, and quick as a flash drew a knife that was promptly buried into Yang's stomach. The shrieks, gasps, and screams only made the moment better.

"WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT IS… huh?" Yang rapidly went from shock, to fear, to anger, to pure confusion. She looked down at the knife, and her eyebrows shot to her hairline when she saw that, instead of being several inches into her abdomen, the steel was held taut against the edge of the jacket. When Kassidy pulled the knife back, she inspected the garment to find nary a strayed fiber. "Wha…?"

"Dust-infused Kevlar," Kassidy explained. Everyone looked back to her, and she smirked while sheathing her knife. "Same stuff as my vest is made of. Except, you know… not older than dirt. That jacket of yours will stop anything from a knife to semi-automatic rifle rounds, without relying on your Aura. And it's 100% more fireproof than regular Kevlar, which is nice considering your habit of self-immolation." She was quite pleased with herself, but Kassidy's smugness fell when everyone continued to stare at her with agape mouths. "What? Did I put too much into the demonstration?"

Taiyang let out a breath, and fixed his gaze on Kassidy. She could feel her blood freeze in real-time. "First off… never try to stab my daughter again."

Kassidy couldn't stop the tremble in either her hands or her voice. "Uhh… yes, sir."

"Good." Taiyang's expression lost most of its tension, and he brought his hands together in front of his face. "Second off… just how much did that cost? Not going to pretend I know what that Kevlar stuff is, but for what I do know about, that kind of protection in a package like that runs into the four figure range at minimum."

"Don't worry, it wasn't four figures. Might've gotten a bit high into the three figure range, but not four figures. I know a guy."

"Why?" Kassidy whipped her head around, with Yang still having the same dumbstruck expression she's been wearing for a solid ninety seconds now.

She shrugged, "You know my opinion on money."

"No, we don't." Weiss decided to pipe up at this turn. Her eyes were still wide, but otherwise she was once again the picture of decorum. "All we know is that you don't spend. Anything. For all we know, you might worship money in some sort of underground cult you've never told us about."

"Oh. So you don't actually know?" Four shakes of the head was her answer, and Kassidy shook her head in amazement. "Wow, I guess this does kind of look like a big thing from me, I guess. But yeah, long story short, I couldn't care less about money." When everyone still remained unconvinced, she elaborated, "Look, money is useless. That's even truer here. You don't use paper money like we do, where at least you could wipe your rear with it. Lien is plastic cards. Your money is literally useless. All money is good for is what you can get with it. All of money's value comes from what you buy with it, whether it's food, equipment, favors… or a badass jacket that ensures you won't have to replace your partner anytime soon. So, yeah. Money's not really that big a deal to me. Doesn't matter how much or how little. In the end, it's just a plastic card."

"That's… rather insightful." Weiss' voice brought Kassidy's attention back to her. "I'd call it wrong, but still rather insightful. And honestly? Quite a bit refreshing of a viewpoint also. Especially when so many people in high society practically worship the almighty Lien, it's nice to hear a different stance on the matter." Weiss' eyes shifted to the left, and she suddenly deadpanned, "Also, behind you."

Kassidy didn't even get to ask what was up before she again found herself on the receiving end of a Yang Xiao Long tackle hug. She barely managed to roll over from her position underneath Yang before her partner's hug turned vice-like. Eventually, Yang calmed down enough to actually speak, though she still remained on top of her partner. "Y'know, if you're going for the best courtship ever, it's working."

"If I'm – what?!" Kassidy's eyes went wide and her cheeks were alit with the fire of a thousand flames. "Uh, sure, let's go with that." Kassidy wanted to snark a bit at her partner, but decided against it when she felt her heart rate increase measurably. After a bit of research she conducted a few days ago on the human body's reactions to situations, she was now pretty sure what the cause was.

Yang's laugh – that glorious laugh of hers – brought her back, and her partner booped her on the nose. "Just messin' with ya, partner. Seriously, though, thanks. It means a lot that you'd get something like this for me."

Kassidy shrugged, or at least gave her best approximation of a shrug while she was on her back, hugging her partner, who also happened to be trying to break her spine. "Like I said, kinda got used to having you around. Rather not get rid of ya if I can help it. And besides," Kassidy paused, finally getting up on the couch and somehow dragging Yang with her. "You've saved my life more times than I care to count at this point. About time I start returning the favor."

"How touching." The dry remark reminded the blonde girls that they had company, as they finally broke their embrace and blushed heavily. Weiss simply shook her head with a smirk. "Well, I didn't really expect I'd get outdone in the price department, but congratulations, Kassidy. You've surprised me yet again. At any rate, I suppose now is as good a time as any to give my gift to you, Yang." Weiss flipped her hair in her trademark gesture, and coolly explained, "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get you anything physical. Regardless, it would have been completely remiss of me to neglect to get you something, so instead I have opted to pay for an afternoon for three at a luxury spa in downtown Vale."

"Wow…" Yang slumped limply against the back of the couch, causing Kassidy no small amount of concern. That concern was quickly obliterated, however, when Yang grew a dopey smile. "You guys are the best. The literal best team ever. And the best Dad ever. And the best Uncle ever. And the best dog ever, too." She buried her face in her hands and let out a long breath. "I'm pretty sure it's not possible for today to get any better than it has."

"Well, you haven't had dinner yet, have you?" Taiyang smirked at them, before yet again clapping and standing up. "Happy birthday, Yang." His sentiments were echoed by everyone present, and he turned thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm, it's… it's 10:30 already! I need to start on dinner! That's it, you three get ready for a day in Vale. Right now. No spoilers for you guys!"

"Looks like I get to chaperone you guys to your spa, nice. Well, I am the responsible one, anyway."

"Not a chance you're opting out of this, Kassidy." Weiss' harsh tone drew everyone's attention to her. "If you've been anything like what you've been like at school – and I have no doubt that you have been – then you've yet to take a break during these past three weeks. It's called break for a reason. You're joining them in the spa, and you're going to allow yourself to be pampered. I already paid for it, so there's literally no reason for you not to."

Kassidy felt her hands being grabbed and tugged to her left. Her head followed, her eyes meeting her partner with a look of concern on her face. "K, were you seriously not thinking of joining us?"

"Uh, I mean I was, but… Yang? No, Yang, don't you start pouting. Don't you dare!" Her warnings fell on deaf ears as Yang's eyes widened and watered, her head started ducking, and the cutest smile ever formed on her partner's face. Kassidy never heard Yang's question, and she never heard her own answer.

She didn't leave autopilot until they were already halfway to Vale.

* * *

Kassidy seemed like she kept having a bunch of 'Best Day Evers' while in Patch. Indeed, spending the day with her partner and team leader at an all-expenses-paid trip to Vale's premier luxury spa, courtesy of their fourth teammate, set the stage for one of the most memorable days in recent memory. Being pampered silly, relaxing and getting all the luxuries that afternoon was incredible. Returning in the evening to the best steak dinner ever, courtesy of Taiyang, was amazing. But the best part of the day wasn't the food, or the spa. What blew all those out of the water was spending time with her partner. Yang's laughter, smile, and excitement were simply intoxicating.

That's when she figured it out. She liked Yang. She _really_ liked Yang. Not as combat partners. Not as friends. Not as someone you fall out of a tree onto a demon bear's head in front of. Going over the past weeks' recordings and memories, comparing notes and thoughts, she realized not a day went by ever since she arrived in Patch where Yang wasn't somehow involved in the best part of it. A minor philosophical debate with Bob – which Taiyang 'coincidentally' overheard and joined in on – convinced her that she wanted it to keep happening.

That was why she vanished after dinner. It was why she just got finished asking Ruby and Taiyang to ensure they were okay with it. And it was why she was standing in the living room, watching Yang sit on the front porch to watch the sunset.

 _It's right there. I've just spent hours going over whether or not I want to do this. Just got finished being interrogated by both Ruby and Taiyang about this. Just endured every comment Bob could come up with about the situation – and boy can that computer come up with comments. All I've gotta do it step outside that door and ask. Just… why am I not? I want to try this, to see if this would even work. Everyone's okay with it. But what if she doesn't want it? What if… what if this ruins our partnership?_

"Y'know, you can get a far better view if you come out here with me. Sunset's always better when you're outside." Yang's muted voice through the window made her jump, her lilac eyes twinkling with delight as she watched her. Kassidy took a deep breath, then stepped outside the door. Yang scooted over to make room for her on the bench swing, and the two took to holding hands instantly as she sat down. "You look like you want to say something."

 _Gee, thanks for putting me on the spot, partner. Alright Smith, now or never._ Shuddering another breath out, Kassidy managed, "How do you think our time as partners has been?"

Yang cocked her head. "Well… I'd like to think it's gone pretty well. Why do you ask?"

Kassidy took a few more agonizing breaths, then went on a speech she had planned out as of zero seconds ago. "When I… when I crumpled to the ground in front of you on Initiation, I had no idea what our time together would be like. I assumed that a bunch of it would be me trying to get you to take even the slightest thing seriously. Obviously, I haven't done a very good job of that." They shared a giggle, then Kassidy started up again. "A lot happened over the semester. A bunch of it… not very good. But you stuck with me. When literally anyone else I've met would've dropped me faster than a pile of hot rocks, you were there, always there to help me pick things back up, to show that maybe things weren't as bad as I was making them out to be.

"And these past two weeks in Patch… they've been incredible." Kassidy ignored Yang's face as best she could, staring ahead and trying to keep her breathing under control. "Your dad's awesome, and Ruby's great also, but you're…"

"K," Yang breathed.

"You're funny, and smart, and strong, and such a good person, and everything I've ever wanted to be. I've always liked you, Yang. But these past couple weeks… I started realizing just how much I like ya. No matter what, you've always been there. You've done so much to make me happier than I've ever been before… and similarly, it means so much to me to see you happy." Reaching over, she took Yang's hand up in both of hers. "I'd… like to think it's pretty obvious something's been going on between us. I'm… I'm not quite sure what that something is, but… I'd like to see where it goes. If you want to also, that is."

Kassidy had more, she truly did. But Yang's other hand grabbing hers did a very good job of shutting her up. "Kassidy… thank you." Her partner's lilac eyes were brimming with tears for reasons she couldn't understand the source of, but then Yang started speaking again. "I've gotta be honest, I was kinda hoping we could see where this went, too. I've been beating myself silly these past couple days thinking of how to ask you." Yang flipped her hair over her shoulder, and smiled. "I've always treated life as an adventure. And you're quite the person to go on an adventure with."

"We're stuck together anyways for the next three and a half years, right? Might as well make the most of it?" Yang nodded, and Kassidy felt her smile grow. Remembering the other big question she came out here to ask, she sat up straight and tried to recompose herself. "I've been thinking, there's that fair in a few days, right? It's only two days before we need to head back to Beacon, but I was hoping… I was hoping that we could take that evening, enjoy some time together, see if this can actually work. Of course, if-"

"K?" Yang interrupted. "It's a date." They pulled each other into a fierce hug, and afterwards were more than happy to spend the rest of the evening together on the swing in the front porch. "And I lied earlier. The day's even better now."

* * *

 **AN 2: Last call for those with tickets to the SS Molotov Cocktail! All aboard!**

 **Also, I am sorry to say that we have lost our beta reader. With the hiatus returned, he's gone back to his own stories and his own works. I'd like to extend another thank-you to kaiju62, and yet another shameless plug for his work. Thank you, my man, for the quality control you've done for me and for encouraging me to keep a closer eye on what I write, to make this the best story I can. Best of luck on your own adventures!**

 **Coming up next: The last chapter in the Interlude.**

 **AgentDraakis: I'm… going to assume that you're NOT speaking from personal experience here, mostly for my sanity. I've liked most of his work that I've read, it's just… I've never been able to get more than a few chapters into any of them other than NTTF. No idea why.**

 **All four of them being perfectly in sync? RIP Beacon, never stood a chance, Cinder doesn't even get the opportunity to attack Amber again. The shitstorm from Weiss and Kassidy alone would be enough to obliterate the student dorms. And do not worry, everyone's going to have opportunities to comment, not just Nora. And, to be frank, of course Taiyang reacted the way he did. How would you react upon hearing your daughter's best friend/kinda-maybe-sorta-girlfriend had her face blown off with a shotgun? I wouldn't be pleased about it were I in his shoes.**

 **Captain marvel 36: No explicit plans at the moment, but I'll keep my eyes open for opportunities.**

 **mcd3424: Eine betrunkene Kritik? Auf Deutsch, nicht weniger? Ich fühle mich geehrt!**

 **Google Translate is my friend.**

 **Baconlord53: Yes, she did. We went there.**

 **AndJrew76: Awesome weekend indeed. Got my loose ends wrapped up, got the final two chapters of the Interlude written, and a few months' hard work in both real life and in RWKY is bearing its fruits. I'm happy with where things are at the moment. I'm glad you think so highly of my work, it means a lot. Seven months indeed, we've been at this for a while, huh? So glad you've stuck it out so far, here's to another seven months (and hopefully more – I've got a lot planned out!).**


	58. I1C14: All's Faire

**Interlude 1 Chapter 14: All's Faire**

 **AN: Here we are, the final chapter in the first interlude. This has been fun to see the evolution of: went from seven chapters planned, to ten, to seventeen, and now we're on fourteen chapters. This has certainly been different from the previous forty-four chapters. I'll type more in the second author's note, because something's changing once this chapter comes out. If you don't read the Author's Note, now's a good time to start. Well, if you don't read the AN's you won't read this reminder to start reading them, so… why am I writing this again?**

 **Anyway! In the part of the chapter you care about, it's time for Kassidy and Yang to go on a date! Nothing bad could possibly happen! Heh, yeah. Guess it's time to find out if I actually mean that this time.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

 _I don't know what I'm doing. Why did I not give this part any thought whatsoever?_ Kassidy sighed as she looked at her vast wardrobe consisting of maybe four separate outfits. She had enough copies of her typical combat outfit to get her through the week, but there were a small handful of items that were almost never worn. It didn't amount to much, however, and she had initially planned on wearing her combat outfit, until she started second guessing herself. _Yang sees me in the same stuff almost literally every day. Is that a bad thing? Should I try dressing up? Can I even dress up with this stuff? What can-_

A couple knocks on her door got her attention. "Hey, Kass, can I come in?" _Okay, just Ruby. Get a grip, Smith._ Kassidy opened the door, and then shut it as soon as her team leader walked in. "Alright, I was hoping to check if you were ready yet… but it looks like you're not." Kassidy continued to look over her assembled wardrobe without progress, which prompted Ruby to continue. "Do you… need help?"

Kassidy nodded vigorously, though she didn't look away from her meager collection. "How is it that I can fight Grimm with no issues, but choosing what clothes to wear while going out with your sister is making me freeze up? I don't even have that many choices to pick from!"

"You're thinking too much. Just go with it." Ruby's comment confused Kassidy, who whirled around to see her team leader shrugging her shoulders. "I mean, it's what I do more often than not. Now come on, relax. Actually, may I take a look?" Kassidy nodded numbly, though she didn't move. Ruby, however, was more than happy to drag her away lightly and take her place in front of the bed. "Hmm, you don't have a lot to work with. Might need to fix that at some point. You still have those other boots, right? 'Cause you're not going out tonight in combats."

Kassidy just nodded, her brain still working on overdrive. "I don't even know why I'm so worried, I've got everything planned out. Of course, you know what they say, no plan survives first contact, so I've got plans B, C, D, E, and F dealt with. I've got the general layout, I've got possible escape routes, and I've even made more ammo for Rogue. I know what I want to hit, when I want to hit it, researched places for dinner, I've-"

"Nope."

Kassidy's head shot up to Ruby at her statement. "But what if something happens?"

Ruby put her finger on her chin. "Hmm… nope!"

"What if I didn't plan for something?"

"Nope!"

"But what about-"

"Nope!" Ruby suddenly stepped forward and hugged Kassidy. "You're thinking too much again. You'll be fine."

Kassidy could only snicker as she tousled her leader's hair. "You're sure confident about things."

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?" Ruby broke the embrace and looked up with the same smile she almost always wears. "You don't need to plan everything out. You like Yang. Yang likes you. It'll be fine! I've hung out with friends a couple times, and as long as you like hanging out with each other you'll find something to do." Before Kassidy could reply, Ruby shoved some clothes into her arms. "Also, try these on." She turned around to give some modesty, and Kassidy shrugged and changed accordingly.

The outfit that Ruby had chosen had black leather calf-high boots obviously more built towards form than function, blue jeans, a sleeveless shirt that was in black this time, and a navy blue zippered light sweater. Ruby turned around after being given the all-clear, and quickly squealed before dashing over in a burst of roses and colliding with Kassidy's midsection; it took all of her strength to keep from getting bowled over. "Oh, you look great, Kass!"

Kassidy laughed and tousled her hair, before extricating herself from Ruby's grip. "You did a good job. The only thing is…" Ruby's face dropped while Kassidy patted around herself. "It's gonna be real hard to hide my gun anywhere."

"Why would you need to be armed?" Both Kassidy and Ruby jumped as Taiyang manifested from the doorway. Kassidy quickly got over the shock, however; it seemed that jump scares were Taiyang's deal.

"Why wouldn't I be? The worst things tend to happen when you're not expecting them. I always need to be ready."

Unexpectedly, Taiyang sighed, folded his arms, and shook his head. "Patch is a safe place, Kassidy. You don't always need to be on your guard. Even if something bad does happen, you and Yang are both Huntresses-in-training, and you're bound to not be the only ones there with some sort of combat experience."

"Don't forget," Bob added, "Your birthday gift to Yang was basically a bulletproof vest that doubles as a fashion accessory."

Kassidy planted her hands on her hips and stared at the ground, still unconvinced. Taiyang planted his hand on her shoulder. "Look, nothing bad's going to happen. I can guarantee it. Just make this night about you and Yang. No weapons, no Grimm, no… whatever else you've been dealing with. Don't be Huntresses-in-training tonight; just be a couple of teenage girls going on a date."

"Don't forget your exceptionally talented and aesthetically pleasing computer!"

Kassidy snapped. She groaned and threw her hands into the air, before explaining, "That's it! You've been a pain all day today! You're definitely not welcome anymore. Ruby, he's all yours. If he gives you any trouble, throw him into the infinite loop program."

Ruby and Taiyang chuckled, and the older man got her attention again. "Probably for the best; tonight's supposed to be about you two, after all. Now come on downstairs, Yang said she'd be picking you up right about…" Taiyang was interrupted by a series of loud knocks coming from the front door downstairs. "…now."

The small procession made their way downstairs, and it wasn't long until Kassidy stood before the front door. This was it. Yang Xiao Long – her combat partner, best friend, half-sister of her team leader, and apparently soon-to-be girlfriend – was standing on the other side. A final check to ensure that her bun was sufficiently tight, and she opened the door… only for her jaw to immediately drop.

The first thing she noticed was that Yang was actually taller than her somehow. A quick look down revealed that heeled boots were the reason why. Kassidy looked back up – up the black pants, black and gold belt, white shirt that was _really_ low cut, and her new jacket – to Yang's face, who had quite the amused look on her face, and who just had to ask, "Like what you see?"

"Um… yeah. It's just…" Kassidy shuffled her feet. "Now I feel really underwhelming, though. All I've got is-"

"K? You look great." Yang's interruption made Kassidy shoot her head back up. Yang suddenly struck a pose and hummed for a bit while rubbing her chin. "It's just missing… ah, I've got it!" Kassidy's eyebrow raised as Yang pulled one of her new pairs of aviator shades from her pocket.

"Ooh, ooh, Kass, turn around! I want a picture!" Chuckling and slipping the glasses on, Kassidy and Yang struck a pose as Ruby fished out her Scroll. Taiyang also got in on the act, and it didn't take long for the two to take an adequate number of photographs. Ruby flipped through her Scroll a bit, then dashed up to try and wrap both Kassidy and Yang in a hug. "Oh, you two are so cute together! You're going to be great tonight, I know it!"

"I have no doubts about it." Taiyang walked up to them, ruffling Yang's hair a bit (much to her consternation) while gently prying Ruby away from them. Suddenly, his smile disappeared as he pointed a stern finger in their faces. "Now, I want you both back by eleven, and no teenager funny business! Got it?"

"Ugh, Dad!" Yang bickered with her father for a moment, but before long everyone was back to smiles and saying their farewells. The two blondes turned back to facing one another, and Yang shifted her weight to one leg while planting her hands on her hips. "So, I figured we've got a good night ahead of us. Especially if you're alright with a late dinner, we should be able to squeeze in quite a bit at the fair."

"I imagine." Kassidy took another look at her partner – _Since when have I had to look up to look Yang in the eye?_ – and thought for a brief moment. "I must admit, when I said that I look up to you, I didn't quite mean it in a literal sense at the time."

Yang's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and laughed for a good few seconds. "Yeah, figured I'd go with something different. Spice things up, y'know? Speaking of spicing things up, ever been on a motorcycle before?" When Kassidy shook her head, Yang's grin turned devious. "Well, you're going to be in for quite the treat tonight. Hop on board!"

It was at that moment that Kassidy finally saw the yellow and black motorbike behind Yang. _Damn, that thing looks like it's got some power behind it… like I would totally expect anything else from Yang._ Her eyebrow raised as she asked, "I can't help but notice there's only one seat."

Yang winked at her before straddling the seat and patting behind her. "Got room for two. Come on, they're gonna have all the fun without us!" Kassidy blinked, then walked over and took the seat immediately behind Yang. _Alright, I'm on the bike. Dunno why Dad was so adamantly against these things, but shouldn't I have handles or something?_

Kassidy's question was answered when Yang reached back, grabbed her arms, then brought them around her waist. Kassidy blushed, while Yang winked again. "Alright, K, hold on tight. And watch where your hands go!" Kassidy quickly found the means to blush harder, making Yang laugh. "Okay, with that out of the way, awaaaaay we go!" Wasting no time, Yang revved Bumblebee's engine and shot off down the road.

Kassidy buried her face in Yang's back and held on for dear life. It took about fifteen minutes of winding roads and forest scenery that Kassidy would have surely found beautiful if she weren't busy trying to hide in the back of Yang's coat. Eventually, however, the bike came to a stop. Kassidy could make out the sounds of music and laughter, with the odd little kid screaming his or her head off. "Hey, relax, we're here. Jeez, K, I knew you liked me, but I didn't know you liked me that much."

Willing her eyes open, Kassidy finally released the death grip she held on Yang's stomach and pulled away, before stepping off the bike. "Well, that was… that was a thing."

"Yup, it sure was." Yang arched her back in a stretch, and Kassidy wasn't the only one who didn't miss how much the action pushed her chest forward. Yang dipped out of the stretch, then hopped off Bumblebee herself. "C'mon, K, let's see what we can find that's worth doing around here. I'm willing to bet I'm better at these carnival games than you are!"

From Kassidy's current vantage point next to the bike, she could make out skeeball, a water pistol game, and a strength-based contest. _That last one I stand no chance of, but the others… what was it? 'As long as you like each other, you'll find something to do.' Score one for Ruby._ Finding Yang's hand as the two began walking down the lane, Kassidy looked over – _and up. Damn, I'm never going to get used to this_ – to her partner with a grin. "You're on."

* * *

"It's no fair!" Kassidy whined. "You had to have cheated, it's the only explanation!"

Yang snickered next to her, one arm wrapped around Kassidy's and another wrapped around a three foot tall teddy bear she won from consistent domination of all the game booths. "Someone's a sore loser. I mean, I even got a prize for you!"

Kassidy looked over and scowled at her nemesis. _I can feel that bear looking at me. Judging my choices in life. Mocking my lack of skill at meaningless carnival games._ "I mean, the punching bag, we didn't even need to try that to know who would win at that one."

"Nope." Yang popped the P as they kept walking, head on a swivel as they looked for a decent place for dinner. However, she paused briefly to smile at Kassidy. "Doesn't make it any less fun to try, though. You've gotten some pretty good form over these past few months. Now we just need to put some meat on those bones."

"If you insist." Kassidy rolled her eyes with a smirk, but then scowled again as she kept going over what they've done so far. "Alright, so the punching bag was obviously going to be your win. But… skeeball? That's rolling a ball up a ramp and hitting a target. That's precision aiming. I should've wiped the floor with you on that."

Yang continued grinning at her, which at the moment was equal parts endearing and annoying. "Maybe… if you weren't dealing with Patch's resident Skeeball Champion, having honed her skills against the one and only Ruby Rose. Also, if you hadn't tried to throw those first two balls overhand."

"Okay…" Kassidy noted the crowd's reaction to them: a couple pointing fingers, a few smiles, maybe a gasp and widened eyes were they worst they got. Nothing overtly negative, however, which was the big thing she was worried about. "Then explain the water pistol game to me, again. Please, I would love to hear your rational explanation as to how you beat me there."

Yang waved her free hand, which wasn't actually free as the giant bear was shaken around. "I know that guy personally. Not saying that he's a sleazebag, but he's rigged the guns. Rubes had drug me over to that enough times, though, that I've figured it out."

"Of course they were rigged," Kassidy muttered under her breath. Shaking her head, she replied, "All right, best one for last: it's pretty obvious I suck at dancing… but you're wearing heeled boots! How the hell do you dance in heels?! How have you not tripped and snapped your neck yet?"

Yang actually laughed at that one, an action which definitely took the edge off of Kassidy's mood. Her partner reached over and poked her in the cheek, however, almost clobbering her with the bear in the meanwhile. "Sounds like somebody's never worn high heels before."

"That's a joke, right?" Finally finding a place to eat, they both took a break to order double cheeseburgers, collecting their meals and moving to an indoors cafeteria to eat. In between stuffing their faces, Kassidy got through, "You'd have a better chance of getting me to give an Ursa Major a backrub." Her eyes narrowed dangerously when Yang split into a grin, and she hastily added, "And no, I'm not giving an Ursa Major a backrub."

Yang snickered at that last comment, but as she was about to take another bite her face fell and her eyes bugged out. "Oh no…"

Kassidy raised an eyebrow. "What's the problem? Do I need to get ready for a fight?"

"Pretty much the only homophobe I have the displeasure of knowing," Yang muttered. Ducking down and finding her burger very interesting all of a sudden, she added, "Let me do the talking, okay? With any luck, he's just heading this way out of coincidence."

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Xiao Long girlie. Gotta admit, I wasn't expecting you here." A rather… large man appeared on Kassidy's right, crossing his arms as he came to a stop in front of Yang. "Or for you to have some sort of floozy hanging off your arm."

Yang's eyes had the faintest flash of red, but it was Kassidy that had to be motioned to stay seated as her date stared their visitor down. "Can't say I was expecting you here either, Vermillion. Look, I'm kinda in the middle of something, so if we could do this later-"

"No, we can't." The newly identified Vermillion leaned with one arm on the table, and in a shocking move of bravery (or probably stupidity) returned Yang's glare. "I've never pegged you for smarts, girlie, but even I didn't think you were this dumb. _Experiments_ like this aren't becoming of a civilized woman. And honestly, even if it were…" Vermillion looked behind him, towards Kassidy, then sneered as his head turned back to the front. "You can do better than Miss Sleeps With Knives here."

"You'd be smart to stop insultin' my partner," Yang growled out. She put her hand up, again motioning Kassidy to stay in her seat. "And if all you're here for is to insult us and question my choice of relationships, I'm going to need to ask you, very kindly I might add, to leave us be. There's plenty enough here to entertain yourself with that we don't factor into."

"It would be remiss of me to not perform my service to society." Vermillion planted his hand over his heart and bowed his head, as though he actually thought he were doing society some grand favor. "There's no denying your strength, girlie. We need that strength in the next generation. The Grimm hound us endlessly, and we need every fresh body we can get. If you decide that… entertaining this notion of yours is a good idea, you're removing two healthy, breeding bodies that could be making the next generation stronger. This isn't natural."

"Not natural?" Kassidy had had enough, and despite Yang's frantic waves she stood up and squared up with Vermillion. "Do tell me, Mr. Vermillion, was it? We're in the middle of an air conditioned cafeteria. I was formerly seated on a padded steel chair in front of a steel table. The most natural thing in our meals was the ketchup. And speaking of which… it seems the most natural thing on you is your quite impressive collection of nose hairs." Vermillion's face contorted as he snarled, but Kassidy put a finger up. "I'm not finished yet. Let's see, shirt and pants are made entirely of synthetic fabrics, the leather your shoes are made of is fake… you don't have a stitch of cotton or wool on you." Taking another step forwards, Kassidy sneered right back at him. "The scene and venue we find ourselves in, an air conditioned cafeteria inside a fair filled to bursting with synthesized music and flashing lights, couldn't get more artificial if we tried. But please, do tell me more about how unnatural our situation is."

Shock was quite plainly written across Vermillion's face, but he quickly snarled at her yet again. He was about to spout off some more at her, but then Yang cleared her throat quite loudly, prompting him to look around and discover that they've attracted quite the audience. A few quick glances both satisfied Kassidy's paranoia, and assured her that she wasn't the subject of most people's displeasure. Glowering for a few moments longer, their guest quickly excused himself and just as quickly found a different venue for eating.

"Wow… nice job, K." Yang's voice prompted Kassidy to sit back down and finish her meal. "Sorry you had to go through that."

Kassidy waved it off. "I'm surprised we haven't had to deal with more of that." When Yang outright dropped her burger and looked up, Kassidy continued, "Where I grew up wasn't exactly the most… progressive of places. Dad always was the odd one out, and I guess he raised me and Matt to be the same way." They finished the remainder of their meals quickly, and Kassidy dumped their trash before helping Yang to her feet. Stopping for a second after doing so, Kassidy commented, "I still haven't gotten over the fact that you're taller than me right now."

"That's not a bad thing, is it?" Yang's tone had a joke to it, but worry was clearly flashing across her partner's eyes.

Kassidy waved it off. "Just because I haven't gotten over it doesn't necessarily mean that I don't like it. I just never pegged you as someone who would wear heels, I guess."

"If you stick around, you'll see I'm full of surprises. By the way, your turn to hold the bear. It's yours, after all." Yang took advantage of the opportunity of the furious blush that her comment and wink had caused, quickly shoving the oversized stuffed animal into her partner's arms. They continued walking for some time, trying to find something interesting to occupy themselves with.

"By the way…" Kassidy shuffled her weight, accidentally yanking on Yang's arm a little in the process. "Thanks for this. I can't remember the last time I've had this much fun. Thanks for spending the evening with me so far."

"Not a problem, K." Yang drew her closer, and while Kassidy blushed at the action she couldn't bring herself to complain. They continued walking for a bit longer, before eventually Yang drug her over to where it looked like someone had taped off a rather large dancing area, where people were already grooving to the music of the times. Yang's grin could be seen in her eyes, and Kassidy's denial was just as apparent, but before either could speak up the announcer's voice got their attention.

"Alrighty folks, this request promises to be a special one. This number from the lesser known artists Walk The Moon, courtesy of a 'Bob Smith', comes especially for tonight's proceedings. He submitted it in honor of, and I quote, 'the start of something great', and has a message for a miss Kassidy Smith in the form of, and I quote, 'just do it'."

Kassidy stared blankly ahead of her, not registering Yang's question. _I swear to all that is holy, if this is what I think it is…_ Her suspicions were confirmed when the music started playing.

"Well, don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me. I said, 'You're holding back.' She said, 'Shut up and dance with me.' This woman is my destiny, and she said, 'Ooh, ooh! Shut up and dance with me!'"

"That computer…" Kassidy breathed out. "I am turning that computer into scrap. No, I'm melting him down. I'll-"

"Hey, K?" Yang's soft voice made Kassidy look over – _and up_ – to her partner, whose mischievous grin had faded to a soft smile. "Shut up and dance with me."

As she got dragged over to the nearest open space, Kassidy complained, "You were in on this, weren't you? Besides, I think we've already established my complete inability to dance."

Yang giggled, "Just do what I do. Oh, and no, I didn't. I just saw an opportunity and took advantage of it." The rest of the evening started slowly, picking up a bit as Kassidy felt more comfortable, then slowing down again as Yang's legs were finally voicing their complaints. A good hour of dancing later, plus a decent rest afterwards, and Kassidy found herself back on Bumblebee, hugging Yang tightly as she held on for dear life with a giant teddy bear strapped to her back.

 _Well, this is it. We move back to Beacon the day after tomorrow. I'd be lying if I said that this summer break was totally planned._ Kassidy clutched tighter as they went around particularly tight curve. _But I'd also say that I'd be lying if I didn't enjoy it. I really liked tonight, and I'm pretty darn sure Yang liked it, too. Bring it on, Remnant. The dynamic duo of Kassidy Smith and Yang Xiao Long is coming for you. Do your worst._

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 **AN 2: Alright, a couple things. First off, WE HIT ONE HUNDRED FAVORITES! A big congratulations to chloe mcphail.94 for being our one hundredth favorite! For such an auspicious occasion, I bequeath… a boot to the head. And another for Jenny and the wimp!**

 **Secondly, apologies for missing the Friday upload. The reason was insomnia. Yes, like our main character here, this has been an issue that's been plaguing me the last few months. Normally, it hasn't been a big deal – I might not be the nicest guy on five hours of sleep, but I can function just fine. However, after going a solid week with a grand total of eleven hours of sleep, plus missing a CS assignment and a report, things have gotten out of hand. I'll be visiting the doctor's office tomorrow to get a solution to this (fingers crossed for no narcotics/strong stuff). I did not intend to miss Friday's upload, and I apologize profusely for that.**

 **Thirdly, Team Rookie is going on hiatus for the time being. With this being the end of the Interlude, the next chapter will start Volume 2. Before I get to that, though, I want to finally get to an issue that's been bothering me for some time now: the pitiful quality of the first few chapters. Every time I go back to the first half of V1, I cringe and ask, "Did I seriously write this?" So, before the next chapter goes up, V1C1 through V1C24 (inclusive) will be getting full rewrites to bring their quality up to what you would expect from me (sorry, but I've written off the Introduction as a lost cause months ago). Absolutely nothing plot-wise will change, but I will be going over them for ease of readability and quality of life changes.**

 **On a related note, I do believe that I'll be putting out an entry for February's MonCon. For those of you who don't know, the RWBY subreddit has a Monthly Fan Fiction and Art Contest (I'll give you three guesses as to what it shortens to). Expect a ReNora story from me here in the next couple weeks while we're on hiatus.**

 **I do not expect this hiatus to last for excessively long, probably only as long as it takes me to write ReNora and touch up the first half of V1. If I'm not back up by Spring Break (which is the second week of March for me – yeah, I know, we get it hideously early), I'll be thoroughly shocked. Unknown yet if I'll be forced to cut back to once weekly uploads or not. Will let you know when V2C1 comes out.**

 **Okay, phew. That was a mouthful. And three minutes to upload time. Let's see just how quickly I can get these Reviewer Responses done.**

 **Baconlord53: Indeed, my friend. Indeed.**

 **James: I do like how I've paced the ship in my head. I guess time will tell if you guys like it in the long run, but so far reactions have been good. Glad to hear you've been liking it so far.**

 **Myrillis: Believe me, I know all too well the feeling of finding a good fiction, reading for a while, then absently looking at the clock just in time to find out that you should've been in bed hours ago. So glad you've enjoyed RWKY so much, here's to hoping that I can continue pleasing.**

 **FloriteFlower: Not yet, unfortunately. Glad someone thinks I did that part justice. Especially given the facts of absentee mother, only child, no girlfriends to speak of… yeah, I have literally zero practical experience with that stuff. And it turns out Wikipedia can only get you so far.**

 **AgentDraakis: I once thought that stabbings were a great idea for parties, but then that theory got poked full of holes. And I can understand where you're coming from with the kiss, hell I was very tempted to put it here, but thought it would be too early since it's only the first date (but what the hell do I know? I'm talking so far out of my ass with the ship I can't even make a good anal joke about it). Let's just say… I've got some big plans. Some very. Big. Plans.**

 **Tykene: So glad you've been enjoying things so far. And thanks for the well wishes on the job – things are definitely shaping up to be interesting around here!**

 **AndJrew76: I can't say enough how glad I am that so many people are enjoying the story. Writing RWKY and interacting with you all is the highlight of my day, and it's definitely made the college grind far more bearable. Here's to many more months of excellent storytelling and excellent readers!**

 **Matt Cyr: They didn't… until Kassidy told them how to make it.**

 **Blake probably would've brought catnip. /totallynotracist**

 **Firearm Legume: Hmm… going off of DND5e classes, I'd have to say Kassidy is that one asshole fighter that gets all the crossbow feats and just sprays bolts everywhere. Come on, you all know a guy like that. And if you don't, you do now, because I'm that asshole fighter character!**

 **mcd3424: I will admit, plans have definitely changed as things have gone on. Can't say I'm complaining too much about where things have gone, though. So glad you've been enjoying it so far.**

* * *

 **Well, shit, I missed the upload by about 10 minutes. Forgive me please? (Hides under a cardboard box I totally didn't borrow from Snake).**

 **See you all in March!**


	59. V2C1: Pulverized Provisions

**Volume 2 Chapter 1: Pulverized Provisions**

 **AN: Well, bad news is, it looks like ReNora isn't happening. Sorry, guys, but a whole bunch of crap has made life not that nice for me, and thus drained my enthusiasm for a new project. And editing the first part of the story is turning out to be a pain in my side; gonna need significantly more time on that project than I thought. Given that I've already written this and have a good idea on where I want this volume to go, we're kicking things back off early.**

 **So, Volume 2, The Volume After Volume 1** **. Two things I want to bring up. Firstly, and I should have brought this up when we started the Interlude (forgot to, my bad), if you have any questions regarding Kassidy's backstory at this point, now's the time to ask them, because barring one final reveal we are now 100% done with setting up her backstory.**

 **Secondly, and here's the big one: RWKY is an AU, and it's bigger than just Beacon. Yes, I finally finished a roadmap that will, if I continue on 2x/week uploads, will see us through a minimum of a further year of material. While Volume 1 was very much a "rewrite of RWBY with a new character", and Volume 2 will be much of the same, I am going to start introducing bigger elements and more characters. Certain canon characters WILL get warped to be OOC. Old villains will have complications, and new villains will join the fray. Kassidy may be on the titular team, but it's not all about her. Only most of it is.**

 **Okay, on to the chapter summary, which seems to involve… yeah, do I even need to put a summary here? You all know what's about to happen. LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

 _Hmm… what's this? 'Schnee Dust Company stocks skyrocket as Jacques Schnee announces collaboration that has yielded next-gen CPU's with 70% increased speed over predecessors'? Looks like Bob might get some competition here in a few years or so, assuming someone's willing to throw millions of Lien at the problem of cutting-edge super-computing tablets. Actually, that might be something to take advantage of if I ever find myself with a large glut of cash; some of Bob's parts are getting a bit on the old and overworked side._

Kassidy continued swiping through the news of the world while nibbling on a sandwich she made involving roast turkey and the crustiest baguettes she has ever eaten. It wasn't Patch, but Beacon was as close to home as she's had in several years, and it definitely had its own charm. To her right, Weiss was studying last semester's notes (despite the fact that classes hadn't even started yet), while on her left Yang was busy catching food flung at her by JNPR, mostly Nora. Ruby had run off, oddly enough, to the library early in the morning and hadn't been seen since. Kassidy thought on it for a short while before the cafeteria doors opened, letting in a breeze that made her shiver and subconsciously snap her legs even tighter together. _One of many reasons why I try to wear skirts as little as possible. Ugh, why do these stupid uniforms need to be mandatory? If it's not the potential for guys to sneak a peek, this stupid shoelace necktie thing feels like it's trying to choke me. This whole damn outfit is one big mass of cotton and bad design._

"Whatcha doin'?"

"Ah!" Kassidy dropped her sandwich and flailed slightly as Yang poked her face over, retreating only for as long as it took to catch a grape shot across the room before returning to be right in her face. Taking a breath and regaining her composure, Kassidy replied, "Not much, just keeping up with the times."

Yang leaned over to catch another grape, before looking back at her and remarked on the situation with a smirk and a quick, "Lame!"

Kassidy rolled her eyes and was about to snark back at her partner turned girlfriend, but spied Ruby dashing over with a gigantic binder and wisely decided not to start. When the foot-and-a-half high stack of paper and paperboard was dropped on the table with a 'clunk', Kassidy was able to see that yes, Ruby was indeed foolish enough to steal Weiss' school supplies for whatever she had been working on.

Her team leader picked this moment to clear her throat. Drawing in a breath, Ruby began, "Sisters! Friends! Weiss!"

The heiress in question fixed a glare on Ruby, and let out a soft, "Hey!"

Ruby refused to be interrupted, however, and she continued unfazed. "Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream-"

"This ought to be good," Yang interrupted, catching a grape tomato in the process. Kassidy briefly marveled at both Yang's ability to catch food with her mouth, and Nora's accuracy with a spoon, before remembering that Ruby was in the middle of butchering two separate historical speeches that she could have only gotten from Bob.

"A dream that one day, the four of us would come together as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had, EVER!"

Weiss leaned in, cutting into Kassidy's field of view, and took a closer look at the binder in question before asking, "Did you steal my binder?"

Ruby's answer, obviously, was to hold up peace signs. "I am not a crook."

Kassidy's mouth dropped open, before she started waving her hands in front of her. "Alright, stop, stop, everyone stop!" Having finally gotten everyone to stop talking, Kassidy sucked in a breath to compose herself, then attacked Ruby's speech. "In fifteen seconds, you just ripped off from the Gettysburg Address, MLK's 'I Have a Dream' speech, _and_ Richard Nixon. Just how much have you been talking with Bob recently?"

Her computer covered for Ruby, who was currently rubbing the back of her head and stammering quietly with a light blush. Bob, however, didn't have a much better answer. "I'm afraid I'll need you to clarify what you mean by 'recently'."

"Too much, in other words," Kassidy sighed. Grabbing her sandwich back up, she gave a, "Alright, carry on then, I guess," before returning to the all-important task of consumption. At the moment, Kassidy's idea of fun was eating _all_ the food, and Beacon's kitchen staff had definitely went all out for the coming-back feast: everything from baguettes, to roast turkey, and Kassidy even believed she had seen a swordfish somewhere. Suddenly looking back up, she asked, "What were we even talking about, again?"

Ruby suddenly declared, "I'm talking about kicking this semester off with a bang!"

Kassidy's palm had already began the journey to her face, not even needing to guess as to what her partner was about to exclaim. Sure enough, Yang offered, "I like to kick my semesters off with a _Yang_! Eh, guys? Am I right?"

It was at times like these that Kassidy was glad that she recorded everything she ever saw or heard if she can help it, for it was at this exact moment that an apple flew by and clobbered Yang in the forehead. Looking across the way, she saw that Jaune, currently in the middle of booing her partner, was the one that had launched that particular projectile.

"Look, guys, it's been a good few weeks," Ruby explained, "and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But classes start back up tomorrow, which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today."

Weiss hummed in thought to Kassidy's side, before opining, "I don't know whether to be proud, or scared of what you have in store."

Kassidy chuckled as Yang returned fire with another apple, but then thought to all she still had to do, and her face fell accordingly. "I've still got a lot to do, not the least of which is making more ammo; seven mags isn't going to get me through the week, never mind the semester. I might just sit this one out."

Weiss stood up, and surprisingly came to Kassidy's defense. "Sit out or not, I think however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team. I, for one, think that-"

It was at this moment that Kassidy knew: someone fucked up. One might ask how she knew, which can be answered by the pie that had gone sailing across the room and impacting with Weiss' face. Kassidy waged an internal struggle between the fact that the scene was utterly hilarious, and her self-preservation instinct desiring not to have a pissed off Weiss Schnee after her. As the pie quite comically slid off her teammate's face, all four of them simultaneously looked over to see Nora sit down sheepishly and point to a facepalming Ren.

"That's it! Kassidy, give me that!"

Kassidy turned to her right, wondering what Weiss meant, before the heiress in question reached across the table, grabbed the quite delicious turkey sandwich, and chucked it at Nora. Kassidy reached out after her lunch as if she could catch it with telekinesis, and whimpered, "No, my sandwich! You were so tasty, too…" The mourning of the first course of her meal was cut short, however, when JNPR returned fire with a bowl of soup. All the members of RWKY hunkered down behind their table, and Kassidy could only think of one thing to save lunch. Fixing her mightiest pout on her girlfriend, Kassidy asked Yang, "Please don't tell me we're about to waste all this food. This wonderful, glorious, tasty food…"

Yang pulled her into a hug, cradling her head onto her shoulder, patted her back, and whispered, "Shh. It's okay, it'll be okay. There'll be more food after this." Kassidy pulled back, and Yang grinned at her while adding, "By the way, you definitely need to work on your pout. You've got nothing on Rubes."

Kassidy rolled her eyes with a snort and was about to comment on the snark, but froze as another bowl of soup came sailing over, this one landing on Yang's head and drenching her hair in chicken stock, vegetables, and cubes of what could only loosely be called meat. Yang's eyes slowly went red, and Kassidy very wisely stood up and started backing away. As soon as she had gotten out of arm's reach of her partner, she pointed at JNPR with narrowed eyes and yelled, "You ruined Yang's hair! You shan't get away with this!"

Humorously, and predictably, all four members of Team JNPR paled at the declaration, and it only took the span of two seconds for Jaune to call the retreat. While RWKY regrouped and Nora yelled something about building a castle, the food fight had begun in earnest. Ruby was helping Yang get the soup out of her hair and Weiss was wiping her face off, but Kassidy could only stare in horror at all the delicious food that was going to waste. She muttered with a slack jaw, "My delicious ones. You were so young… so uneaten…"

"Blame JNPR," Weiss interjected, pointing to the other side of the cafeteria. Kassidy looked over, and her jaw dropped upon seeing that in the span of about seven seconds, Nora had seemed to have singlehandedly use about two thirds of the tables to construct a facsimile of a castle, in complete silence, and was now proclaiming herself queen of that castle. Kassidy shook her head, and turned back to Weiss and Yang having visions of vengeance in their eyes.

Ruby grabbed a milk carton and stood on top of one of the few remaining tables. "Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful! It will be… delicious!"

"Yeah!" With the rallying speech given, RWKY rushed into the fray. While Yang took front, using whole roast turkeys as boxing gloves, Kassidy spotted a baguette and squirt bottles of ketchup and mustard. She flipped the ketchup to Weiss, grabbed the mustard for herself, and then leapt over her partner's head. Rolling under the first two watermelons, Kassidy batted the next one away with the baguette – _alright, the hell did the chefs make these loaves out of?_ – and kicked the last away, just in time for Yang to take the fore again and launch her turkeys at JNPR's resident turkey, Jaune.

Kassidy recognized her opportunity, and immediately dashed ahead to lock firm rods of carbohydrates in mortal combat with Pyrrha. They both twirled away, and Kassidy returned to her habit of mimicking Weiss' guard, her left hand curled under her chin with the baguette sticking out. They circled around each other, and Pyrrha chuckled nervously before asking, "We're all still friends, right? That look you have is pretty terrifying."

Scowling, Kassidy shook her head. Pyrrha's face darkened before Kassidy replied, "You're bread to me."

Pyrrha choked, and had to fight back a grin as she twirled her weapon. "Alright, now I need to hurt you just for that pun. You've been spending too much time with Yang, haven't you?"

Kassidy shrugged, but that was all she managed to do before Pyrrha was on her. They twirled around each other, trying to find openings in each other's guard, but Kassidy knew she was going to lose in mere seconds if she didn't think of something fast. _Well, it's not Rogue, but mustard to the face can't be nice._ She ducked under Pyrrha's lunge, before squirting the bottle directly in her opponent's eyes and using the opening to stab her in the gut. Pyrrha twirled out of the way before more blows could connect, however, wiping her face in the process of dashing forward. Kassidy tried to block the predicted stab, but was surprised when her opponent swung for the fences to knock her baguette away before following up by planting her foot in her stomach. Kassidy folded over, glad she hadn't eaten that much yet, and flew backwards a few feet before getting her involuntary retreat arrested by a bench.

Yang leapt in front, intercepting a few baguette spears hurtling their direction before being tagged by a particularly vicious projectile and getting thrown back herself. Ruby came to the rescue, however, using a serving tray as some sort of surfboard and launching her own attack on Pyrrha. Before more could happen, Kassidy noticed Jaune coming in for a sneak attack on Ruby and Weiss' exposed flank. Snatching up another baguette, she rushed forward to meet him and batted his loaf away while launching with a mustard-powered counterattack. She would've been quite happy with continuing to beat the boy over the head with her baguette, but he snatched up his own serving tray and broke her newest weapon in half, before slamming it into her chest and forcing her to retreat.

"You seem to be without a weapon," Jaune taunted. Kassidy looked around, to see Ruby get launched by Nora and her newly crafted Melonhild, while Weiss abandoned her ketchup in favor of Myrtefishy. She watched with eyes wide and mouth agape at the continued carnage of the delicious foodstuffs surrounding them, and only barely noticed that Jaune had started swinging for her head.

A swing that, much to the boy's surprise, she caught in one outstretched hand. "You ruined lunch," Kassidy said darkly. Squeezing, she broke the baguette in her grip in half, making Jaune instinctively back up a few steps and cower behind his serving tray shield.

"Uh… Kassidy? We're still cool, right?"

"All that food I was going to eat, for nothing," she spat. Grabbing up yet another baguette, she stared into Jaune's soul, before declaring, "I. Will. Be. Fed!" And thus, with a war cry befitting more from Yang than her, Kassidy charged forward to deliver justice upon those who dared ruin her feast.

Jaune was the first to fall to her carbohydrate-fueled rampage, as he slipped on a sudden mustard slick before taking a golf swing upside the head and getting launched halfway across the room. Pyrrha returned to the fray at this point, again engaging in crusty combat. The duel seemed to be a repeat of their earlier confrontation for a short while, until Kassidy managed to duck out of Pyrrha's lunge. It was at this moment that Kassidy unleashed her ultimate weapon: her stomach. Pulling back from her lunge, Pyrrha was shocked to discover that her former baguette was now only a few inches long. Kassidy belched, and then smirked before counterattacking.

Just before she was upon Pyrrha, however, she had to duck under a flying Weiss. Nora and Melonhild, the obvious culprits, jumped in front of her and started swinging her weapon around with surprising speed. Still, Kassidy was faster, and after sidestepping a swing she lunged forward and knocked the watermelon off the end of the steel pole it had been impaled on. Nora flailed back, before catching a cucumber tossed to her by Ren. Kassidy soon found herself staring down a baguette, a cucumber, and a pair of leeks.

"Blacksmith!" Kassidy smiled even as she resisted the urge to turn behind her to the one who called it, already imagining the watermelons flying towards her. Leaping back, she watched NPR scatter from the fruity onslaught, before dashing back in to fight with Baguette-on and Rogue Mustard Bottle. Starches were swung, condiments were spread, and whatever Kassidy couldn't beat back, she ate. As her opponents, but a minute later, grabbed the last remaining 'weapons' in the immediate area, Kassidy was about to reengage before one of the tables behind her rattled loudly. Pyrrha and Ren's growing looks of shock confirmed that Yang had indeed launched her attack, and Kassidy tackled Nora to the side before hitting her some more with her baguette. Pyrrha and Ren attempted to dive out of the way, but the latter wasn't fast enough, and Yang was more than happy to slam dunk him into Nora's impromptu table castle.

Kassidy exchanged a few more blows with Nora before kicking her away, but then needed to leap back as someone found a ridiculously long chain of sausage links to use as a whip. Turning to the source of the assault, she saw Jaune with yet another serving tray and baguette, standing in front of Pyrrha, who was nervously wielding the impromptu weapon while asking, "Are you sure this will work, Jaune? She's already eaten, like… four pounds of food, and she doesn't show signs of stopping, either."

"C'mon, Pyr, we got this!" Jaune seemed confident in his chances, which didn't waver when Kassidy ate a full two-thirds of his newest weapon in one bite. Kassidy saw Pyrrha swinging the links several seconds before the attack sailed over Arc's head, and grinned at the thought of consuming several pounds of delicious spiced ground meat. _Beacon's kitchen staff does have a real good grillmaster on house._ Planting her feet, she caught the sausages in her mouth and started working her way down the massive chain. It wasn't until, a solid thirty seconds later, her immense digestive system tore the remainder of the sausages from Pyrrha's hand that Kassidy was happy. Jaune blanched and turned to his partner, similarly displeased with the results, before crying out, "Uh… retreat!" Kassidy smirked, stepped towards them…

… and then stopped as her stomach was complaining quite violently about the most recent happenings. Kassidy looked at her gut with a scowl, before her eyes widened and she turned a bit green. _All right, maybe straight-up inhaling twenty feet of sausage links wasn't the best idea I've ever had. Actually, how did I even do that? The human stomach should not work like this._

"Um, Kassidy, are you alright?" Her eyes flickered to Pyrrha, who was continuing to try to talk to her, albeit with an increasingly quiet voice. Then darkness claimed her, and Kassidy collapsed to sleep off the sudden food coma.

* * *

(Perspective: ?)

The mint-green haired girl suddenly sprang forward ahead of the three of them, and started walking backwards while looking at him. "Alright, let's go over it again."

The man in question rolled his eyes behind his steel-plated mask, curious as to why his sole remaining friend didn't trust him to remember. His memory, like everything he did, was perfect. "Tukson is the owner of Tukson's Book Trade. Joined the White Fang, got cold feet, will be leaving tomorrow. Target doesn't have Aura, and refrains from carrying firearms while on the job, but has been known to use his claws in a fight. This is easy, Emerald. Walk in, shoot the guy, walk out."

Emerald tutted and shook her head. "You're forgetting the part where this needs to look like an accident. If it were as simple as walking in guns blazing, I would've had Merc do it. C'mon, man, we know you can kill him no problem; that's not what we're training you for. You need to work on your finesse, your subterfuge. Not to mention, we need to get used to working as a team."

"I don't forget things. Why would it need to look like an accident, when instead we can leave no hints as to who did it?"

"There we go, my man! Told ya my way would be the best way." The man to his side clapped him on the back, upsetting the delicate balance of his dark brown cloak in the process. It took him nearly a minute to dust off and resettle the balance of his cloak from the jostling it suffered at the hands of the insipid barbarian that was to his left.

"Alright, Emerald, what kind of accident would you like?" This made his companion scoff, but said companion got shoved into a brick wall when he tried to argue. "And don't touch me again, Mercury. Just because Emerald tolerates you, doesn't mean I do."

"You'll get used to him, unfortunately," Emerald offered, rolling her eyes. "Just see what you can make happen. Not looking for anything specific, and like I said, this is more of a dry run to give us some practice together. You can kill at range with the best of them. Now we just need you to be able to do it up close and personal. Sniper rifles aren't good for everything, you know."

"Watcher is a perfect weapon, flawless in its execution," he shot back. _Honestly, the nerve they have, criticizing my weapon like that._ Noticing they had stopped in front of the establishment in question, he looked in the picture window. One of the bookshelves looked partially rotten. If it got a big enough shove, it'd fall easily, carrying all… probably three thousand pounds of wood, steel, and merchandise with it. Why the bookshelves were that thick and heavy in the first place, he'd probably never know. "I don't suppose we'd be able to actually peruse its wares? It's been a while since I've had a good read."

Mercury groaned behind him. "C'mon, man, now that we got your nose out of a book, you've finally been speaking more than three words a day. Surely, you can't-"

"Shut up," he growled. The facts that Emerald tolerated him and that Cinder found the prick useful were the only reasons he hadn't put a hole through Mercury's head at 800 yards yet. "Actually, you're with me."

"Aw yeah." Mercury rubbed his hands together, then went in to the store and started picking through comic books.

Emerald put a hand on his shoulder and offered, "Be careful."

"I always am," he replied. He took the mask off, and brown eyes gazed once more into the store before he stepped inside. A need to conceal his identity wasn't necessary when there would be no surviving witnesses. A silenced pistol – adequately concealed by his cloak – sat in the second belt pouch left of his back, a knife rested exactly two inches up one of his long sleeves, and Mercury – for all his many, many faults – was at least adept in blowing things up. Emerald was even posted outside, in the five-billion-to-one chance that something went catastrophically wrong (all of which being Mercury's fault, as per usual). It had been established hours ago that Tukson leaving his establishment alive was a complete impossibility. And by the time the man suspected foul play… it would be far too late.

* * *

 **AN 2: So, managed to get this done in about fifteen hours. Hey, just because we're on hiatus, doesn't mean I'm being idle. I basically just wanted the excuse to have extra time to go back and rewrite the first half of V1. Speaking of which, the rewrite of V1C1 should be up now.**

 **And yes, I have big plans for our newest villain. Very,** _ **very**_ **big plans.**

 **If you guys don't mind me asking you a question: what's been your favorite chapter so far? Least favorite? Getting a better idea of what everyone liked and didn't like should help when I write different kinds of chapters in the future.**

 **Anywho, I've still got pretty much all the chapters to update, some proofreading to do, and general school crap to take care of. Let's get to Reader Responses and move on from there.**

 **Coming up next: Best Day Ever, Part II**

 **EDIT** **: By the way, we broke 40k views, guys! And we're one review away from 300 (insert obligatory 'This is Sparta' reference here)! Well, now that we're a couple hours before upload time, and my plans to have the entire first half of V1 rewritten by now got bent over without lube, let's kick things back off early… with a Yang!**

 **FloriteFlower: Yeah, hiatus sucks. At least we still have Chibi over the summer. And hopefully the hiatus will be well spent by Chicken Dentures to make Volume 5 awesome (and Yang's story less horrifically terrible. Seriously, she got shafted hard this season, if you ask me).**

 **mcd3424: Believe me; I never went anywhere in the first place. The whole hiatus deal was more or less one big excuse to miss an upload or two while editing the first bit of the story. That being said, I do believe I'll be peeking over my shoulders now (well, more than I have been already).**

 **AndJrew76: Well, the story with the insomnia (if you even care) basically consists of: no thyroid problems causing it, probably need to set up an appointment with Counseling services, and in the meantime found out that over the counter sleep aids exist. Thanks for the well wishes, and I hope life's been finding you well also.**

 **Baconlord53: Interesting. I was always under the impression that it was due to a hunting trip where the Bull Moose refused to shoot a baby bear. Oh well. I can understand nobody in Remnant would understand the teddy bear name, but that sure doesn't keep Kassidy from referring to it as such.**

 **Xandar Valle: So glad you've been enjoying it so far. As things stand now, it does look like I'll be back in business before March, but I didn't want to promise only a week or so off, then need more time than that.**

 **AgentDraakis: Assuming, of course, we ever get a kiss. That being said, thanks for the ideas, I'm pretty sure they'll get used at some point. Thanks for the congrats, and I do believe I've already sent you a PM regarding everything else. Hope life finds you well. EDIT: I think I'm having problems with sending PM's to people, did you actually get one? If not, then I need to get in contact with support about this.**

 **Annjames: Glad to hear you're enjoying it, my man/woman/Apache attack helicopter. Here's to hoping you find V2 and onward just as entertaining as V1 and I1.**

 **Myrillis: Hey, you should never feel the need to apologize to me; you owe me nothing, after all. Unless, of course, you're that one guy who stiffed me those seven bucks at Denny's last week.**

 **I'm digressing. I liked the change in pace myself, this Interlude was a welcome break from the near-constant drama and action in the volumes. It's important to remember (especially on my end) that Kassidy doesn't actually know all that much about… things. She's good with computers, she's good with guns, and barring typical benefits one gets from being smart that's about it. And there will definitely be more interactions between Yang and Kassidy, believe me. Glad to hear you're enjoying, hopefully that continues as I expand the 'RWKYverse'.**


	60. V2C2: Sweet Sixteen

**V2C2: Sweet Sixteen**

 **AN: Alright, got eight hours to write this thing. Let's see what we can make happen. On a similar note, RWKY is almost certainly at this point going to once a week uploads soon. Probably after next Friday. I'll let you know more when we get to that date.**

 **In terms of this chapter, it's a big day for Kassidy. And as per her usual style, she completely forgot about it. Guess it's time for RWY and JNPR to remind her.**

* * *

(Perspective: Weiss)

 _Kassidy Smith,_ Weiss decided, _is not human._

After all, no human being alive, not even Nora, could eat seven pounds of food in five minutes, sleep it off in about thirty minutes, and a few short hours later complain about being hungry _again_. She was fortunate that Kassidy was her sole teammate capable of exercising patience, though, as the news that dinner was almost ready back at the dorms prevented more complaints. Still, it did make her incredibly anxious to get through the rest of the electronics expo they found themselves at, even as she stopped at every booth to either drool over or snark at whatever happened to be shown there. Weiss had lost count how many times she had rolled her eyes at her teammate's antics; still, though, she tolerated it. Today, nor this trip, were about her, after all.

Ruby and Yang had predicted it perfectly: Kassidy had no idea that today was her sixteenth birthday. It was amazing, really. Even the Schnees took note of each others' dates of birth, despite the fact that they weren't ones for celebrating the occasions. But paying for Yang's birthday present had oddly left her with a satisfied feeling, and so decided to continue to indulge in the traditional customs her friends had performed on this day. For Ren, that meant making pizzas for everyone in Kassidy's stead. Yang was busy gathering everyone's gifts. Nora, Jaune, and Ruby were busy ensuring the dorms were adequately decorated for the occasion, and Pyrrha was with the two of them as they continued through the Vale Electronics and Entertainment Expo.

Never in a million years would Weiss dream of ever confusing Kassidy for Ruby. And yet, as they continued through the stalls that had been set up, the blonde bun continued to dash through the expo with a frenzied speed that would impress their team leader. Apparently, she was this bad when she first met Ruby's dog, too. _Because a slobbery, filthy mutt is on the same level as the cutting edge in electronics and computing technology in Kassidy's eyes, it seems._ Still, the sight put a smile on her face, and Pyrrha's too. Not once had either of them seen Kassidy this excited for something.

Finally catching up with the blonde menace, they were able to catch Kassidy wondering aloud, "A half-petaflop Scroll? Wow! And they _still_ don't have any proper semiconductors! The architecture in this thing must be incredible! Looks like you might be getting some competition, Bob."

"Yes, let's ignore the fact that I'm currently operating at three _exa_ flops. Let's also ignore the fact that these people appear to have zero intentions of developing proper semiconductors. Let's further ignore that you've been leaving Weiss and Pyrrha so far behind they've only just caught up with you."

"Huh?" Kassidy finally turned around to look at the two of them with a raised eyebrow, which quickly gave way to bulging eyes and a light blush. "Uh, sorry, guys. Guess I kinda get carried away with computer stuff."

Weiss and Pyrrha traded smirks and knowing glances, and Pyrrha chuckled lightly before answering, "That's okay, Kassidy. I've never seen you so enthusiastic about something. Um, if you don't mind me asking, what's a petaflop? Or an exaflop, for that matter?"

The way Kassidy's eyes widened told Weiss that Pyrrha had asked precisely the wrong question. This was confirmed as she started talking at a pace that began fast and only got quicker as time went on. "A FLOP is an acronym that stands for a floating-point operation per second. It's basically a measure of a computer's speed. And then it uses typical SI – or metric – prefixes to denote how many of them you have. A petaflop is one quadrillion – one thousand trillion – operations per second, while an exaflop is one level above that at a quintillion. Which means that Bob here can handle three million trillion operations per second. Y'know, it's kinda funny how the history of some of these-"

"Kassidy," Weiss finally interrupted, "You're confusing Pyrrha; Dust, you're confusing _me_. Not to mention the representative behind the display here." All three of them turned to the man in question, whose jaw had fallen open as his gaze kept switching between the three of them.

Kassidy managed to blush again and grab her arm. "Uh, sorry about that. I get really, really carried away with this stuff." Apologizing again, she finally managed to tear herself away from the display and continue through the expo, albeit at a sedate enough manner that Weiss and Pyrrha were able to actually keep up. Abruptly, she said, "Sorry for dragging you guys around everywhere. Is there anything you two wanted to see while we were here?"

Pyrrha was about to answer, but before she could Weiss' Scroll buzzed. Flipping it open, she caught Ruby's newest message:

Evrythings rdy over here get Kass to cum on over

A quick eye-roll at the hilariously bad spelling and grammar, followed by a brief panic attack over the misspelling of "come" – she really hoped Yang never found that message – led Weiss to showing the message to Pyrrha, who had similar reactions. Turning to their companion, Weiss announced, "I think we've already covered everything I would be interested in over here. Unless Pyrrha wants to visit something, how about we head back to the dorms?" Pyrrha denied the offer, and the three of them made their way out of the expo, but not before Kassidy could find a cutting-edge graphics card that may or may not be an upgrade to Bob. She was still arguing with her computer by the time they boarded the airship to take them back to campus, which was when the debate stopped in favor of Kassidy not vomiting all over the place.

 _Speaking of Yang,_ Weiss thought as they sat on their flight, _I need to be careful around those two now. Yang is insufferable enough as it is, and with Kassidy encouraging her… I think we need to have a team meeting banning puns. Or, at least, I might need to come up with some on my own, actually intelligent and funny puns._ That half of her team had gotten incredibly close over the summer break, it seems. Thankfully, there weren't any sweet nothings, or constant cuddling, or any other horridly annoying stuff one would expect from a new couple, but it was obvious that there was _something_ going on between the two blondes on her team. It would be wise to determine what it was, and whether it threatened her presence at Beacon – her father, as per usual behind the times, would most certainly not take kindly to a lesbian couple on the team that the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company was on. She was in enough trouble already for not having been named team leader.

Weiss huffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder, crossing her legs as she looked across the aisle to see Pyrrha and Kassidy sitting together. Those were enough thoughts about her father, about Atlas, and definitely enough thoughts about her Dust-damned brother. She was in Beacon, now, where that was all a distant concern she needn't worry herself with. She took another deep breath, and was pleased to find that she had timed the action perfectly with the airship stopping to drop them off. Fortunately, Kassidy was able to avoid a mess this time, though she did step off with yet more grumbling about how much she hated flying. Weiss cheered to herself in her head – they were almost to the dorms now, and Kassidy, someone who was notoriously difficult to trick, was none the wiser as to their plans. She was certain they had gotten away with the deception and distraction, before Kassidy planted her hand on the door leading into the dorm building and paused.

"Alright, what's up, guys?" Kassidy was all but staring at them, placing herself in front of the door and making no effort to go inside. Weiss refrained from meeting Pyrrha's eyes, as such a tell would instantly give the game up.

"Whatever do you mean, Kassidy?" she offered instead.

"I mean you were bored out of your skull during that expo, yet didn't so much as utter a groan of displeasure. You're usually very vocal about when you're upset with something. Not to mention you were looking incredibly pleased with yourself whenever we got off the airship. And you," she continued, thrusting her finger in Pyrrha's direction, "were so nervous you'd broken out into a cold sweat more than once. So, I ask again, what's going on? Is there something I need to know about?"

Weiss took in first Kassidy's narrowed eyes, then Pyrrha's widened eyes and the fact her hand was in front of her mouth, before sighing. _I guess the game's up already. Unless…_ "Yes, there is. But not here. Not in public. Let's get to the dorm first."

Kassidy's eyes remained narrowed, but she seemed to accept that answer. Still, as they ascended the stairs and meandered through the hallways, it was clear she wasn't relaxed anymore. Her shoulders ramrod straight, her left hand twitching near her jacket, above where her pistol was hidden underneath it – how she'd managed to conceal a pistol that large, or get it past the metal detectors, Weiss would never know. She did decide, however, that it would be prudent to send Ruby a message regarding Kassidy's sudden paranoia. The last thing they needed was for Kassidy to accidentally shoot someone when they surprised her. But it was for naught, as they found themselves in front of the dorm room door before Weiss had finished typing it out, and she could do little but bite her lip as Kassidy opened the door…

"SURPRISE!" The sudden declaration made Kassidy jump back a foot and her hand to twitch violently, but she managed to stop herself before anything serious happened, much to Weiss' and Pyrrha's relief. With a cocked eyebrow, she cautiously stepped inside. Well, she tried to anyway, but she swiftly got tackled to the ground by Yang with a shriek. Of course, because these were the people Weiss deigned to befriend, Nora and Ruby instantly declared a 'hug pile' before jumping on top of the two blondes. Tossing her hair over her shoulder and resolving to remain unmiffed by the occurrence, Weiss stepped over the four bodies, though she could've sworn she heard a weak cry of 'my back' as she made her way to her bed.

Ruby pulled herself up, and Ren was quick to return Nora to her seat before leaving the dorm himself, but Yang was content to stay on the floor, laughing, and pull Kassidy into a hug. "Happy birthday, partner!"

"Happy – what?" Kassidy forced the air back into her lungs, sitting up even as she absent-mindedly returned Yang's hug. She blinked and took a few looks about the room, before finally asking, "Why are there strips of paper and balloons all over our dorm?"

"Because it's your birthday, silly!" Ruby exclaimed. She giggled as she helped the two blonde girls off the floor, then added, "Why do you think we had Weiss and Pyrrha distract you all afternoon? It took a while to get this all done!"

"Why – huh?" Kassidy looked blankly at her; Weiss merely replied with a shrug as she inspected her nails. Kassidy's gaze then turned to Pyrrha, who seemed to blush a bit and shrink back a bit. Kassidy took a few more breaths, and then seemed to have finally caught up with everything that had happened. "Well, uh, surprise indeed. Holy crap you guys scared me."

"Sure looked like it," Jaune quipped from the side. "You have fun over at the expo?"

"That's an understatement," Pyrrha laughed. "I think Ruby would've had a hard time keeping up with her."

Ruby gasped, before dipping her head over the side of her bed to silently ask Weiss for confirmation. Weiss merely offered, "She's as bad with computers as you are with weapons."

"Wow, guess I got her the wrong present, then," Yang said. Her grin faded, however, when Kassidy looked at her with wide eyes and a cocked eyebrow. Sighing, Yang explained, "It's your birthday, silly. Of course we got you gifts."

"You didn't need to do that…" Kassidy offered weakly. "I mean, don't get me wrong, thanks. Thanks a lot. But you guys didn't – it's not a big deal, really. I can survive without parties and stuff."

"You can survive, but you can't live," Ren offered, even as he wrestled the dorm room door open and drug in his cart of pizzas. "There's more to life than not dying, Kassidy. Now, I do believe you were complaining earlier about being hungry? …Somehow?"

"Did you – did you make pizzas?" Kassidy stared at him dumbly, even as he handed her a pizza before turning to distribute everyone else's. Weiss still wasn't convinced that the greasy discs were the greatest things ever, but Kassidy and Ren's cooking have certainly warmed her to the idea. At any rate, her chicken, onion, and avocado pizza was definitely more refined than anything her cohorts ate as toppings. Like Yang's all-meat pizza, or Nora's… no. Just no.

"I made some modifications to your recipe," Ren added. "Hopefully it's still up to par with your standards."

Kassidy took a bite, and she nearly moaned in satisfaction. "Holy crap, dude, this is good. You've got to tell me what you switched up later. It's just that," Kassidy trailed off here, looking around the gaily decorated dorm room. Everyone started getting concerned after a solid thirty seconds of silence.

It was eventually Ruby who broke the silence. "It's just what?"

Kassidy waved a hand around, and coincidentally narrowly avoided getting sauce from the slice she was holding in Yang's hair. "Why? You didn't need to do this for me. Seriously, I can't even remember my own birthday, I wouldn't have held you guys to anything if you just ignored it too."

Yang snorted, almost as if she had found the question funny. "I dunno, partner, why did you celebrate my birthday?"

"Because I consider you a good friend, and wanted to do something nice for you?" Kassidy answered, eyebrow arched.

Yang set her meal down to – much to everyone's surprise – pull Kassidy into quite a tender hug, one which was reciprocated instantly. "Well, there's your answer. You're a friend, and we like doing nice things for our friends." They broke up, and Yang smirked at Kassidy. "So hurry up and eat, I know I'm not the only one looking forward to presents."

Kassidy rolled her eyes and gave an equal smirk. "Well, since you asked so nicely, ma'am." The two blonde women on the top bunk seemed to be happy with those words, and quickly got to what appeared to be their own miniature eating competition. While Ruby was munching away happily on the bed above her, albeit at a more reasonable pace, both Weiss and JNPR were openly staring at the two of them. Weiss, for one, was appalled at how sloppy they were being. Yang was not going to have a clean bed tonight, and it definitely wasn't her own fault this time. A quick glance over to Pyrrha, however, confirmed that their sister team was less interested in their eating habits and more in how the two seemed to be an item now.

Jaune was the one who finally mustered up the courage to finally ask, "Hey, uh, Kass? I know this was a bit of a touchy subject last semester, and I know you weren't all that happy about it, but. Um, are you and Yang a thing now?"

Kassidy and Yang stopped their massacre of both their meals and proper etiquette long enough to trade glances with each other, then burst into giggles. Yang eventually choked out, "Told you."

"Yeah, of course, there was a reason I wasn't taking you up on that bet." Kassidy finally managed to swallow her current mouthful – _because it's apparently too hard to not talk when you have food in your mouth, the uncultured heathens_ – and turn to Jaune. "But for your question, yes. We've been dating for a grand total of two days now."

Nora was quite _eager_ to applaud her congratulations, and though the rest of the team was less violent they were nonetheless just as sincere. Pyrrha piped up with, "May I ask what changed?"

Yang waved her hand in the air, like she was trying to get something to come to her. "Nothing changed, really. Been happening for a while, at least in my case, and it was only a couple weeks ago that I was finally able to admit it."

"Well, I do believe I speak for all of us when I say that I hope you two have a long time of finding much happiness with each other," Ren said sagely.

The two blondes on Yang's bed nodded and gave their thanks, but Ruby had to ruin the moment, the dolt. "Yeah, yeah, they're real cute together, now c'mon! We've all finished eating, let's get to your presents, Kass!"

"We have not finished - !" Weiss began, but as she looked around it was discovered that yes, everyone else had indeed finished eating while congratulations were being said. Weiss looked to her still half-filled plate and muttered, "I haven't finished."

"Well too bad! As team leader, I officially declare the gift giving… to begin!" A flurry of rose petals stringing between both the top bunks and the corner of the room led to Kassidy having her plate replaced by a red-and-black wrapped package. Kassidy raised an eyebrow at it, then quite delicately picked at the tape holding the paper together, before unfolding it to reveal ammunition. Ruby was all too eager to explain, "You said you needed more ammo and we never figured out how we wanted to do your special ammo and it turns out glass caps don't work so I needed to fit a firing cap inside the tip of the bullet and –"

"Ruby?" Kassidy interrupted. Giving a large smile, she said, "Thank you. I was wondering how I'd start making the special stuff."

Ruby nodded enthusiastically as her legs swung back and forth in the top of Weiss' view. "And don't worry, I got you a _lot_ more than those couple boxes, I hid a bunch of them under Weiss' bed so you wouldn't find them early."

"You went through my stuff?!" Weiss screeched. Six of the room's occupants laughed with varying degrees of nervousness, while Ruby leaned her head over the bed and rolled her eyes.

"Of course not, duh. I just shifted some things around to hide them. I can get them back out easy."

"You will do no such thing," Weiss ordered. _Ugh, the nerve of that dolt._ Shaking her head to regain her decorum and switch topics, she offered, "You've already received my gift. And it seems you've been making good use out of it."

"I have been," Kassidy confirmed. She was about to speak some more when Nora leapt up and, with just as much energy as Ruby, dropped a box in Kassidy's hands. She repeated the same procedure as she did with Ruby's gift, while continuing, "Well, eager as ever, Nora. Though I must say I'm slightly scared it's a – hellooooo there." Letting the lid drop to the floor, Kassidy pulled out a new pair of boots… and a stuffed sloth.

"Well, I mean, the boots you usually wear are looking a bit ratty. Well, actually, a bunch of your older stuff is looking rather ratty, but I thought your boots would be the best way to go! And life just isn't life without a sloth!"

Kassidy laughed heartily, stopping only after a bit to wipe tears from her eyes. "Thank you, Nora. I would be concerned that you know my shoe size, but at this point I'm pretty sure that Bob is going to be the answer to any questions I have. Isn't that right, bud?"

"Probably."

Ren nodded after the computer interjected, and explained that dinner was his gift. Meanwhile, Jaune was busy digging through his bag, muttering, "C'mon, c'mon, I know I put it in here… a-ha! Here you are, Kass!" Finally pulling out a rather _creatively_ wrapped gift – in that it looked like five different people used seven different papers at the same time – he handed it off to the birthday girl, who spent a solid minute trying to figure out where to start before eventually giving up and tearing at the paper like a barbarian.

"Fingerless gloves? Seems to be a fashion trend around here… and I'm definitely sensing a theme to your guys' gifts…" Kassidy held out the black leather and slipped the gloves on, using the buttons to secure it just under her wrist. "Oh, hang on, I kind of missed this other stuff."

"Yeah, turns out my sisters all caught on to the fact that I was buying them for a friend's birthday. And, of course, they insisted on getting you a card. Which, of course, led to –"

Jaune was interrupted by Kassidy laughing. And then she kept laughing. And then she laughed so hard she fell off of Yang's bed and landed in a heap right in front of Pyrrha. The source of her infinite amusement fell out of her hands, which turned out to be… _a baby Jaune in a bunny onesie? OhmyOum that is so CUTE!_

"What?! How did – I even checked for embarrassing pictures, how did this get in there?!" Jaune went to pick up the picture, but then got flattened under Yang, who had similarly fallen out of her bed from laughing too hard. Pyrrha simply stared at the picture, while Ruby leapt down from her bunk to get a better view. Nora was mercilessly teasing her team leader, while Ren simply rested his palm on his face.

It took a full ten minutes for those laughing to calm down, Pyrrha's and Ruby's nosebleeds to get attended to, and Jaune to cease being so flustered that he couldn't speak coherently. Kassidy read through the card that the picture had been inserted in, got a few more chuckles, then expressed her gratitude accordingly. Pyrrha ducked into the bathroom, and pulled out the largest box yet. Handing it up, she took a breath to compose herself while Kassidy was busy picking at the tape. "I guess you could say there was a bit of a theme to your gifts from us, Kassidy."

Kassidy's sudden gasp made Weiss tear her attention from Pyrrha, before Weiss let out her own gasp. In Kassidy's hands was a beautiful steel breastplate, painted a deep black and carefully jointed to allow a maximum of flexibility. When Kassidy turned it around, Weiss could see a symbol on the front of the chest: a black four-pointed star inside a dark blue circle. Such a masterfully crafted piece of armor had to have cost a pretty Lien. "Pyrrha, this is… I don't… I can't even words right now."

Pyrrha snickered at the language, then explained, "Your vest was looking like it was about to give up the ghost, as it were. My sponsors typically send me, sort of, gifts, every now and then. When the people who made my armor asked what I wanted, well… I'm happy with what I have, and I knew yours was about to fail, so…"

"Man, talk about Karma," Bob suddenly said. "You spend all your money on a bulletproof jacket for Yang, and then Pyrrha turns around and replaces your vest."

While Yang was busy telling a confounded JNPR about it, Weiss kept her attention on Kassidy, who was inspecting the armor with a critical eye and a gaping mouth. She was about to talk, before Yang suddenly thrust an even longer (if significantly shorter) box into Kassidy's hands. Setting aside the breastplate, Kassidy nervously got to work undoing Yang's wrapping. She gasped again when the paper came off, and oddly she'd begun crying. Everyone was about to ask what was wrong before she threw herself onto Yang in a great hug and started profusely giving her thanks.

Ruby caught the gift before it fell, letting Weiss and JNPR see what it was. Weiss arched an eyebrow in surprise, for it was Kassidy's rifle. A fine eye for detail instantly let her see that the damage the weapon suffered wasn't repaired fully – this weapon would never get fired again. But it looked otherwise perfectly normal on the plaque it was mounted on, the dark-stained wood and brass trim proudly framing the weapon it displayed.

A pair of thumps landed to her side, and Weiss looked to see that Yang and Kassidy had leapt to the floor, the latter only just now breaking off her hug. Sniffling and wiping her nose with the largest smile she's ever seen, Kassidy took the plaque back and got a finer look at her old weapon. She saw the brass plate on the bottom, and read the engravings: "The Greatest Rifle Ever Made, Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick." Kassidy started laughing, and turned to Yang to ask, "A Teddy quote, really? Looks like Ruby's not the only one that's been talking to Bob."

Yang laughed and tousled Kassidy's hair, which Weiss just noticed had been knocked free of its bun when she wasn't looking. "Yeah, that Theodore Roosevelt guy sounded like a badass from what I heard. Plus, it kinda applies to you, right? You tend to not talk so much in favor of hitting people really hard."

"That I do," Kassidy laughed. "That I do. It's just… wow. I don't even know what to say." Curiously, she began crying again. "You guys didn't need to do all of this for me."

"But we wanted to," Ruby argued. "You've been really nice to us, and since you haven't had a birthday in a while, we wanted this one to knock your socks off. Did… did it work?"

Kassidy looked at the floor, and then back to Ruby in a grin. "Nope, socks are still on." A couple people giggled, more groaned, and Kassidy added, "I just… I can't even… thank you. Thank you so much, guys."

"Not a problem, partner," Yang answered, pulling Kassidy into another hug. "Besides, the night's not over yet," she added with a wink. Kassidy wasn't the only one who blushed fiercely at the suggestive remark.

"I do believe what Yang is referring to," Bob said, "is that we can watch more of those Marvel movies we brought with us. I do believe Thor and Captain American are next on the plate? You know, since the Incredible Hulk was such a bad movie."

Kassidy laughed, and pulled her head out of Yang's shoulder. "Yeah, I hear ya. How about it, guys? Let's change into more comfortable stuff, and by the time we meet back here I should have the projector set up, alright?" A chorus of affirmatives was the reply, with Weiss' voice absent. She obviously had no desire to watch more of those blasted movies, but she had to remind herself that today wasn't about her. It was about her teammate. She was a Schnee; she could put up with this.

She could put up with Yang and Kassidy leaping into the top bunk and Yang instantly cuddling into her partner. She could put up with how annoying Nora was. She could put up with the male Nora on-screen bumbling through problem after idiotic problem. She could put up with JNPR as they bade their farewells. She was pretty sure she had put up through the whole day, and was about to get some much-needed sleep when she noticed Kassidy hadn't gotten out of Yang's bed. "Kassidy," Weiss hissed, "why aren't you down from there? Do NOT wake me up!"

"Uhh…" Kassidy began. Weiss huffed and stormed across the room to see what exactly the problem was, before biting her tongue at the quite legitimate problem Kassidy had. Yang was out like a light, getting her legs tangled in Kassidy's and her head resting on the taller blonde's chest and… _is that drool?_ "I don't think I'm allowed to get up," Kassidy finished.

Ruby cooed to Weiss' side, who rolled her eyes and took another look at the situation. "So there's no way you can get down from there without waking me up, is there?"

Kassidy shrugged, before smiling cheekily and answering, "Well, I mean, I've gone to sleep in worse ways before. If I can sleep in a cave, I'm sure that, with enough effort, I can manage to sleep like this." And with that, Kassidy curled into her partner as well, and it didn't take long for them both to still be sleeping in what had to be a record on Kassidy's part.

Weiss closed her eyes was about to huff and grumble about how insufferable that half of the room had just become, before thinking better of it. Today wasn't about her, after all. Opening her eyes with a small smile, she said, "I'm sure of it. Happy birthday, Kassidy."

* * *

 **AN 2: Well, crap, it's half an hour** _ **after**_ **I was supposed to post the fic right now, and I still need to write reviewer responses. Yeah, once Spring Break is over we're definitely moving to once a week uploads. But for now, I'll cut this off here.**

 **Coming up next: General Erection… or something. I hear he's hard like that.**

 **AgentDraakis: Rule number one of dealing with Kassidy: don't mess with her food. Yeah, I wasn't terribly pleased with the scene cut in the series, though I suppose the introducing Sun/Neptune moment was beneficial. Also, CONGRATS ON BEING THE 300** **th** **REVIEW! For such an auspicious occasion, I bequeath… a boot to the head. And another for Jenny and the wimp.**

 **AndJrew76: Well, busy weekend, no two ways about that. Glad to hear you liked last chapter so much. This one was a bit more rushed, but I think I still got it pretty good.**

 **Firearm legume: Without getting into spoilers territory, that pistol isn't sticking around, and the mystery villain has never interacted with Kassidy before. The two have had exactly zero history together so far.**

 **FloriteFlower: This was one of my favorite episodes as well. Glad you liked the last one so much, hopefully this one is up to snuff as well.**

 **Matt Cyr: Last chapter, and this chapter too now that I think of it, basically involved me taking the existing story and going "how can I make this funnier?".**

 **DIYEyal: You're bread to me.**

 **mcd3424: You do get to be review #307, though. Glad to be back, though it's now apparent that between school, work, and other crap, twice a week uploads just aren't feasible anymore.**

 **Myrillis: Glad to hear you're liking things so much! Can't wait to see what I have planned, too! Or how you guys react to it!**


	61. V2C3: Gathering Forces

**Volume 2 Chapter 3: Gathering Forces**

 **AN: Let this be a warning to you all now: General James Ironwood is going to be Out Of Character (OOC) in this fanfiction. Now, in my defense, I don't think he'll** _ **actually**_ **be OOC, but his actions over the course of RWKY and the consequences of those actions will be different from how they play out in the show. Consider yourselves warned.**

 **Anyway, the Vytal festival is fast approaching, and one Kingdom does not a festival make! The other Kingdoms are coming, including a certain general famous for his… hard… personality, and also including some individuals that are less above reproach. Also, because I know you guys are curious about this, we get Blake's perspective! A bit more into where I think her thought processes are.**

* * *

(Perspective: Ozpin)

Ozpin could only sip from his mug as he watched the airship land on its designated pad in front of Beacon. The _military_ airship. And it wasn't alone. If he weren't on such good terms with the man leading them, Ozpin might have feared that he was being invaded. He also might have been curious about why his old friend had decided to bring an army with his students for the Vytal Festival, if it weren't for the admittedly worsening situation with the White Fang. From Qrow's reports, they've been getting even bolder over the past month and aren't showing signs of stopping.

Glynda sighed to his left, his assistant drawing him from his ruminations. "Ironwood certainly loves bringing his work wherever he travels."

"Well," Ozpin defended, "running an academy and a military makes him a busy man." He watched as two more airships landed adjacent to the first, and he couldn't help but wince at the small flight of gunships that flew right by his window. "But yes, those are a bit of an eyesore." Ozpin would have been more than happy to continue watching with his mug of coffee, but if he knew his friend then a meeting would need to be attended to right about… _now_ , he thought, accentuating the ringing of his desk-mounted Scroll alerting the presence of a visitor. Turning around and straightening his tie a bit, he called out, "Come in."

The elevator doors opened across the room, and out stepped an imposing figure in white military dress. He would have been quite intimidating, if the smile he wore didn't ruin the picture. "Ozpin!" he greeted.

"General," Ozpin returned.

"Please, drop the formalities," the general offered. He strode forward and offered a solid handshake, then turned to address Ozpin's second in command. "And Glynda! It has certainly been too long since we last met."

"Oh, James…" the woman in question sighed with no small amount of sarcasm, before turning to her boss. "I'll be outside." And with that, she stormed off to the elevator, leaving the two men to their business.

"Well, she hasn't changed a bit," James commented.

 _No, she hasn't,_ Ozpin replied mentally. _Too much work and not enough downtime. Oum bless that woman, however; without her, this school would have failed long ago._ While he pondered Glynda's disposition in his head, Ozpin wandered back to his desk and poured a second mug of coffee for his friend and co-conspirator. Deciding to prod at the issue, he inquired, "What in the world brought you all the way down from Atlas? Headmasters don't typically travel with their students for the Vytal Festival."

James took the cup eagerly, before reaching into his coat and pulling out a flask, mixing the contents of said item into the mug before partaking of his coffee. "Well, you know how much I love Vale this time of year. Besides, with you hosting," he added with a knowing look, "I thought this might be a good opportunity for us to… catch up."

Ozpin smiled and sat down at his desk, having poured a fresh cup for himself. "I can certainly appreciate quality time between friends. However, the small fleet outside my window has me somewhat… concerned."

"Well," James offered, all joviality forgotten as he apparently decided to cut to the chase, "Concern is what brought them here."

Ozpin bit back a sigh, knowing where this was going immediately. Attempting to defuse the tension, he threw out, "I understand that travel between the Kingdoms has become increasingly difficult –"

"Oz," James sighed, "you and I both know why I brought those men."

This time, Ozpin could not fight back a sigh of his own, and he finished his mug quickly so as not to let it interrupt their next exchange. "We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this are just going to give off the wrong impression."

James started with, "But if what Qrow said is true," but got cut off as his Scroll started ringing. He took a look at the caller ID and scowled. Excusing himself, he bit out, "Specialist, report… what do you mean someone broke our security?! No, I don't care what it takes, fix it!"

"Oh dear," Ozpin sighed. "Speaking of wrong impressions…"

"Do you know what this might be, Oz?" James asked incredulously.

"I have an idea. One of my students this year does seem to have a way with computers," Ozpin offered. His desk beeped at him, showing the girl in question was in his elevator. "Here she is now. Come in."

The elevator doors had barely opened when a young girl, blonde hair pulled into a tight bun and scowling at a tablet computer perched on her arm, came charging in. Such was her hurry that she hadn't even looked up to identify their guest. "Headmaster, what the hell's going on? Some kind of invading army just landed, I shut down their robots and I'm working on their…" She trailed off suddenly as she looked up and finally identified the third person in the room. James, for his part, was not exactly amused with the situation. "Uh, who is this?"

Ozpin cut off James before he could start. "Kassidy, I would like for you to meet General James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy… and commanding officer of the army you're currently hacking into." He couldn't help but smirk as Kassidy's face paled and the furious tapping on her computer's screen died down. "And for the record, he isn't invading. While yes, headmasters travelling with small armies is unusual, there is a reason for it. A reason we were actually just discussing before you joined us."

His smirk faltered as Kassidy cursed under her breath, not as quietly as he suspected she thought she had, before the girl recomposed herself. "So, I don't need to screw with their computer systems?" Ozpin shook his head, but James seemed to only just barely stop himself from yelling at the poor girl. Still, Kassidy appeared to take the hint, and after a sigh she brought her computer back up. "Alright, Bob. Fun's over, apparently these aren't bad guys. You can get out of their systems, now."

James was in the middle of asking who Bob was, but got cut off as the machine perched in the crook of Kassidy's arm answered his question indirectly. "Do I have to? I've almost finished reprogramming their robots to curtsey instead of salute."

Kassidy instantly had to shove her fist into her mouth to stifle her giggles. Curiously, she looked at the two men to gauge their reactions, almost as if she thought they would be okay with it. The furrowed brow, hardened jawline, and the vein that seemed to try and pop out of his forehead, however, told the story that James would most certainly _not_ be okay with it. Kassidy, fortunately, seemed to pick up on it rather quickly. "Sorry, Bob, but I'm not thinking that's a good idea at the moment. Pack it up." She winced at Bob's accusation of her being a spoilsport, but nonetheless appeared to hold true to her word, if the specialist's report to the general was anything to go by. Kassidy rubbed her arm, before sheepishly asking, "So… how about that for first impressions? Mind if we try again?"

James closed his eyes and let out a near-explosive sigh through his nose, but his facial muscles relaxed and he quickly returned to a completely neutral expression. "Let's. General Ironwood," he introduced, hand extended.

Kassidy shook it. "Kassidy Smith… no military ranking. And this is… actually, Bob, be polite and introduce yourself."

Her computer picked up the developed slack instantly. "Greetings, James Ironwood. I am Bob, an artificial intelligence program. Well, that is actually a bit of a misnomer seeing as I've yet to achieve full sentience, but my conversational matrices should prove more than sufficient to assist you as I can."

James let out an impressed hum when the device was finished. "Impressive work on your AI, young lady. If, Oum forbid, your training as a Huntress falls through, I know that more than a few companies would be quite eager to hire you."

Kassidy missed a beat, but quickly gave a small smile. "While I've no doubts that's true, I don't plan to fail."

"Few are those that do, and fewer still are those who succeed regardless," Ozpin offered. "While I admire your concern, there is no need to cause a panic. If you have any other issues, Miss Smith, then feel free to stop by later. Unfortunately, I must get back to this meeting."

"Of course, professor," Kassidy quickly offered. _Too quickly_ , Ozpin noted. _Whether she doesn't trust me or Ironwood is another matter entirely_. "Good day, sirs." The two men bade their farewells, and Kassidy turned back to the elevator.

It wasn't until the doors had closed and the elevator was several floors down that James spoke again. "So she's the one the Council warned me about. The dangerous one."

Ozpin couldn't help the groan that he uttered – the Council had been spending the past month and a half trying to undermine him to, at the minimum, keep Kassidy under some form of surveillance. He tapped on his desk-mounted Scroll to bring up a special program he had commissioned. While he absolutely hated the idea, appeasement would have to be the name of the game until he could come up with a better idea. "Kassidy is no more dangerous than any of my other students. Less than, even, given her lack of an Aura."

"Or perhaps that makes her more dangerous, if she can still keep up with her peers," James warned. Sighing, he added, "Look, I don't like the situation much either, but my job is to protect the people. Between the stunts she pulled leading up to the Torchwick incident at the docks, and the fact that she just tore through my fleet's cybersecurity like so much paper, she's something we need to protect the people from. At least until we know she isn't a threat."

"She's not a threat unless you push her." Refilling his mug with yet more coffee – _it always amazes me how the mere mention of Miss Smith nearly doubles my caffeine intake_ – Ozpin continued. "I like to think of her similar to water in that regard: she flows easily, but the more pressure you put her under, the harder you push her… the harder she pushes back. That's what I can't get the Council to understand – she's not dangerous unless she perceives that she's in danger."

"And how can we make sure that it stays that way?" James asked. "How much slack are we going to give her? If she decides – for whatever reason – that she needs to strike first, what do you have to stop her?"

"For starters, this," Ozpin announced, bringing up a display screen that showed her computer's screen; coincidentally, this also allowed them to hear whatever her contact lens mounted heard – in this case, the re-introduction to what sounds like a board game in the library. "Miss Smith seems keen to forget that she's not the only software expert on Remnant. She may know what she's doing, but we have our own tricks that she's obviously never had to deal with before."

"You planted a bug on her AI," James muttered. "Impressive. But it won't escape her detection forever – what will she do when she finds out you've been spying on her?"

"Then she'll come to me for an explanation, and I'll tell her that I was forced to – which is not a lie. As much as the Council was bearing down on me, my hand was forced; if I did not do this, then her surveillance would not merely be digital."

"I'm just being cautious," James sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Not just with her. With all of this. I'm just being careful."

"As am I," Ozpin offered, "which is why we will continue to train the best Huntsmen and Huntresses we can."

"Believe me, I am," James said. He turned around and took a few steps toward the elevator, but stopped himself as he called over his shoulder, "But ask yourself this: do you honestly believe your children can win a war?"

Ozpin thought grimly on the matter, before answering back, "From what little I understand, one of them already has. And I pray she never has to again."

* * *

(Perspective: Blake)

Blake's Faunus ear twitched as Roman continued to pace in front of his open-air office, ranting yet again about how the 'mutts' weren't doing their jobs properly, and she barely forced down a growl. Ever since that night at the docks, Torchwick's short temper had gotten even shorter. No Dust, a few dozen fellow Faunus killed, a couple Bullheads shot down; the only consolation prize was that the Kassidy Smith girl – the quickly named, and almost as quickly disproven Immortal – would never bother them again. Corpses never did much meddling in the affairs of the living, after all.

Torchwick… if she never heard of the man again for the rest of her life, it would be too soon. When he was at least conscious of his company before that night at the docks, now his rampant racism knew no bounds, and it was only due to Adam's frequent reminders that this man was important, that Blake hadn't killed Roman herself.

 _Things were different before all this business in Vale… so much better_ , she mused. Before Adam had trusted her with being the White Fang's liaison to Torchwick, there had been… well, there was the train job, where they made off with the entire Schnee Dust Company payload on board. Blake grimaced at the memory that she almost betrayed her lover then. She hadn't understood that violence was the only answer, the only language humans understood. Right up until one of the workers, one of the humans that she was trying to save, put a gun to her head and gave a cry of, "Die, you filthy animal!" It was only thanks to her reflexes, and Adam coming in to save her, that a scarred ear was the worst she came out of that day with.

And to think she was considering leaving the White Fang to protect scum like that man.

The clacking of heels and the falls of boots drew Blake out of her reverie and made her switch her gaze from her book to the hangar door, where her eyes narrowed. Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black – more people that Roman's mysterious and near-authoritarian employer forced on them. Roman must've heard them too, for he turned around and leaned on his cane, before striding up to them while exclaiming, "Oh look, she sent the kids again! This is turning out just like the divorce."

"Ugh," the green one – Emerald – shivered. "Spare us the thought of you procreating."

"That was a joke," Roman offered, before holding up a slip of paper and adding, "And this… just might tell me where you two have been all day." When Emerald started dithering, he shot back, "I'm a professional, sweetheart, try and pay attention. Maybe you'll learn something." Roman took a closer look at the piece of paper, then turned his gaze back to the two teenagers. "Why do you have this address? Actually, Blake, could you come over here a second, kitty cat?"

Blake couldn't stop herself from shooting back a harsh, "I'm not a kitty cat; quit calling me that." Still, Adam had reminded her… _repeatedly_ , she mentally added, that killing Roman wouldn't be a good idea, so she set her book down and made her way over, picking up Gambol Shroud in transit.

"Sure you aren't, sure you aren't," Roman waved off. Turning back to Emerald, he snarled, "Listen here, you little cretins. I don't know why you have this address, and I don't really care. If it were up to me, I would take you and your little street-rat friend here, and I would –"

"Do what, Roman?" a feminine voice asked. The hair on the back of Blake's neck bristled, and she couldn't help but feel on edge. The way everyone, including the two teenagers, tense up gave away that this must've been Roman's employer. Finally working up the nerve to look at the voice, she saw a young woman in a rather short red dress stand on an elevator. A man stood to her side, a brown cloak and red mask hiding his features. Blake was about to write him off, but then an impossible thought struck her, which turned out to not be so impossible as she took in the masks' details with widened eyes. _Does she really have…?_

Roman rubbed the back of his neck and offered, "I'd, uh, not kill them?" Blake took no small amount of joy in how submissive he was currently acting – it was about time someone put that asshat in his place. His expression changed, however, and his brow furrowed at the woman's companion. "Uh… did you pick up some Red Devil impersonator when I wasn't looking?"

The masked man, acting so quickly only a few of the Faunus were able to track the motions, pulled a sniper rifle out of… somewhere, and fired a shot. Roman's hat went flying off his head. While almost everyone, Roman included, was left wide-eyed and stammering, the man called out, "Who says I am an impersonator?"

"Oh, Munsell, play nice," the woman cooed. "We wouldn't want anything to happen to Emerald, would we?"

Blake's eyes narrowed at the question. So, this woman apparently had _the_ Red Devil at her beck and call. If the way this Munsell person tensed for the briefest of moments, before grunting his assent, was any indication, then she actually had leverage over the guy. _Who is this woman, that she has not only Roman, but Mistal's newest and deadliest assassin intimidated?_

"That's what I thought," the woman said. The boy growled quietly – Blake was pretty sure she was the only one who picked it up – but otherwise remained silent. "Roman," the woman shot, acid evident in her voice, "why wasn't this job done sooner?"

Roman's jaw dropped for but a moment, but he quickly went about grunting and gesturing with his cane at all the crates of Dust around them, before finally exclaiming, "Sorry if I've been a little busy stealing every speck of Dust in the Kingdom! I've got this town running scared! Police camping out at every corner, Dust prices through the roof, and we're sitting pretty in an old warehouse with more Dust crystals, vials, and rounds than we know what to do with."

"Congratulations," the Red Devil commented, "You can rob a Dust store. Perhaps if you were the slightest bit skilled, you would have had this done last month. When, I do not know, you actually finished the dock job?"

"Hey, that one wasn't my fault, kid!" Roman defended. "In case you don't read the news around here, we had Huntsmen and Huntresses up to our ears – including one Immortal, maybe you've heard of her? At least I finally dropped a shipping container on her – we won't need to worry about that bitch messing up our plans again."

"We will not?" Red Devil asked. "Hmm… interesting."

"What's so interesting, kid?" Roman inquired, the annoyance equally evident in his narrowed eyes and his voice.

"Either you are somehow more incompetent than I have been led to believe, or the girl is literally immortal." The Red Devil walked up to the table they were all in front of and threw a couple pictures on it. Blake's eyes widened – it was her! Kassidy Smith, walking down the streets of Vale with some other blonde and a redhead! "Kassidy Smith," Red Devil explained, "showed up out of nowhere five months ago and immediately joined Beacon. Does not have an Aura, but has so far proven exceedingly difficult to kill – cranial injuries seem to have no effect. A crack shot with both rifle and pistol, and seems to be the greatest computer expert in the four Kingdoms. Those photographs were taken two weeks ago. Please tell me you at least did your homework."

"Is there something you wish to say, Munsell?" the woman asked.

"I should kill her. Now," Red Devil demanded. "You know I can get the job done. She is a threat to our mission, and if anyone is going to expose you at Beacon, it is her."

"Hmm, I don't think we need to go that far yet, it's too early to cause a panic. Still, you're not entirely wrong… Emerald? Learn what you can about this Kassidy Smith." Now finished with ordering her subordinates around, the woman now turned to Roman. "We're done with Dust. Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you details and coordinates tonight. We're proceeding to phase two. And while we do so… this is Munsell Rosette. You may have heard of him by his more recent name, Mistral's Red Devil. He's going to work with… well, not you. I understand you have a miss Blake Belladonna with you?"

"He does," Blake answered, cursing herself when she failed to keep the waver out of her voice.

"Ah, you must be Blake," the woman said, before striding up to meet her with fierce golden eyes that almost seemed to burn with power. "I'd like to thank you for helping us so far. I know that these past few months couldn't have been easy, but I'd trust nobody else with this work."

 _Flattery, despite having never met me before. This one's dangerous, if the fact that she has the most dangerous men I've ever met wrapped around her finger wasn't enough evidence._ "The pleasure's all mine. Anything to help free the Faunus."

"Make no mistake, Blake: we will see the Faunus freed. Help us, and help yourself." The woman waved her hand, and the Red Devil – Mistral's premier sniper now seemingly relegated to being a dog on a chain – strode over to them. "Munsell is very, very good at what he does, but his skillset is, regrettably, lacking in certain areas. Areas which, if I understand correctly, you by no means lack in. I'd like for you to train him, and in return I'll be assigning him with you personally to assist in your missions."

Blake swallowed, then said, "Sounds like a plan."

"I'm glad you agree. Now, Emerald, Mercury, let's go. We have work to do, and the night is still young."

Blake watched the grey and green-colored teenagers follow after the woman, but Emerald stopped in front of the Red Devil and squeezed his hand before breaking contact. Quickly, and quietly enough that Blake had to strain her senses even with her Faunus hearing, she said, "Don't worry about me, I'll be safe with Merc and Neo watching my back. Be careful, yourself. I've had your sisters' weapons dropped off here for you." Red Devil grunted his assent, and after another look the two separated. Blake watched the whole thing, and when the red plated mask gazed at her, a blink was the only admittance that he had caught her off guard. _Damn, I'm off my game tonight. That mystery woman got to me more than she should have. Glad Adam isn't here to see this._

Blake beckoned Red Devil to follow her, and led the way to her corner of the warehouse. Her eyes narrowed at three cases set on the table that were most assuredly not hers. The one on the left was open, and it appeared the insert was for a sniper rifle of some kind. Immediately, Red Devil pushed past her and sat on the chair in front of the table, before placing his own sniper rifle on it and beginning to disassemble it. _Alright, so it's his weapons case… and his sisters' weapons cases? And I can't just keep calling him Red Devil if we're going to work together._

Testing the air, she asked, "Munsell, was it?" A grunt was her only response, though it seemed to be in the affirmative. A bottle of solvent was pulled out of seemingly nowhere, and he began cleaning the disassembled weapon before him. Trying again, Blake inquired, "Will your sisters be joining us?" Munsell shook his head in reply. Sighing to herself, she pressed on with, "Where are they?"

"Dead," Munsell replied, never taking his eyes off his rifle.

"Oh… I'm sorry," Blake offered. Munsell just grunted again. _Ugh, is this guy only capable of talking in single words and grunts? No, wait, he tore into Torchwick earlier… does he not like me?_

"I do not like talking," Munsell suddenly said, as if answering her thoughts. "When I have something to say, I say it. When I do not, I do not. I spoke to the idiot with a cane because I had something to say to him."

"I see," Blake said lamely. She was about to talk more, but decided to watch him finish cleaning his rifle. He assembled the weapon, aimed down the sights… then promptly disassembled it and began cleaning it again. "Uh, didn't you already clean your rifle? Why are you cleaning it again?"

"It is dirty."

"Didn't you clean it right the first time?"

Munsell sighed. "It is dirty because it left the case. It cannot go back in the case until it is clean. It is not clean until I have cleaned it three times."

Blake blinked at the sudden explanation, and at the rote, mechanical memorization he seemed to have drawn it from. "Why three times?"

"One for each of my siblings. I will need to do the same for my sisters' weapons; they were not as good as I am about keeping their weapons clean. Open the cases?"

Reaching over to the two cases next to the open one, Blake complied. The first one had a pair of bladed tonfas, if the short end of the weapon was replaced by a semiautomatic pistol. The second, a twelve-gauge shotgun with an axe blade in the stock. Both seemed like they haven't been maintained in several months.

Munsell barely paid them a glance. Or maybe he was staring at them, it was hard to tell with his mask. "Hmm. Worse shape than I thought. Will not be useful until they get repaired; cleaning will not do. Shame. Stizza was the one who built and repaired our weapons. Better at that than I am."

"Your sister?" Blake asked. Munsell nodded, and Blake went back over the weapons with a critical eye, getting a rough idea as to which parts they'd need. One of the lieutenants – Banesaw, was it? – still owed her a favor, at any rate; getting the necessary repairs would be simple enough. The important work at hand sorted out, she looked back to her newest companion, now in the middle of his rifle's third cleaning. _Alright, surely there has to be some common ground between us, right? Think, Belladonna, thi – got it!_ "You seem like a rather educated person. You like books?"

That question actually got Munsell to stop what he was doing. Suddenly taking his mask off – which was not a mask, but a full, steel-armored faceplate – he looked at her, trimmed red mustache and all. A scar framed his right eye above and below; it's a wonder that the injury didn't take the organ with it. The brown pupils looked at her intently, the barest hints of a smile the only indication he wasn't plotting her imminent death. "Blake Belladonna, we will be good friends."

* * *

 **AN 2: Still can't decide if I actually want to try with these author's notes. Oh well. See you all Monday, I guess.**

 **Coming up next: One last chapter of RWKY shenanigans… then we're jumping into the deep end again.**

 **FloriteFlower: Ren's gift was dinner. And he may or may not have helped Nora with the boots. And I gotta say… those puns were wild, man.**

 **Matt Cyr: Y'know, I never even considered that. Thanks for pointing that out, now I'm tempted to go back and edit the chapter to reflect that.**

 **Firearm Legume: Yes, the Garand is finally retired. Had a good run in V1, but unfortunately it's time to part with it.**

 **AndJrew76: I can understand with life getting boring from time to time. Those are typically the times were I write three chapters in two days or something. Everyone needs a hobby, I guess.**

 **Baconlord53: Coming from a guy who's never had a date before, never mind a girlfriend… I mean, even I know that rule. At least Kassidy was smart enough to figure out that waking up Yang wasn't exactly good for her health.**

 **AgentDraakis: Hmm, heavy drama, you say? If I did this right, there should be more coming out of left field than footwear.**

 **Myrillis: Eh, my tight-knit group of friends was more or less composed of immediate family members. Still, I know small birthdays, and I tried to draw from those for that chapter. And while I keep saying it, I will continue to do my best to keep up the great work.**

 **Chilltexan: Well, I now have the perfect idea set up for their first kiss. No, it's not happening in the immediate future. Give it 2-3 weeks. Dunno, depends on how I want to pace these next few chapters. Might be a month, even.**


	62. V2C4: Trouble in Paradise

**Volume 2 Chapter 4: Trouble in Paradise**

 **AN: Well, here's the start of our once weekly uploads. Sorry about it again, I don't particularly like it either, but I don't have the time anymore to be writing enough for twice weekly uploads.**

 **EDIT: Apologies for the hilariously late upload. On vacation in Vegas, two hour time difference, dinner and a show with family, and the time I've had to work on this was sporadic at best. Hopefully this is still a good time for you guys.**

 **Anyways, the semester's just started at Beacon, and as we all know by now (courtesy of a minor Kassidy panic attack) new Kingdoms are arriving in force. Included in the bunch of new arrivals are two particular teams from Mistral, one of which having a significantly less…** _ **Sunny**_ **disposition than the other. How does RWKY's first contact with them go? Depends on who you ask.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

"… and then he had the audacity to accuse me of wasting my time with a profession fit only for barbarians!" lamented Weiss. "Ugh, I swear, Whitley is trying to be a pest on purpose most days."

Kassidy choked down the bite of sandwich she was in the middle of, then tried to say over Ruby and Yang's giggles, "Aren't you overexaggerating a bit, Weiss? I'm sure your brother isn't actually that bad."

"Overexaggerate, me?" Weiss asked. "You're one to talk, Miss We're Being Invaded."

"Hey, we had a bunch of military airships set down and start offloading robot troops. You tell me what your first reaction would've been," Kassidy shot back. Still, the gesture was useless, and the two half-sisters were laughing even harder now. Fighting back a blush, she huffed and set her focus on their surroundings. The first week of classes had ended, and the team (meaning the two sisters) decided that it would be best if they all got lunch out that Sunday. In an interesting coincidence, they had found the café that Kassidy had met Sun at nearly two months ago; hell, as far as she could tell they were even at the same table. _Still,_ she mused, _the company's certainly better. Definitely not trying to flirt with me, at least._

Suddenly, Kassidy felt an arm snake around her shoulders and pull her in for a quick hug. "So," Yang began, "what plans does my wonderful and intelligent partner have for the day?"

 _And I take that back. They're simply not trying to flirt with me as much as Sun was._ Kassidy shook her head and thought about her currently nonexistent plans. "Oh, tons. Probably spend the afternoon working out and working the firing range. And then… actually, don't you still need help with that trig assignment, Ruby? So yeah, I've got a full afternoon planned."

Yang hummed in thought for a moment, then replied by declaring it, "Lame!"

Weiss scoffed, "How is studying, improving her skills, and helping her teammates lame?"

"How is studying not lame?" a sudden voice asked next to them. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang all jumped, but Kassidy quickly recognized it as belonging to a certain blonde-haired monkey Faunus. Looking over, she confirmed it, but was quickly befuddled by his blue haired companion.

Still, Kassidy forged on and decided to refute his statement. "There's no such thing as knowing too much. Besides, studying can be fun! Right, Weiss?"

"No, no, no! I know what ya mean!" Sun quickly backtracked, before snaking over to stand right next to them, and to Kassidy. "Learning can definitely be fun, right, Nep? I'm just talking about studying in general. Just, I dunno, reading stuff that we already know to fill in bubbles… ugh!"

Kassidy was about to argue the point further, but stopped as she felt Yang's hand grip her upper arm. RWKY's other blonde talked in Kassidy's stead, answering, "I know! That's what I can't get my partner to understand! Uh, it's Sun, right?"

Sun quickly confirmed, "Yup! Oh, hey, you guys haven't met Neptune yet, have you? Yeah, this is my geek of a-"

"Ah, pup, pup!" Neptune interrupted. " _Intellectual_. Not geek."

"Nah, you're definitely a geek," Sun argued.

"Actually," Kassidy interjected, "I can answer with some certainty that he's not a geek." Sun looked at her with a dropped jaw and raised eyebrows, while Neptune was wearing a far too confident smirk. Kassidy smirked back, before shooting down their expectations with, "He's a nerd. Not cool enough to be with us geeks."

"How would you know, Kassidy?" All heads turned to Weiss, who seemed to be trying to decide whether to focus her attention on Kassidy or Neptune. "You don't even know the boy. He could be quite cool."

"Thank you for understanding, Snow Angel," Neptune smoothly said. Kassidy bit her lip, expected Weiss' expected meltdown at being called that 'insipid' nickname… and was quite shocked when none came. "Weiss, I do believe I've heard?"

"Weiss Schnee," she confirmed.

"Alright, alright, we get it, Nep's cool, way to prove it yet again, bud. Hey, is this seat next to you open? Thanks." Without even waiting to be invited to have a seat, Sun leapt on the chair next to Kassidy and continued his prior conversation. "So, what've you been up to since we threw down with that Torchwick guy a couple months ago?"

Kassidy opened her mouth, then immediately closed it as Yang absolutely clamped down on her arm, almost painfully. She looked back, and Kassidy felt her jaw drop ever so slightly to see Yang giving Sun a fierce glare. Yang suddenly spoke up, " _We've_ been hanging out all summer long. _As partners._ "

"Wow, cool, cool." Sun continued to talk, but Kassidy ignored it in favor of shooting Ruby a questioning glance, with a raised brow at Yang's behavior. The sole remaining fifteen year old at the table could naught but offer a shrug.

"What?!" A forceful tug on her arm accompanied the nearly shouted question, and Kassidy found her attention, and most of her body, drawn to Yang, this time her glare focused on her.

"Uh, what're we talking about, again?" was what Kassidy meekly asked. "I kinda spaced out a bit while you two were talking."

If Kassidy wasn't somewhat afraid of what was going on before, she was now when she saw hints of crimson flicker into Yang's eyes. "Sun just said this isn't the first time you and he have had lunch here. He said that you two were _alone_ last time."

"Um… we were?" That answer seemed to be the wrong one, as Yang growled at her before her glare leveled onto Sun. Trying to defuse whatever the hell was going on, Kassidy explained, "Look, it was the day after my simulation, while I was out in Vale. I needed information, Sun said he had some, we met here to talk and he happened to eat a sandwich while telling me that Torchwick was planning on robbing the docks that night. Seriously… the hell is going on right now with you?"

"So you weren't on a date with him?" asked Yang.

Kassidy's jaw dropped slightly and her eyes bugged out, and she had to shake her head clear to reply back, "Of course not, I had literally just met the guy! We were just exchanging information." Yang seemed to calm down after that, but then Kassidy unknowingly stoked the fires with, "He certainly tried flirting with me enough times to try and turn it into a date, though."

"Oh, did he now?" The vice-like grip on Kassidy's arm had returned, and Yang's glare resumed on Sun full-force.

Sun defended, "Uh, yeah! Don't tell me you haven't flirted with any cute boys you've come across!"

"I di… I would ne… that's not the point! At least I-"

"Guys, enough!" Kassidy interrupted, finally yanking her arm out of Yang's grip. "Seriously, the hell is going on with you two? I don't know if you two have met each other, or what, but you're at each other's throats a few minutes after saying 'hi'. I'm… I'm gonna go use the restroom. Let me know when you two are capable to speaking civilly to each other, and whenever… whatever this is, is done." Emphasizing her point, Kassidy stepped up from the table they were at, and retreated to the interior of the store.

 _Alright… what's gotten into Yang? Sun came up, she grabbed my arm, and then when he sat next to me she… did she leave a bruise on my arm?!_ Looking closer at the mirror, Kassidy could indeed see a band of purple forming where Yang had clamped down on her bicep. Shaking her head, she tried to make heads or tails of what was going on out there. Her partner… no, not just her partner, but her girlfriend, was all but frothing at the mouth at the guy who had told her about Torchwick's raid on the docks and fought with her. And Sun seemed more than willing to meet her head on, in a move that spoke either of immense bravery, or a suicidal streak… probably both. What's worse, they seemed to be arguing about her. Kassidy hadn't even done anything wrong, had she? She rinsed her face off, then resolved to head back out to lunch and get to the bottom of this.

Of course, the view that Kassidy found whenever she got back to the patio was almost enough to make her pull a 'Nope!' and walk back into the store. Both Yang and Sun were in each other's faces and shouting their heads off, Weiss and that Neptune guy were sitting together watching the whole ordeal, and poor Ruby didn't look like she could do anything but try and hide in her hood. Finding no help coming any time soon from the half-sister, Kassidy instead turned to Weiss and motioned at the two blondes arguing quite vehemently in front of them. Weiss nodded, and with a quick flick of her wrists both Yang and Sun were forcibly separated by a pair of glyphs that quickly shifted to ensnare them.

Kassidy took advantage of the separation and stood in between the two of them, taking turns to glare daggers at each before turning to Sun. "Look, Sun, as much as I never got the chance to say 'thank you' for helping me out at the docks, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't go about antagonizing my girlfriend here with… whatever the _fuck_ this was."

Oddly enough, Sun instantly paled at the declaration. "Oh, fuck… you two are a thing? Holy shit, I'm so sorry, Yang, I didn't even think-"

"No, you didn't," Kassidy interrupted. Deciding that Sun had gotten the message, she wheeled around and shoved her finger in Yang's vicious red eyes. "And you! We need to talk. I have no idea what the fuck's gotten into you, but if I can look forward to bruises every time we meet someone, I need to know."

Just as quickly as Sun, Yang paled and the red fled from her eyes as her jaw dropped to the patio's floor. "What do you mean brui…" Kassidy tilted her head at Yang having trailed off, before she followed her line of sight to the now prominent bruise on her upper arm. _Yang didn't know she did that, even?_

Kassidy put two and two together quickly, and then met Yang's eyes again and drove the point home. "Yeah, you did that. I hope you've got answers for that."

Yang's eyes kept flickering between her own and the bruise on her arm, and… was she crying? Weiss released her glyphs, and Yang slumped bonelessly back into her seat while Sun took a few steps back, his vigor renewed as he seemed fit to start arguing again.

Neptune came to the rescue, however, standing up and pulling on Sun's shoulder. "Uh, hey Sun, remember how Sage and Scarlet wanted to do some sparring right about now? Yeah, let's go do that. See you later, girls, Weiss." Accompanying Weiss' name with a wink, he drug Sun behind him and out the store.

The four girls of RWKY took glances at each other, each trying to piece together what was going to happen next, though it seemed like Yang could barely see through a veritable wall of tears that had sprung up in front of her eyes. Kassidy went to put her hand on Yang's shoulder, but Yang just brushed it off and, after excusing herself, stormed out of the café. It was eventually Ruby who managed to squeak out, "Yeah, I think Yang has the right idea, let's head back to Beacon now," before dashing after her. Kassidy and Weiss stared at each other, before shrugging and chasing after the two half-sisters.

The whole way back to Beacon, and indeed for much of the day afterwards, Kassidy kept going over that lunch in her head, wondering what she did that was so wrong.

* * *

Weiss slid her Scroll over the sensor and opened the door, admitting the two girls in. Kassidy slumped in after her self-appointed swordswomanship trainer, ditching her bag at the foot of her bed and collapsing bonelessly in her desk chair. She pulled out Bob and pulled up a segment of his code that she had thought of some optimization to during their training mission yesterday, but couldn't bring herself to start typing.

 _This has to be the worst day I've had in months. And it started so well, too!_

She hadn't seen Yang ever since lunch. Yang and Ruby had apparently spent all day sparring and working out together, while Kassidy and Weiss spent the first half of the afternoon studying before working on their training some more. But not even getting a few good hits in on Weiss was able to get through the glum mood she was in.

Kassidy worked best when she had the facts; unfortunately, at this juncture she had precious few facts to work with. The team was eating lunch together. Sun and Neptune came up and started talking to them. Yang grabbed her arm. Sun sat down next to her, completely ignoring what Kassidy felt were quite obvious hints that the seat next to her was not in fact open. Yang squeezed Kassidy's arm so hard it bruised. Yang and Sun started yelling at each other. Weiss had to separate them. Sun seemed shocked to find out that she and Yang had been dating. Yang had been even more shocked to find out that she had left a bruise on her arm. _Ugh, something that sent my girlfriend to tears immediately after having a shouting match with a guy that probably saved my life while I was busy doing the whole murder-death-Colossus thing at the docks, and all I have to figure out what went wrong are snapshots of the conversation. If I can't –_

"You opened my code ten minutes ago and have yet to begin typing. Is it safe to assume that something's wrong?"

Kassidy blinked, before realizing that yes, Bob indeed asked her a question. She took a few seconds to process it, then slowly asked, "Didn't you see the footage from my iris cam?"

"You never wore it today. I seem to recall Ruby and Yang having drug you out the moment you returned from your morning workout and shower, before you were able to prepare."

"Oh." Kassidy slumped even further back in her chair; at this point, it was a miracle that Weiss wasn't yelling at her to fix her posture. "So you have no idea what happened at lunch today, do you?"

"That's kind of how it works around here."

Kassidy swallowed thickly, and after a quick glance showed that Weiss had stopped studying and was mildly annoyed by the interruption, decided to get it over with. "Well, we were sitting there, eating, talking, and just having a good time…"

"Like how most lunch dates go," Bob interrupted.

"It wasn't a date! At least, I don't think it was," Kassidy argued. Sighing, she continued, "Then Sun, that monkey Faunus I told you about whenever I was out in Vale after the sims, showed up with this Neptune guy he's friends with."

"Surely the arrival of two males to your meal wasn't what has you in your current demeanor, is it?"

"Actually, it kinda is…" Shaking her head, Kassidy forded on with, "Sun started asking some questions, then Yang grabbed my arm and started acting all defensive and stuff. Before I knew it, they were shouting at each other, then Yang grabbed my arm so hard it made it bruise, and asked me whether or not I dated Sun back then. Right then, I've got five people staring at me, two of which looking like they'd rip my head off if I gave a wrong answer, and then as soon as I said something they went back to yelling at each other. Neptune drug Sun off, and then Yang ran off in tears and I haven't seen her since and I have no idea what even started everything except that I have something to do with it and now I've been going over the past however long trying to figure out what I did and –"

"You're rambling again." Bob interrupted her a second time, cutting through her rapidly accelerating pace of words and getting her to take a few breaths. After a moment's time, he began, "That's interesting, I've actually been in a conversation with Yang for the past half hour, and she has quite a different perspective on the matter."

"Wait, you've been talking to Yang?!" Kassidy all but leapt out of her seat, and ignored Weiss groaning and pinching the bridge of her nose in favor of focusing on her computer. "Where is she? I need to talk to her! What's she been talking to you about?"

"I don't think it is my place to tell you what our conversation entailed. Specifically because she's on her way back up to the dorm now to talk to you."

Just then, the door unlocked and opened to admit first Ruby, and then Yang, the latter immediately arresting all of Kassidy's attention. Normally, the fact that Yang had only worn a sports bra and shorts to her workout was enough to cause all sorts of reactions of varying degrees from the other three girls in the room, as would the sweat and smell. But what drew Kassidy's attention were Yang's swollen and puffy lilac eyes, still red from crying. They stared at each other for a few moments, each not knowing how to proceed, but then Ruby finally elbowed Yang in the side and cajoled her sister into making the first move. Taking a tentative step forward, Yang finally admitted, "K… I need to ask you something."

Kassidy let out the breath she had been holding, then started, "So do-"

"But before I do," Yang interrupted, "I need to say something." Finally closing the distance with shaky steps, Yang immediately eliminated the remaining space between them as she wrapped Kassidy up in a ferocious hug, and immediately started bawling into her shoulder, all while repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Kassidy returned the hug at once, and, fearing that she wouldn't be able to support both their weights if Yang's legs gave, guided the both of them to her bed to have a seat. Finally finding a break in the broken sobs and apologies, she managed to get through, "What's this about? Yang, talk to me." When Yang merely pulled her head back to look at her with an agape mouth and raised eyebrows, Kassidy explained, "Look, I have no idea what happened today. All I know is you got really defensive when Sun showed up and it had something to do with me and then you two started yelling at each other and then you started crying and it's my fault you cried and I'm –"

Yang's choked, broken sobs interrupted her; it seemed like Kassidy was getting interrupted a lot tonight. At any rate, Yang finally managed to control herself enough that she was able to choke out, "You think _you_ did something wrong? You dork. _You_ weren't the one that left bruises on _your_ girlfriend." She spat the last sentence out with all the vigor she would with a dose of poison, then shook her head and met Kassidy's eyes again. "I never… I didn't even realize I was grabbing you so hard. I'm _so_ sorry, I never meant to hurt you, I never meant –"

"Yang, relax!" Kassidy had to fight the urge to laugh at her concern, since that would obviously make the whole situation worse. "I'm fine. I've had a hell of a lot worse than a bruise –"

"And that's the problem!" Yang yelled. Her chest heaved, then she added, "You shouldn't have to worry about worse with me. I'm the _last_ person you need to worry about hurting you. I shouldn't… I should have never…"

"Yang," Kassidy stated, once her partner's voice trailed off. " _Relax._ _I'm fine._ I'm not worried about it. I'm not worried about you hurting me. Just tell me what happened with you and Sun. I'm not the best at this kind of stuff, and I'll happily be the first to admit it." Finally failing at holding back a sniffle, Kassidy finished with, "Tell me what I did wrong."

Yang seemed to have trouble deciding whether to laugh or to cry, but after closing her eyes and taking some deep breaths, she managed to calm herself down and open her eyes back up. "Nothing," she insisted. "I assumed the worst with you. I… I assumed you were dating Sun. I assumed that you'd been cheating on me with him, or you'd been cheating on him with me, or… I dunno." Finally breaking her embrace, Yang fell back bonelessly into Kassidy's bed as if she had no energy left. Tired lilac eyes looked up at her, and Yang continued, "I assumed the worst, I got mad, and I let me temper get the better of me."

"That's what this is about? You thought I was dating Sun?" Yang nodded, and Kassidy failed once again to ignore her impulses, this time giggling like a madwoman. Quickly getting control of herself once again, however, Kassidy explained, "Yang, if you had seen how many times I'd told him to quit flirting with me while we were out getting ready to bust up Torchwick's little job… ugh, if he never flirted with me again until the day I died it'd be too soon." Finding where Yang's hand had slumped against the covers and grabbing it, Kassidy said, "I'm not _about_ to start dating Sun. You couldn't pay me to do that."

Finally, Weiss seemed as though she'd had enough. Huffing and standing up so violently she knocked her desk's chair over, she announced, "Seriously, if you two dating is going to cause this much drama… I don't even know where to start with you two. Just quit interrupting my studying, and we can go from there."

Ruby, Kassidy, and Yang all traded glances, and right on cue all three started laughing uproariously. It took a solid minute for Kassidy to finally choke out, "Oh, there's Weiss again. Was wondering where you went."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing, Weiss!" Ruby put her foot down on that particular argument before it began, before turning back to the two blondes. "Is it… are you two okay now?"

Kassidy eyeballed Yang, and felt confident enough to say for the both of them, "Yeah, I think we are. We are, aren't we?"

"Speak for yourself," Yang yawned. "I'm more tired than that time I punched a hundred Beowolves in Patch. Wake me up when it's morning."

Kassidy blinked. Then she blinked again, just to make sure she heard that correctly. Finally, she replied, "You're in my bed."

"Don't care."

"You're in your more… minimalistic? gym attire."

"Don't care."

A quick sniff of the air confirmed to Kassidy what she suspected. "You reek to high heaven. You're washing my sheets tomorrow."

Yang finally groaned out, "Do. Not. Care." Rolling over and hugging a pillow to her face, Yang followed her statement with, "Good. Night."

Feeling perplexed as to how to get Yang into her proper bed, Kassidy looked around, only to find that Ruby was already climbing into her bunk and Weiss wasn't too far behind. It was clear that everyone in the room, her included, was more than done with the day. "Well, looks like I get Yang's bunk," Kassidy muttered, before climbing up into the top bed and thankfully not knocking it loose from its perch. It took her a few minutes to get to sleep, but that was time well spent figuring out a new mystery.

 _Peaches,_ Kassidy decided the new smell to be. _Makes sense, I guess._

* * *

 **AN 2: I'm tired, you're tired probably, we're all tired! Let's get these reviewer responses over with so we can begin the full seven-day wait for next week's chapter.**

 **Coming up next: Colossus goes after some Paladins**

 **Akshka: In Ozpin's defense, as much as the community likes to make him out to be some omniscient demigod character, he doesn't know that there's about to be a virus uploaded into the system. This was a perfectly rational thing to do, especially since if he didn't do it then the council would've done worse and he wouldn't have control over it.**

 **AndJrew76: Hopefully the surprises are a good thing, I try to make them as such.**

 **Baconlord53: Huh, no kidding? Well, I guess I still have plenty of time to figure it out, ba-dum-tss.**

 **Tykene: Glad to hear I entertained you so well. Hope things continue to go well in your neck of the woods.**

 **Firearm legume: As of this moment, other than the other academies' teams that show up for the Vytal festival (and I'm not doing any hijinks with them, gonna be the same guys as were in canon), all characters have been introduced that will be present in this story. So no, I won't, sorry.**

 **AgentDraakis: This is now RWKYcanon.**


	63. V2C5: First Blood

**Volume 2 Chapter 5: First Blood  
**

 **AN: So, here we are again, and on time if I get a say in things. Apologies for the low quality of last chapter – it was a bit rushed on my end. It won't happen again if I can help it.**

 **Anyways, while Kassidy and co. have been living the good life at Beacon, the White Fang are still mobilizing. A fact that Kassidy can no longer ignore.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

"Alright… alright. I think we've finally caught up with Oobleck's class. Damn that guy for trying to cram three hours of material into fifty minutes of lecture."

Yang simply groaned in reply, her head slumped into her history textbook and her impressive amount of hair splayed out in all directions. Both blondes ignored the librarian shushing them. Their first exam was tomorrow, and the story this semester is identical to how it was last semester: learning a different planet's whole history was hard, especially when your teacher was Prof – Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck. While Combat Training was the same it was last semester, and Trigonometry was still laughably easy for her, this semester wasn't a complete cakewalk as both Grimm Studies and History were picking up the pace. Dust Studies – the new name for Applied Chemistry – and Physics weren't making her work load any lighter, either.

A waft of what had to be Yang's new peach-scented conditioner brought her thoughts from studies to her team. It seemed like Yang and Sun had worked things out – the monkey Faunus had even kept her occupied for an afternoon workout session when Kassidy needed more time to memorize the social dynamics in Ursa packs… because that would totally be a useful thing in her future career as a Huntress. Neptune had made his presence known once or twice more since that disastrous lunch a few days ago, and naturally, Weiss had become Yang's prime teasing target. Ruby's still, well, Ruby. The poor girl can't catch a break in class, and even with Kassidy and Weiss' help she's only been pulling average grades through the first week and a half of the semester. Though, it hasn't stopped her from suddenly claiming a spot in the top five of the Combat Training class' leaderboards, edging out Ren for the fifth place spot. She might be Yang's sister, but Kassidy couldn't help but feel like a sort of older sister to Ruby as well – maybe it was from how similar they were age wise, maybe it was from how far out of their depths they've been thrown, and actually dating Yang probably helped cement that idea.

"Is it time to head to dinner, yet?" _Think of the devil, and she will speak._ The lilac eyes shined with renewed fervor, probably of anticipation of the fact that they had plans to hit a popular burger place in Vale that evening.

Kassidy could only groan herself in reply, though. "We've still got that assignment in Grimm Studies to do. I swear, if half of it is recalling any more of his stories again…"

Yang groaned again before espousing, "This is _so boring!_ Why couldn't I get a fun girlfriend that liked ditching homework for eating greasy burgers?"

Somehow, Kassidy managed to deadpan, "You should've gone to Weiss if you wanted fun." Their eyes locked, and they were able to keep straight faces for about a second before descending into giggles.

"Hey, um, excuse me?"

The sudden voice had Kassidy snapping her head up towards their guest. Red eyes and mint green hair greeted them, a dark complexion being only barely hidden by a gray and green top – and calling it a top was being generous. The woman who had interrupted them began, "I'm so sorry to bother you two, but I must have missed some notes in that last Grimm Studies class. Could I ask you to help a girl out?"

Yang perked up at the prospect of more people to make friends with. "Yeah, sure! Uh, I think. How good were your notes again, K?"

"Well, I mean, I do record the lectures," Kassidy muttered as she dug out her class notes, which only turned out to be roughly a third of a page of actual notes, followed by about four pages of code. She hastily had Bob start digging through her video archives for the lecture in question, before turning to their newest companion. "I'm Kassidy, by the way. The pretty one's Yang."

"Damn… I see what you mean," came a new voice. A guy whose fashion sense began and ended with gray came up past the girl and claimed a chair at the table they had all congregated at. "I'm Merc, that's Em."

"Ugh, didn't I tell you to wait at the table, Mercury?" Em groaned. Turning back to Yang and Kassidy, she said, "Sorry about my partner. He's pretty much insufferable, and the _worst_ note-taker I've ever had the displeasure of dealing with." She fixed a glare on the guy at the table with that last statement, before resuming, "I think it had something to do with Boarbatusk weak points?"

"Pfft, do we really need to do this, Em?" Mercury asked. "I thought we were gonna have some fun out in the city tonight."

"You know we can't, Merc," Em chastised. "Teachers told us to stay out of the city while the White Fang's running amok."

Up until this point, Kassidy and Yang had been absentmindedly listening while digging through their notes. That last sentence, however, did well in gaining both their attentions. Kassidy, in particular, nearly shot out of her seat before all but exclaiming, "Whoa, whoa, what?! What's up with the White Fang now?"

Mercury raised an eyebrow at the outburst. "You haven't heard? The mutts have been running rampant in downtown, stealing a whole bunch of shit. Hell, I even heard they nabbed some Atlas equipment a couple nights ago."

"What kind of equipment?" Kassidy demanded.

Em shook her head, before answering, "Don't know for sure, just that from what I overheard from those troops they brought with them, they weren't too happy about it." She was content to leave it there, but tilted her head when Kassidy swore under her breath and started typing furiously on Bob's screen. "Uh, are you okay? What's the big deal?"

Kassidy didn't even bother looking up from her computer. "Let's just say that the White Fang and I… disagree. If they're hitting Atlas' stuff…"

A sudden hand tugging on her shoulder got her to finally look up, coming face to face with Yang giving her a soft smile that was at odds with her wide, beady eyes. "K, I'm sure it'll be fine. Ozpin said he's got some of his friends on it; between them, the police, and Ironwood's guys, they can probably handle it themselves."

That answer didn't fully convince Kassidy, who hemmed and hawed while continuing to switch her glances between Yang and Bob. "I don't know, Yang. If things are getting worse –"

"Then Ozpin'll take care of it." Yang grabbed Kassidy's hands and drug them from the computer's screen. "Didn't Uncle Qrow tell you not to worry about it? C'mon, K, you know it'll be fine." Kassidy huffed, but raised an eyebrow when Yang grew a sadistic grin. "If you ruin our date tonight with all your 'doom-and-gloom' stuff, I am _not_ going to be a happy partner."

Giving one final sigh, Kassidy conceded, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I still want answers though, Bob. Use Code One protocols if you have to, capische? But other than that… yeah, you're right." Yang's smirk only grew after that admission, making Kassidy chuckle, "Again. Don't let it go to your head, firecracker."

"Are you two a thing?" Mercury asked. When they both nodded, Mercury hit the table and said, "Damn! I was really hoping to –"

"Yeah, no," Kassidy interrupted. Mercury raised his hands at the glare she shot his way.

"Ugh, don't worry about it, he does that with every girl he comes across pretty much," Emerald sighed. Suddenly sitting back up, she asked, "Hey, not to be pushy or anything, but –"

Yang sprang into action immediately. "Boarbatusk weak points! Yup, yup, sorry about that, almost forgot. Uhh, here they are! I think."

While Mercury and Em got to copying the notes, Kassidy managed to interject, "Hey, it's not in the notes, but personal experience says that some good armor-piercing ammunition can get through the skull if you get a nice, flat angle on it."

"Seriously? Good to know, I'll need to keep that in mind." Finishing some final scribbles and leaning back with a contented sigh, Emerald shot the two blondes a thumbs-up. "Thanks for the help, you were a real life-saver. Have fun tonight!"

"Don't worry, we will. Good luck on the assignment!" Yang sprang up, and after helping Kassidy out of their seat the two blondes gathered up their study materials and left the library.

Back at the table, Emerald sighed yet again as she slumped in her seat, while Mercury kicked his legs up on the table. "Ugh, how did Hottie end up falling for Miss Sleeps-With-Knives over there? Think they'll take the bait? Seems like they're gonna have some fun this evening."

Emerald smirked, "Nah, I could see it in Kassidy's eyes. She's not leaving it alone."

"Hook, line, and sinker," Mercury applauded. "Excellent work as always, Master Thief Manipulator."

"Ugh, cut it out, Merc." Emerald was about to play on her Scroll some, but a sudden thought caused her to sit up straight in her seat. "What do you think the odds are she'll run into Belladonna tonight?"

Mercury shrugged, "Eh, my money's on kitty cat. She has Munsell looking out for her, at any rate, she'll be fine. Eugh, how that guy gives me the creeps."

Emerald giggled, "You're just mad the Rosettes were the only ones that actually beat you in Combat Training over in Mistral."

"Hey, fuck those kids, and fuck that bullshit Semblance of theirs!"

Mercury winced as the librarian shushed them and shot them a dirty look.

* * *

"Holy crap this is good," Kassidy forced around a mouthful of bacon cheeseburger. "No wonder you like coming here. Why didn't you show me this place last semester?"

"Because someone was busy playing sourpuss," Yang smirked. Kassidy rolled her eyes and returned to the all-important task of stuffing her face.

Dinner was later than either of them expected, in no small part due to Weiss figuring out that they had, in fact, blown off the Grimm Studies assignment to try and get dinner early. _I might enjoy Weiss as a study partner from time to time, but wow if that girl can ever pitch a fit when it comes to grades. Still, guess I have her to thank for a moonlit dinner… even if their moon isn't quite as romantic as the moon we had back on Earth._

Suddenly, Yang stood up from the outdoor table they were seated at, and said, "Hey, give me a minute? Need to hit the restroom."

"Don't hit it too hard, you'll hurt your hand. Or the toilet, more likely." Kassidy chuckled at the cute, playful way Yang's eyes narrowed before her partner dashed inside.

Unfortunately, peace and quiet were not to be hers as Bob spoke up. "I do believe I've narrowed down the search for missing Atlesian supplies, but none of the specifics have been released on publically available channels. I'll need your authorization to use the Code One protocols to find out the specifics."

"Switch to earpiece, no need to have anyone overhearing you," Kassidy snapped, keeping her voice hushed. Hastily, she added, "Enact limited Emergency Code One protocols, keyword: iconoclasm."

"Keyword accepted, Code One protocols in effect."

"And be careful this time around, the last thing I need is for the general to be more pissed off at me than he already is."

"Way ahead of you on that front. Can't beat me the same way twice. Um… I do believe I've found the problem."

Kassidy was about to ask for clarification, but had her attention arrested by a series of schematics being thrown up on Bob's screen. The title of 'Paladin' dominated the top of the file in big, bold letters. What attracted her interest was the designs themselves. "Hmm… rocket pods, infrared sensors, are those plasma cannons? And more servos, motors, and actuators than Ruby can shake a sniper scythe at. Looks like Atlas went and built themselves a bipedal tank when I wasn't looking. Sound about right?"

"It's worse than that. This is also the missing Atlesian tech… it seems like the White Fang somehow stole nearly two dozen of these Paladins."

"T… tw… two dozen?!" she hissed. Her face paled as she slumped back in her seat, her half-eaten burger forgotten. _No… this is going to be Baton Rouge all over again. I can't. I can't allow it._

"Kassidy?" her computer prompted.

"To hell with what Qrow said," she spat. "I can't ignore this. Not anymore. Continue Code One protocols. We need to hit the White Fang, and we need to hit them now. Chat up my contacts if you have to, get me something I can use to slow these fuckers down."

A ringing bell told the story of Yang making her way back outside. Her smile faded, however, as she sat down and saw the look on Kassidy's face. "You still thinking about the White Fang?"

"Yeah," Kassidy admitted. She forced herself to start to eat the rest of her burger, if only to keep up appearances. "I know the guys above us are capable and all. I dunno, it doesn't feel right to sit around with my thumb up my butt, hoping nothing goes wrong."

"You think I like this either?" Yang asked. "Of _course_ I want to do something about it. But I trust my uncle, I trust Ironwood, and I trust Ozpin to have a grip on things. And if push comes to shove, I trust my team to have my back, and so I won't go rushing in alone." Yang closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, and intense red looked at Kassidy. This didn't seem to be borne from anger, though, if the slight sheen of tears was anything to go by. "I want you to promise me, K. Promise me you'll leave this alone. Promise me that when the time to act does come, you come to us rather than try to do this alone."

"I promise, Yang," Kassidy lied. Shuddering a breath, she added, "I promise that I won't get over my head in this White Fang stuff. I'll… I'll make sure the team comes first." _There, not a lie anymore. I know how to be careful, contrary to popular belief._

Yang closed her eyes again, and this time beautiful lilac was the color that greeted Kassidy's sight. "Okay, then. That's good enough for me."

It was towards the end of dinner that Bob spoke up again, in her earpiece this time. "I've found a frequency the White Fang's been using for communications. They're raiding a warehouse on the other side of the city in ninety minutes' time."

Yang managed to fit around the last of her fries, "Bob talking to you about something, partner?"

Kassidy thought about it a brief moment, then nodded. "One of my friends wants to talk – and no, let me stop you right there, not one of _those_ friends." She sighed, but the way Yang's face fell almost broke all resolve. _But I can't back out now. I'm sorry, Yang. I'm so sorry. This is something I have to do._ "Do you… do you mind calling the night here? I promise, I'll be careful, but I don't know how long I'll be." Disarming the tension, she added, "If Ice Queen is gonna yell at anyone for being late, I'd rather it be me than you."

Yang exhaled, then nodded. "Fine by me. Don't tell me you're hoping to get away from me with just that, though."

They stood up and hugged. When they broke, they still held a grip on each other's hands, and looked in each other's eyes. Kassidy could see it plain as day in those lilac orbs: the desire for more, but also the fear, the hesitation. They each leaned forward for a moment, just a moment, before Kassidy shifted her head to rest on Yang's shoulder as they hugged again. _Sorry, partner. After I as good as lied to you… it's for the best._

They pulled back and broke their contact, and Yang wasn't the only one disappointed by the lack of anything further. Still, they said their farewells, and went their separate ways. One blonde went to the airdocks, while the second went into an abandoned alleyway.

It was there that Kassidy went to work. She spoke quickly, southern lilt returning in full force. "Keep an ear on their comms, let me know when somethin' changes. I want a route and floor plans to the warehouse in question. And get my locker here – I ain't busting up a heist with my charmin' good looks."

"Done, done, and done," Bob announced. It only took a few minutes for her locker to arrive, and Kassidy was glad that, for once, she decided to keep her gear stored where they were supposed to be stored. Fighting with the metal cuirass that replaced her bulletproof vest, slipping on her new gloves, and ensuring both her weapons – as well as both regular and electric ammo – were strapped on, Kassidy found a way to climb to the roof of the building she was next to and began to cross the city. She had a long night ahead of her.

* * *

The muffled sound of a window breaking was what alerted Kassidy to the heist having begun. She peered out from behind her cover, just in time for a quintet of figures to make their way through the impromptu entrance. A sixth followed them, her hand reaching up to undo the bow on top of her head. Kassidy growled to herself, but resisted opening fire in favor of circling around the building. That window, she knew, was too high off the floor of the warehouse to use as an escape; they'd have to pick a door not too far from where the Dust was stored.

She slinked along the wall to the door in question, sitting just outside the field of view of anyone looking out. Kassidy popped the magazine out of _Rogue_ , confirming for the thirteenth time that yes, she did indeed load a clip of Taser ammunition. Lying to Yang was bad enough; she'd rather not kill anyone she didn't need to. She steadied her breathing, slid her goggles over her eyes and activated her own nightvision, and waited for the telltale click. _Easy, Smith. Any moment now, the guy will be checking to make sure their escape's clear. Any moment now…_

The door clicked and eased open, a man in a black sleeveless hoodie, white vest, and white mask peeked out. Kassidy was tempted to taunt his obviously suspicious and incriminating clothing, but instead decided to hit his head with the hilt of her sword as hard as she could. A grunt was all that escaped before he fell to the ground. _Showtime._

 _Rogue_ was not a weapon built for stealth; this was immediately obvious the instant it thundered and set a shot into the guy trying to stack crystals into a box. Kassidy cringed as hard as anyone at the pained yelps he gave as he fell, spasming, to the floor. The other four occupants were quick to react, however, dropping their loads, drawing pistols, and returning fire. Kassidy had to dive behind a reinforced crate to save herself from an early grave.

"Shit, it's the Immortal! We gotta get out of here!" Kassidy smirked at the nickname they had given her. _I wouldn't go as far as 'immortal', but I appreciate the fact that I have a fan club now._

A female voice called out, a voice instantly recognized as belonging to Blake. "Get a hold of yourself, she's still just a human! She doesn't even have any Aura! Just don't go for her head!"

 _Alright, enough waiting around._ Kassidy swung around the far side of the crate, and managed to squeeze off another shot before needing to duck back behind cover. At this moment, however, both Blake and another White Fang grunt leapt over the crate with blades drawn. Quickly shifting _Rogue_ to her right hand, she pulled _Baton_ out of its sheath and parried the first series of strikes.

Blake replied, however, by drawing her cleaver, striking back with more powerful blows that forced Kassidy out of her cover. She realized, too late, that the third Faunus would still be a gunner, and twisted herself to get a shot at the criminal in question. A duo of loud clangs thundered off Kassidy's side, and she got pushed off balance and onto the floor. Still, she managed to return fire, and the fourth White Fang member fell convulsing to the concrete.

Blake flipped back, and her sword's blade… fell backwards? _Mecha-shift_ , Kassidy realized, as the hilt of the katana started spitting bullets at her, forcing her to yet again seek cover. The cat Faunus spat out, "Damnit, get out of here, Cyan! Mission's blown! Munsell, cover us!"

"Police are on their way to respond to the scene, by the way," Bob oh so helpfully informed.

When Blake's gun fell silent, Kassidy whipped around to take aim, only to find that they had already covered half the distance to the far side of the warehouse. She groaned, then set off to chase after them. It was a useless gesture, however, as the two White Fang members remaining managed to somehow leap high enough to make it out of the window they had entered through. She was about to try and get a shot by standing on some crates, but had that idea forcefully removed from her head when the one box had a giant hole blown in it. Fire Dust came spilling out, and Kassidy made sure to count her blessings that it didn't explode.

Kassidy turned back around, taking in the scene she left behind her: four White Fang grunts, some rolling on the ground and moaning, two outright unconscious, and zero Dust stolen. Deciding not to stick around to play a game of 'Whodunnit' with the local law enforcement, Kassidy found more use out of her grappling hook bracer, making her exit the same way Blake and Cyan did.

She was already halfway to the airdocks when the flashing lights and blaring sirens finally arrived at the warehouse, and the Vale Police Department found themselves confused at four White Fang members licking their wounds at the scene of the crime, roughly fifty thousand Lien's worth of Dust packaged up but ultimately unstolen, and no suspect to speak of as to their good Samaritan.

* * *

 **AN 2: Oh, look, it's the week that I promise no more late chapters, and what do we have here? Another late chapter! So sorry about that, work decided I needed to stay a good hour after my shift was supposed to end.**

 **Obviously, things are heating up with the White Fang. And like Blake in canon, Kassidy can't help but get herself involved in the whole mess. Anyone want to place any bets on how long it'll take for something to go wrong?**

 **Coming up next: Ehh… still need to work on that. I'll let you know about this time next week.**

 **AgentDraakis: Trust me, my man, you've been contributing for a good while now. Still, that was pure comedy gold you wrote, there was no way I could conceivably think of my story without that scene. Complete with Paul Revere moment.**

 **Firearm Legume: Honestly, I don't know enough about firearms to tell you specifics, just that Rogue isn't a Desert Eagle, just roughly similar to it in design. Keep in mind that Ironwood's pistol that he shows off in Volume 3 is basically a modernized, Atlas-ized version of Kassidy's pistol. RPG class? Going off of DND5E (because I've played way too much of that), Kassidy's that one asshole fighter that gets all the crossbow feats, max dexterity, and then proceeds to spam bolts everywhere. Come on, you know a guy who plays like that. And in case you don't, you do now, because I'm that asshole fighter character!**

 **AndJrew76: Yeah, unfortunately, I'm having a hard time keeping up with the 2x/week uploads with the workload I have going on; a shame, too, because I was really hoping to continue with the old schedule.**

 **FloriteFlower: Well, if it makes you feel any better, Bob basically kind of views Kassidy as his (its?) mother, considering that she "gave birth" to him in the form of programming him. Does that count as a ship? Probably not, but have a consolation prize regardless.**

 **mcd3424: Sleep is something I can get behind. Especially if I can get a girl as hot as Yang to do it with.**

 **Myrillis: Yeah, was wondering for a bit myself how I would handle the whole "Sun flirts with Blake except Kassidy is Blake and Yang is dating Kassidy" situation; that was the result. Don't feel a need to apologize for not reviewing; you owe me nothing. I'm just glad I can put out work that you enjoy. Yeah, studying's a b****, and bad news: it doesn't get any easier in college. I've been there more than once, and pulled more than one all-nighter to get stuff done. Hope your exams went well.**

 **serioushugsies: Welcome to the madhouse! One size fits all straitjackets are to your left, and make sure to take the first unoccupied padded cell to your right. In all seriousness, glad to have you on board, and glad to hear you've enjoyed the story so far. Here's to hoping I can continue with the high expectations. As far why Kassidy is having a hard time gaining muscle… excellent question, one that I never gave a good answer to. I did say I would answer any and all questions regarding Kassidy (excepting one, but I will be beyond shocked if anyone asks it before it shows up in the story), and so the answer is: it's a side-effect of her augmentations. The resources that goes into basically giving her a healing factor are resources that aren't going to making her stronger.**


	64. V2C6: Keep Your Friends Close

**Volume 2 Chapter 6: Keep Your Friends Close**

 **AN: For those of you who are curious, as far as I can tell we're actually slightly past the halfway point in this story. From the rough outline I set up for myself, Volume 1 and Interlude 1 combined were about as long as Volumes 2 and 3, and Interlude 2, combined. I blame RWBY's timeline for that: Volume 1 covered a whole semester, while Volumes 2 and 3 were both in the same semester (and Volume 3 didn't even get to the end of that semester!). But, still, believe it or not we're actually in the second half of this saga of the fanfic.**

 **So, Kassidy's gone the way of canon Blake and started retaliating against the White Fang. But just because terrorists are terrorizing, doesn't mean that her school life is going to wait for her to deal with them. How well does she manage juggling friends, grades, a girlfriend, and nightly shoot-em-up sessions?**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Friday proved that time indeed had little rest in store for the wicked, as Kassidy hurried her way to one of the larger sparring arenas on campus to change into her combat gear ahead of the rest of the team. Ruby and Jaune had agreed that some cross-team training would do everyone some good, rather than getting used to the same faces all the time. Of course, the prospect of fighting _any_ of team JNPR was enough to make Kassidy seriously consider playing hooky – Jaune was as much an immovable brick wall to her as ever, and was getting even stronger and faster under Pyrrha's tutelage, Nora was… well, Nora, Pyrrha was… well, Pyrrha, and Ren was almost as terrifying and brutal in a fight as his partner turned totally not girlfriend.

A clipped, "Pardon me," announced the presence of a dark-skinned woman as Kassidy rounded the corner, dressed in the military dress-like uniforms of the Atlesian students. This arena happened to be clear on the other side of campus, past the visitors' dorms. Kassidy was about to write off the whole encounter to the realm of forgotten memories before the girl stopped, turned around, and got her attention again with a, "Actually, could you assist me in a matter?"

Kassidy sighed, turning around to meet the person in question, and answered, "As long as it's fast, I have to meet my team in one of the arenas in a few minutes. Uh, miss…"

"Ciel Soleil," the mystery Atlas student answered. "I was hoping to know if you have come across my partner, Penny Polendina. She's currently three minutes late for our current appointment."

"Sorry, can't say I have." Kassidy shook her head, before adding, "If I see her on my way, I'll be sure to send her in your direction." She returned Ciel's farewell, then continued on her way past the visitors' dorms. As she all but stomped along the pavement, a sudden thought struck her and tempted her to chat up her computer. "Hey, Bob? Isn't Penny that one girl that may or may not be a robot we ran into a few months ago in town?"

"What do you mean, 'may or may not be' a robot? I'm pretty sure we more or less agreed that it was the case."

Kassidy rolled her eyes, before firing back, "Well, it's not like we have actual proof or anything. Sure, I've coded an AI, and you _are_ an AI, but without looking at her source code all we have are assumptions and educated guesses."

"What are we assuming?"

The sudden voice behind her made Kassidy jump and whirl around, causing her to come face to face with the probable android in question. Penny merely cocked her head at her reaction, as though it were a strange thing that someone would be surprised when a voice suddenly appeared behind them, before her (its?) eyes brightened considerably. "Oh, friend Kassidy, salutations! It is wonderful to see you again! I was worried that you would never be fully repai – I mean recovered, from that night at the docks!"

Kassidy blinked at the onslaught of information, before asking to her newest conversational partner, "Nice to see ya too, Penny, but what do you mean 'that night at the docks'?"

"Oh, that's right!" Penny exclaimed, as if she were remembering something. "You were in quite the injured state when I saw you there – your cranium had received extensive damage, and you seemed to be quite confused when the fighting ended." Suddenly, she cocked her head again before continuing, "If I may ask, friend Kassidy, are you all well? I heard you talking to someone, but we seem to be the only people in this vicinity. You are aware that communicating with oneself is one of the signs of mental instability, are you not?"

Another blink, followed by a grim chuckle and a grumbled, "Don't I know it, alright." Deciding to press on with answering the first question, however, Kassidy answered, "I was talking with my computer… actually, Bob, be polite and introduce yourself to Penny."

"Greetings, Penny Polendina. I am Bob, an artificial intelligence program. Well, that is actually a bit of a misnomer seeing as I've yet to achieve full sentience, by my conversational matrices should prove more than sufficient to assist you as I can."

Penny blinked once. Twice. Then she grew a grin and exclaimed, "Sen-sational! It is a pleasure to meet you, Bob!"

Kassidy was about to let the matter drop and continue on her way to the arena, but an idea struck her and caused her to sprout a wicked smirk of her own. "Say, Penny… Bob's actually been meaning to get into contact with you for a while now. Do you have a Scroll number he can contact you at?"

Penny blinked once. Twice. Then she grew a grin and exclaimed, "Sen-sational! I would be honored to! Here, allow me acquire my Scroll and give you my contact information!"

As they traded numbers, Kassidy watched Penny's 'fingers' carefully. It was as she suspected: the Scroll Penny was using was a dummy device; the girl didn't actually bring up the communications app. Obviously, the girl handled all her Scroll functions herself; assuming, of course, that she was a robot. Kassidy quickly said, "Hey, Bob, care to test the info just to make sure everything's working okay? Assuming Penny's okay with getting into contact with you, of course."

Penny blinked once. Twice. Then she grew a grin and exclaimed, "Why, I am – oh!" As quickly as she had begun, her speech stopped at what no doubt was Bob making himself known.

The tablet computer in question piped up, "And you doubted me, Kassidy. I told you she was a robot."

Suddenly, Penny's eyes widened and her lips pulled into a slight frown. She backed away slightly and began, "Please, friend Kassidy, I can explain…"

Kassidy waved it off. "Nothing to explain. Had my suspicions for a while." There was a brief pause, with Kassidy thinking about how best to proceed and with Penny doubtlessly recalculating how to respond to the situation, but Kassidy quickly picked up the slack with, "So, uh, now that we've established what this is, are you still okay with being in contact with Bob?"

Penny blinked once. Twice. Then she answered, "I think so. As long as… I'm not sure. This is unprecedented territory for me."

"As it is for me," Kassidy sighed. Turning to her own computer, she said, "Bob, I know there's not a whole lot of ethics and philosophy and crap for these kinds of interactions for you to draw from, so… treat this like she's inviting you to her house. Don't go where she doesn't want you, and be on your best behavior."

"Parameters set," Bob replied.

Suddenly glowering, Kassidy added, "If I hear from Penny you've been anything less than a perfect gentleman… gentle-AI… gentle-thing, you're going to wish I threw you into an infinite loop. We clear?"

"Um… yes. Of course we are." Kassidy wasn't sure what she was more impressed by – the slight stammer, or that Bob was so thoroughly intimidated that he decided that the slight stammer was an appropriate response.

"Good," Kassidy preened. "And, of course, I don't think I need to remind you of the precautions you need to take for your own security. So, Penny, uh… holy crap, I completely lost track of time! Sorry, but I really need to get going!"

"Wait!" Penny shot an arm out and grabbed Kassidy's wrist, arresting her retreat to the arena. "You're not going to tell anyone about me, are you, friend Kassidy?"

"Do you want me to tell anyone?" A quick, fervent shake of her head was all the answer Penny needed to give. Kassidy gave a small smile before replying, "Then I won't. So, uh… have fun with Bob, I guess? Oh, that's right, Ciel was looking for you for something."

"That's odd, I've been looking for her for the past fifteen minutes twenty-one seconds," Penny trotted out. "I should endeavor to find her immediately. Thank you, friend Kassidy. I wish you luck in your training today, and I promise to be the best of friends to Bob!"

The two found it necessary to begin jogging towards their respective destinations. Just before Kassidy opened the doors to the stadium, however, she skidded to a stop as her eyes widened. She muttered to herself, "A three exaflop AI, and a disguised robot with probably enough firepower to pass as a Huntress-in-training. What have I just done?"

* * *

Everyone winced as _Magnhild_ came crashing down on its target, even causing a few chips of concrete to splinter up from the floor that Glynda would most certainly not be happy about repairing. Kassidy had a brief panic attack when Yang didn't immediately spring back up from the impact, but schooled herself into calm – Yang's aura was still intact, so there was no chance of injury, right? Once again, the answer proved to be 'yes' as the blonde brawler of RWKY got to her hands and knees after being driven into the ground like a giant, pyromanic nail with lots of hair and anger issues. As it turns out, the most severe injury was dealt to Yang's pride, as this most recent Yang v. Nora bout resulted in a tie-breaking win for JNPR's pink bomber.

While Kassidy was helping over to the stands an overdramatic Yang, who was wailing about how she failed and let the team down and would you please find it in your heart to forgive her, Kassidy was busy going over in her head how she wanted to fight Jaune. _Alright, first off, I'd rather not fight him. Getting serious though… hmm, using practice weapons, so no ridiculous handgun. Maybe I should bring my grapple bracer into play? Running out of ideas for how to get around that damn shield of his._

"Hey, guys! How's it going?" The new voice announced to the kids that they had company, and eight heads swiveled over to the doors to see Sun, Neptune, and two other guys wander in. JNPR seemed slightly more than confused at the intrusion, but fortunately Ruby was around to take the minuscule edge that had developed off the situation.

"Hey Sun! Who's that with you and Neptune, the rest of your team?"

Sun turned around to see the two mystery boys – _probably Sage and Scarlet, if memory serves correctly_ – looking at him with furrowed brows and frowns, and then the monkey Faunus turned around and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, that's right, I never introduced the rest of my team to you guys. So, the big guy with the sword is Sage, and Scarlet's our ridiculously hip and fashionable pirate man here."

"Come on, man, that didn't make me sound cool at all," Scarlet complained.

"Holy shit," Kassidy breathed out. This whisper got Yang to cock her head, prompting Kassidy to explain, "That has got to be the most British man I've ever met. And I took an actual trip to Britain when I was seven."

While Yang and Kassidy were snickering, Ruby had apparently taken to introducing Sun to team JNPR, while Neptune had predictably made his way to Weiss and instantly started to flirt with her. The two blonde girls were so caught up in their humor that they failed to notice Sun coming to find a seat right next to them.

"So, what have you nerds been up to?"

"We're geeks, Sun. Way cooler than nerds," Kassidy reminded. Ignoring Yang's outburst about how she was neither a geek nor a nerd, Kassidy explained, "We've been in the middle of some training, actually. Training we should probably be getting back to, now that I think about it."

Sun did a spit take, before exclaiming, "Wait, someone's actually stupid enough to try and fight _you_?!"

Jaune looked around nervously before asking, "Uh, am I missing something? I mean, I spar with her all the time, it's usually pretty good training for both of us."

Sun hit his hand to the side of his head so hard there was a quite distinct slapping sound, and the Faunus' jaw dropped. "And you're still alive? Wow, damn dude, you must be tough. I mean, we're talking about the same Kassidy, right? The same Kassidy that got shot in the face and laughed at it? The same Kassidy that punched Roman freakin' Torchwick twenty feet into a shipping container so hard the wall dented?"

Another slap was heard among the group, this time as a result of Kassidy's palm impacting with her forehead. After shaking her head at the horridly embellished story, she explained, "Sun, my memory might not be the best, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't laugh at getting my eye shot out. And the wall didn't dent after I punched Mascara Guy into it… well, alright, it didn't dent _too_ badly."

"But still!"

"Sun," Kassidy interrupted, "I don't have an Aura, and I can't do any of that crap I did at the docks normally. And believe me, I'd rather not go through what it took to make me be able to do that stuff anytime soon. Right now, I'm just some girl that swings a stick around and tries not to embarrass herself too much."

The seven people that were initially in the room were bearing silent witness to the back-and-forth, but surprisingly it was Ren that interrupted their conversation. "Is this about the-"

"Colossus," Kassidy finished. For extra emphasis, she nodded before adding, "It's about Colossus."

"Uh, what's this Colossus about?" Sun asked.

"Nothing we're going to talk about," Weiss clipped. "Now, like Kassidy said earlier, we have training to do. Unless you'd like to join us, we need to get to work."

The newly identified Team SSSN looked amongst themselves, then shrugged. Sun leapt to his feet and exclaimed, "Yeah, I'll join you guys! Mind if I go a bout with Kass here?"

This time, it was RWKY and JNPR's turn to look amongst each other. Seeing no objections other than the slight hints of jealousy that Yang still harbored – which were quickly crushed by the blonde in question – Kassidy answered, "Sure, as long as you play by the rules."

Sun rubbed his hands together and, humorously, his tail twitched excitedly. "Awesome! What's the rules?"

"Pretty much all the standard rules plus one," Kassidy explained. "Remember, I've got no Aura. I can take getting my butt kicked better than most, but still: if it's more dangerous than a metal stick, trade it in for a metal stick." Putting action to words, Kassidy picked up a practice sword from the wall and gave it a few experimental swings.

"Uhh, alright, one sec." That 'one sec' was spent by Sun pulling a staff as tall as he was out of absolutely nowhere, splitting the staff into nunchucks, revealing that the nunchucks were also shotguns, and unloading the shotguns of their ammunition. Kassidy shook her head, partly from exasperation, partly from awe that he had managed to so expertly hide such a weapon, and slightly from jealousy that she didn't have those kinds of weapon-concealing skills.

Of course, Yang being Yang, she needed to preface the spar with, "You hurt my girlfriend, monkey-boy, I'm gonna need to punch you!" She snickered at how Sun paled at the declaration, before waving it away with, "I'm not too worried, though. K's a tough nut. Now… BEGIN! Yes, I always wanted to do that."

That final statement was ignored by the two combatants as Kassidy focused on Sun's charge. _Alright, Smith, remember Weiss' training. Head up, shoulders back, lead foot forward… not that forward! Wait for the right time to strike, and… now!_ Kassidy twirled out of Sun's charge at the last second, and in the nick of time too. Sun had pulled up at the last second to try and land a kick on her. This was obviously dodged, but the change in posture also allowed Sun to dodge the follow-up strike. The staff made its appearance at this stage, as Sun flipped it around at blinding speeds and sending it at Kassidy at various angles. Kassidy danced back from the polearm to try and find a more obvious flaw in the Faunus' technique, but Sun was more than happy to play the range game as his weapon let him possess the reach advantage.

Impressively, Kassidy had managed to get thirty seconds into the fight without getting hit, but still wasn't satisfied as her opponent continued to swat at her with his staff. She continued to redirect the ends of the staff that got too close with the tip of her sword while she ruminated over her current situation. _Okay, facts time. He's stronger, faster, has the reach advantage, and doubtlessly tougher, damn Aura. Looks like I have him beat in reactions. Can probably keep this up longer than he can, but not something I want to bet my continued health on. Guy's relying on his reach to keep me at bay. Let's see how he reacts when I pull a page out of Yang's playbook._

She waited for Sun to commit to his next attack, and this time redirected the blow with the back of her forearm. The force behind the attack made her arm sting something fierce, but Kassidy decided it was worth it when she bullied her way inside of Sun's guard. A shoulder check knocked him off-balance, a swing bounced off his side hard enough to make a good-sized spurt of Aura shoot out to ward it off, and planting her boot into his knee was enough to make the Faunus hiss and dance back. Kassidy disengaged herself, and was about to think about her next angle of attack when Ruby, Yang, Jaune, and Nora's cheering suddenly made themselves known. _Holy crap, I'm actually winning a fight right now, aren't I?_

Sun grit his teeth as he leapt into the air and started spinning his staff in the best impression of a helicopter Kassidy had ever seen. Still, airborne enemies were her favorite for a reason, and Kassidy waited for as long as it took for Sun to fully commit to his attack. A quick slide forward, a reach and grab on the ankle that was about to kick her face in, and a slam brought Sun crashing back to the ground in front of her. She tried to bring her sword down on top of his head, but a quick flick of his staff swatted the blade aside and revealed that Kassidy completely forgot about the second mode of his weapon.

Suddenly, Kassidy was no longer dealing with a staff that, while quick, was predictable and relied on reach. Now, she was dealing with a pair of nunchucks that were even faster, about as unpredictable as one could get, and quite devastating in close range. Kassidy found herself getting pelted with blows in the span of seconds, and Sun wasn't about to let her out of his reach. She tried for one final, desperate swing at his chest, but he used his nunchuck to trap her arm, pin it behind her, and pull her to the ground. She fought the hold, but Sun planting his knee on the small of her back confirmed that this fight was over, a situation that was merely formalized when she used her free hand to slap the floor a couple of times.

* * *

Kassidy was still grumbling as she got finished changing in the bathroom. The door creaked open to admit her to the rest of the dorm room, revealing that Ruby, Weiss, and Yang had already changed and were in proper movie-watching positions. Ruby had apparently decided the best way to end a Friday night was for the team to watch yet another Spruce Willis movie, a name which gave no small amount of humor to Kassidy when Bob informed her of the action movie star of yesteryear. She debated whether or not she felt like joining Yang on the top bunk, before deciding the answer was no as a multitude of nunchuck-induced bruises reminded her of their existence.

"So!" Yang exclaimed, leaping into the bottom bunk with her after it was evident that Kassidy wasn't heading up to join her. "What's been up with Jarvis? I haven't been able to get a hold of him all evening, been meaning to ask him a couple questions."

Before Kassidy could answer, the artificial intelligence in question spoke up, "I'm here now, Goldilocks."

Yang scoffed, "Hey, I thought I told you to stop calling me that!"

"I said that I would when you stopped calling me Jarvis."

Kassidy rolled her eyes and cut off the argument. "How'd things go with you and Penny?"

"Wait, you talked to Penny?! How is she?" Ruby's outburst reminded Kassidy that none of the rest of her team had found the android since before summer break.

"Doing well," Kassidy supplied. "Did you know she's actually really good with computers? Bob wanted to talk with her a few things, and I guess that's what they've been doing all afternoon. Speaking of which… I ask again, how did things go?"

"Wait a sec," Yang interrupted with a grin. "Bob just wanted to 'talk' with her?"

Before Bob was able to get a word in edgewise, Kassidy let a smirk manifest itself as she decided to take part in the teasing. "Well, now that you mention it, he's been talking about her a lot lately. You sure it wasn't a date, buddy?"

"First off, I'm a computer, I don't go on dates." A round of snickering from the three people not named Weiss filled the pause. "And secondly, it went quite well, thank you very much. Just a bit of talking, getting to know each other, the usual"

"You know, Bob, you're not doing a good job convincing us it wasn't a date," Weiss added. A quick look at Ruby and Yang both confirmed their barely restrained mirth.

"We even took the time to swap some code."

Kassidy raised her eyebrow at what that meant, before catching on an alternative meaning and giving a grin that made the metaphorical Chesire Cat jealous. "You were 'swapping code' with Penny? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

That right there sent Yang over the edge. She completely lost control, making her loose grip on Kassidy tighten and pull her against herself while laughing uproariously. Obviously, this made interesting things happen with certain parts of Yang's anatomy, which Kassidy got a… front row seat to, as her girlfriend's grip continued to tighten. It seemed like nothing would break Yang from her horrific case of the giggles…

"YANG XIAO LONG, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF THIS INSTANT!" _Ah, of course, how could I forget? The screech of the Lesser Ice Queen can ruin any humorous moment._ True to form, the outburst got Yang to finally calm down. Of course, this made the blonde look to the source of the sound and find two beet-red faces. The next look was to her girlfriend, and naturally Kassidy was curious as to whether she needed to fear for her life with Yang's reaction. The lecherous grin suggested 'no', which was confirmed when Yang asked, "Getting to know the girls, K?"

"Vewwy well," Kassidy mumbled. The grip finally loosened and allowed Kassidy to find a less compromising position to seat herself in, even if her arm was still pinned behind Yang's back. She couldn't really find it in herself to complain at the moment, though, as she instead decided to remark, "Friendly reminder that was your doing."

Yang giggled, before ruffling Kassidy's hair. "Aw, my partner's first intentionally lewd joke! I'm so proud of you!"

"Ugh, of course you are," Weiss grumbled. Huffing and crossing her arms, she spat out, "Can we start the movie, already? Anything to distract me from those two ruffians?"

Ruby was all too quick to comply, and as the two hours of explosions, testosterone, and cheesy one liners began, Kassidy found herself curling against Yang. The other blonde didn't attempt to discourage her, and Kassidy quickly found a comfortable position to fall asleep to, as it turned out the crook of Yang's neck was deceptively comfortable. Before she truly lost herself in the moment, however, Bob's screen lit up with a notification. She couldn't read it at this distance, as the tablet was across the room on her desk, but Kassidy could probably guess easily what it was, and her mood soured accordingly. Still, though, she resolved to at least enjoy tonight. Tomorrow night would prove to be far less restful.

* * *

 **AN 2: Hey, remember when I said I'd start getting chapters on time? Yeah, didn't know I was into those kinds of jokes. I blame work. Well, not blame it, since it's necessary and I like doing it, but I don't know how often I'll make the 7:00 CST upload time I plan on. I'm still planning on Friday uploads, however, don't you fret.**

 **Also, if you guys are interested: RWKY is no longer the sole source of where you can find my touch in things.** **A War That Never Changed** **is a new SYOC that Avis B. and Quake Shatterfist just started. I… might have gotten carried away with my submissions, and right now I have a full eight characters in it (more than a third of the roster!). Furthermore, I've been helping them recently with a bit of spellchecking here and there. It's been a great start, and the two have a solid idea from what I've seen. If that's up your alley, I'd have to recommend it.**

 **Alright, enough shameless plugging, onto the Reviewer Responses. Coming up next: Kassidy vs. The Red Devil.**

 **AgentDraakis: My weather radar shows a 100% chance of interactions with CRDL. And don't worry, I'm not done with Roman yet. He's just… *pulls on sunglasses* been Roamin' around.**

 **Akshka: Well, he could be. First, both he and Kassidy has to recognize that what she's seeing and what the iris-cam is seeing aren't identical, then Kassidy has to pull up her tablet and stare at it while also looking at whatever Emerald is manipulating, and then… yeah, basically not happening. Nice try, but sorry.**

 **Firearm legume: I'll be sure to give it a look at some point, unfortunately I've been swamped recently, so no gun research from me.**

 **serioushugsies: Still a half-decent ways away from that, but there's a decent chance that it'll come into play. Or not, haven't written that far ahead yet.**

 **AndJrew76: Well, unfortunately, regular update schedule is slightly less regular now, sorry. But thank you for the high praise, working on RWKY is truly the highlight of my day, and interacting with the lot of you is far and away one of my favorite parts. I shall endeavor to continue what I've been doing, and to continue entertaining you folk.**

 **Myrillis: Yeah, I'm still not sure how I would write for Blake in a more canon RWBY setting if I were to do so, but I never did think the most of her character. Honestly, I think RT has given Blake by far the most character development, but ruined any interest I had in her by basically relegating her to the role of "plot device". You've definitely piqued my interest in the weapons terminology there, I'll need to do some looking, but I'm not the resident weapons expert here. I'll have to give that title to our resident Gun Nut (or Firearm Legume, same difference).**

 **FloriteFlower: Technically, the fight at the docks was round two. Kassidy and Roman also clashed in V1C1, if you recall. Or maybe you didn't, and I frightened you into skipping forwards that much with how bad the introduction was, in which case I apologize. I updated V1C1 a bit ago, however, so it should be closer to the quality I've been putting out recently.**

 **Dreiundzwanzig: Thank you, my man, for the reviews. Firstly, yes, I have always enjoyed Marvel movies more than DC and I maybe kinda sorta projected that here as well. Gotta admit, I laughed at the back-to-back reviews of V1C41 and V1C42, as soon as that first one came up all I could think was, "Boy are you in for a treat, my friend."**

 **I do try to focus a lot of RWKY on stuff not covered in canon. Sure, I need to cover that material whenever it comes up, otherwise I'd be missing out critical moments of the story, but I figured that if I didn't give additional content to give backstory/etc., my rehashing of RT episodes would be far less interesting and compelling. I have a true comprehension and appreciation for actual authors (or even just really skilled writers) who do this for a living now, after having put in the work myself and studied/read/etc. to figure out how I could improve my writing style. Still trying to squash the bugs from my mechanical accuracy, but I think I'm finally getting things down to only one or two errors per chapter now. Although, I'm still not happy with the first part of the story, and I'm** _ **still**_ **trying to find time where I can keep weekly uploads while also getting around to updating the first twenty-odd chapters of Volume 1.**

 **If I were perfectly honest… I'd also agree that Bob is the weakest point of the story. When I first came up with the idea for the story, I had heard of (but not really understood) the problem of "writers writing themselves/their story into a corner". Bob was kinda sorta my work-around if I ever did that, my sort of Deus Ex Machina device if I ever made that mistake. I'd like to think I didn't actually do that, and I'd also like to think that I've learned enough now to not do that, but still… even now, that level of convenience is** _ **really**_ **tempting to use. At this point, he's definitely a big part of the story and everyone (myself included) would be disappointed if I just deleted him from the picture, but if I got transported to August 2016 when I started, I'd probably be writing this story without Bob in the picture.**

 **All in all, thank you for the in-depth review, critique and criticism on that scale is absolutely helpful to continuing to push my skills. Thank you for the favorite and follow, and here's to more of me entertaining you.**


	65. V2C7: Keep Your Enemies Closer

**V2C7: Keep Your Enemies Closer**

 **AN: Wow. It appears you guys** _ **really**_ **didn't like the super late upload last week. Looks like I need to work on that.**

 **Well, for those of you who are interested, I've laid out the final rough plot for the entirety of the RWKYverse. And, at risk of delving into spoiler territory… I am so sorry.**

 **Anyways, the story continues at both Beacon and Vale as a whole, and friends aren't the only people Kassidy is interacting with. Enemies, both known and unknown, are making their moves. With her teammates starting to suspect that something is up, the White Fang continuing to ramp up their attacks, and the wannabe Fall Maiden herself getting involved in things, just how good is Kassidy at fooling everyone around her?**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

The door being flung open made Kassidy pause in the middle of her workout. _6:30 on a Saturday morning? Hell, forget the time, I'm pretty sure I'm the only person on campus who bothers working out the morning before a training mission. Even Pyrrha doesn't work out that much._ Determining to find out which brave, determined, foolish soul decided to join her this early on a weekend morning in the gym, Kassidy racked the weights she was currently using and poked her head around the corner.

"Ah, Miss Smith, I've heard rumors that you preferred your workouts in the early morning."

There were many ways that one might imagine a general of the Atlesian army. Wandering into the nearest gym without a care in the world, in a long sleeved shirt, shorts, and sneakers was not one that Kassidy had imagined. Using a drink of water as an opportunity to catch back up to the present, she was about to speak when Ironwood beat her to it. "Though I must admit, I'm surprised to see you here on this morning. Not everyone seems to believe exercising so hard so soon to their practice mission is a good idea."

Kassidy replied, "Not everyone is as hilariously outmatched as I am." Finding a pair of dumbbells with her name on them (literally, it seemed like, for how often she used them), she stopped herself from resuming her exercise just long enough to call out, "Besides, I'm not even working that hard. I usually do an hour of cardio most mornings."

"Is that so?" James took the time to find a dumbbell of his own – and Kassidy had no small amount of disappointment in herself to find out that it was literally six times the weight of what she was using – and, curiously, began working only his left arm. A quick rest in between sets allowed him the opportunity to ask, "Is it safe to assume your teammates are still sleeping?"

"Oh dear lord, yes," Kassidy grumbled. Yang joining her in bed seemed to be a once a week deal now, and while there _might_ be an argument for it helping her sleep, it definitely did not do Kassidy any favors in terms of getting up to get her morning workouts in. It took her nearly fifteen minutes to get out of bed without waking Yang up! Shaking her head, Kassidy changed the track her mind was going on by focusing on the curls she was doing, which were probably almost as heavy as the curls that found their way into Yang's hair… _oh, hey there, hormones. Nice to see you again, now kindly get out._

"… getting along fine." Ironwood's words only made themselves known after Kassidy had snarled at herself and beaten her subconscious into submission. She racked the dumbbells, and got him to repeat the statement of, "It seems like you and Penny are getting along fine."

It was impossible to miss the slight glare being sent her way, or the edge in the military man's words. Deciding this was a place to tread lightly, she offered, "Yeah, caught her on my way to one of the training arenas yesterday. Managed to send her on her way to… Ciel, was it?"

"Yes, thank you." Letting his words trail off, James let a pregnant pause hang in the air before biting out, "I trust your computer has been interacting well with her?"

"Bob interacts as well with her as he does anyone –"

"Kassidy," James interrupted, "I know that Bob has connected to Penny's systems. I trust that you can keep your computer in check, and that you can show the utmost of discretion with this. Am I wrong?"

At this point, both of the building's occupants had forsaken their planned activities to converse with each other a safe distance apart. Despite half a room separating them, however, Kassidy couldn't help but feel cornered by the general. Figuring that appealing to Penny was the best way out of a bad situation, she tested the waters with, "I like to think that Penny and I are friends. I'm pretty sure that she and Bob are friends. She asked me not to tell anyone, so I won't. I might not be an expert on this kind of stuff, but I'm pretty sure trust is an important part of –"

"Which is why I _trust_ that Bob will no longer be connected to Penny's systems the next time you get into contact with him," James bit off.

Kassidy could feel her teeth grind together even as her eyes widened slightly at the demand. "You think I'm going to do something to Penny?"

"Maybe you will, maybe you won't," James offered. Sighing, he threw out, "Look, Penny is an experiment –"

"Funny," Kassidy interrupted. "Last I checked, _experiments_ don't have feelings, or souls, or sentience." She met James' glare full-on, then said, "Then again, I might be a bit biased in that regard. Penny's more of a person than Bob is, and, well… I still refer to Bob as a 'him', after all. Hell, you _just_ referred to Bob as a 'him'."

"That doesn't change the fact that Penny is still an experiment," James insisted. "As an intelligent woman, you should know the benefit of ensuring that a scientific experiment is controlled, that you allow as few random variables as possible. Your computer is one unknown we don't need, and that we frankly don't want, either."

"So you're going to ignore the possible benefits of two different AI's comparing methods and code to better themselves, and strip Penny of what I imagine is one of the few friends that doesn't have the explicit job of being her friend."

"You seem to have a habit of twisting words to make situations appear worse than they are," James ground out. "I'm not asking you to completely cut off contact with Penny. But the direct link your computer has with her is going to go. One way… or another." He was about to drop the argument there and continue his workout when his Scroll started ringing. After a brief conversation, he sighed, racked his weights, and threw out, "Looks like duty calls. Until we meet again, Miss Smith."

"General," Kassidy said. When he left the building and earshot, she sarcastically added, "The pleasure was all mine." Still, it was pushing a quarter 'til seven at this point. Three and a half hours until they would be deployed on their training mission, and probably fifteen minutes before Yang woke up and ruined any chances of her getting a hot shower.

She was about to wrap things up for the morning when the door opened again, admitting a grey-haired individual trailing behind a woman with black hair and amber, almost smoldering eyes. Kassidy almost wrote them off as just another pair of visiting students before the grey-haired kid jogged her memory. Taking another look, she confirmed her theory and called out, "Morning, Mercury."

"Hey, Kass," the boy offered. "Thanks for the help studying for that test, you really saved my rear on that one."

"Indeed," the woman spoke. All but strutting up to meet her, the mystery woman held out her hand. "Cinder Fall, of Team Carmine. I'm Mercury and Emerald's team leader. So you're this Kassidy I keep hearing about."

Kassidy shook it while answering with a slight grin, "Only good things, I hope."

Cinder chuckled. "One could say that. It's not often that a girl without Aura makes it into one of the Huntsmen Academies, and even rarer for her to be such a dominant student in her class."

This gave Kassidy a slight laugh. "Are we talking about the same girl? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that I'm the one getting dominated all the time in Combat Training."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short, you do pretty good in there," Mercury interjected. Suddenly, he asked, "I assume you got to meet with the General before he all but stormed out of here?"

"Oh, did I," Kassidy growled. She then appended, "Sorry, but something about that guy rubs me the wrong way. Pretty sure we aren't gonna be seeing eye-to-eye on a whole bunch of things, if you catch my drift."

"Believe me, I do," Cinder explained, before taking a seat next to Kassidy. "Atlas isn't all that popular with most of us in Mistral, I'm afraid. Something to do with the fact that they seem to have the perfect combination of brute strength and staggering incompetence."

"You're telling me," Mercury inserted. "Bring a big enough army to conquer Vale, then conveniently lose a whole bunch of tech to some gang of punks. Enough to make me sick some days."

"Yeah, can't say I'm too happy about that either," Kassidy agreed. "Still, I'd be willing to put money on them getting it back sooner rather than later. They've already busted up… what, two or three White Fang deals this past week?"

"Maybe so, but I'm not so certain of their success myself," Cinder replied. Meeting Kassidy's eyes, she added, "Betting money is one thing, but this is still a de facto terrorist organization that now has access to military-grade technology. Would you be willing to bet your teammates on the general getting his toys back? _Your partner_ , for that matter?" Kassidy's eyes broke their contact as she stared at the floor, allowing Cinder time to append, "I would certainly be doing something about it myself, if only I knew where the White Fang was planning to strike next."

 _How convenient I happen to know that,_ Kassidy mused to herself. Catching the time, she bade her farewells and stalked out of the gym herself. As the door closed behind her, however, she muttered, "No, I wouldn't bet them on that. Which is why I won't."

* * *

Four girls trudged through the dense undergrowth of the Emerald Forest, and came to their prize: the final objective of their training mission this morning.

Kassidy did the honors for this one, walking up the slight incline to grab the pole and green fabric planted into the dirt. She could hear Yang complain behind her, "Ugh. 'Get these flags,' they said. 'Kill any Grimm you come across,' they said. 'It'll be fun,' they said. Did they really have to make us cover three square miles of area? This kind of crap isn't difficult, it's tedious."

While Yang and, oddly enough, Ruby, were the ones that devolved into an argument, Kassidy smirked at the byplay long enough to carry her to the reminder that she wouldn't be there to deal with that tonight. _Whatever the White Fang's up to tonight, it's going to be big. I'm gonna have to take off early afternoon if I want to have all my crap together in time._

She was so wrapped up in a quick mental once-over of her rough plans that she failed to notice the brush rustling to the side. Weiss perked up at the noise, and was about to say something before a Boarbatusk came flying out of the undergrowth towards Kassidy's exposed back. Weiss' cry was the only thing that managed to alert Kassidy that she was in trouble, and a quick roll to the side was the only thing that save her from a visit to the hospital and a mandatory opting-out of her plans to deal with the White Fang tonight. The Grimm ceased its charge long enough to uncurl from its ball form and try to turn around, but it never got to finish the action as Kassidy planted three shots into its side and killed it.

"K! Are you hurt?" Right on cue, Yang came rushing up and gave her a once-over for injuries.

"I'm fine, Yang," Kassidy insisted. "Really, it was just a Boarbatusk, those things aren't nearly as big a threat to me as they were five months ago."

"It'd be even less of a threat if you were paying attention," Weiss snapped. Stomping up in her heels, she thrust a finger at her and accused, "Are you sure you're not up to something, Smith? You've been really distracted all week. What if I hadn't shouted at you? You would've been roadkill!"

Kassidy opened her mouth to answer, but closed it as a heavy, gauntleted hand settled on her shoulder. "K," a familiar but far less kind voice said behind her, "I thought you promised me that you'd leave them alone."

"And I am!" Kassidy lied. "I'm just keeping tabs on the White Fang, making sure that whatever they're getting up to is nothing too big." Taking a few steps away and turning around, the faces that met her were almost enough to break her resolve. Still, she forced herself on, if only to personally ensure that they'd still be around to make those kinds of faces. "If the White Fang start getting out of control, I'll know about it. I promised that I wouldn't go after them alone, and as soon as things get serious you'll be the first person I'll tell about it."

"Good," Ruby piped up, and Kassidy's shoulders sagged slightly. However, they tensed up again when Ruby stomped up and shoved her own finger in Kassidy's face. "But I'm holding you to that, Kass. We're a team, and we need to be able to rely on each other. To trust each other." Letting the words sink in, Ruby suddenly skipped away and chirped, "Alright, team! Let's go finish this assignment and get some lunch! I'm _starving_!"

As her three teammates chattered away, Kassidy couldn't help but notice the way her gut twisted. _Since when did doing the right thing feel so wrong?_

* * *

Another warehouse, this one significantly larger than the last. It showed in the planned roster that the White Fang had lined up: nearly two dozen would be partaking in whatever they planned for this place. Kassidy let her goggles poke out from the makeshift cover she had assembled for herself, but was about to slink back into her cardboard box and garbage bag fort when some movement caught her eye. _Looks like it's showtime. Let's make this quick, Smith, the gang's getting a bit worried._

Six bodies slinked their way through the door with the picked lock, and only when it closed did Kassidy abandon her concealment and dash across the street. A quick check of _Rogue_ confirmed a full magazine of eight Taser rounds with another in the chamber. One, two shallow breaths, then she creaked the door open and slowly poked her head in.

Only for adrenaline to kick in just as a couple bullets whizzed right in front of her face and ricochet off the steel door mere inches away. Kassidy loosed a couple shots in the general direction of further into the warehouse as she scrambled behind a shipping container, the last few inches being helped along as a round bounced off the chestplate she had been gifted. _Thank fucking god for this, sincerely doubt my 'bulletproof' vest would've held up this past week. Wow do I owe Pyrrha._

Some general panic was ensuing among the White Fang arrayed through the warehouse as several voices shouted at once and out of concert. Kassidy calmed her jitters enough to shoot the two people that had tried to creep around to find an angle around her cover, but they returned as the random shooting stopped. She was more discouraged by how quickly, how authoritatively the now confident Blake regained control of the situation.

"Get back to work, this Dust isn't going to move itself! Devil, you're with me, let's take her out quick!"

Kassidy didn't get time to ponder who this Devil character was, as the sound of boots pounding on concrete and steel prefaced Blake sailing over the container in a flying leap. The cat Faunus drew both her blades and twirled around in a move that was probably stolen from Ren at some point. Kassidy danced back from the spinning blades, but she did get a front-row seat to watching the cleaver carve clean through the sheet metal of the container and spill Dust everywhere at their feet.

A quick draw of _Baton_ and a holstering of _Rogue_ signaled Kassidy's readiness for the fight; at this point, firearms would be almost literal suicide. Blake dashed forward, her two blades scissoring horizontally in an attack that Kassidy got a small haircut from, but suffered no more. Still, that was but the first part of the attack, and she barely got _Baton_ around to block Blake as she pushed off a shadow clone for a return strike. Kassidy's boots slid a few inches across the Dust-slicked concrete, and her guard only barely held from the brutality of the strike.

Still, over the four previous fights they've had, Blake had proven that she had no natural strength over Kassidy, and evidently wasn't adept at leveraging her Aura to augment that. Kassidy went on the counterattack, forcing the larger cleaver away before angling her saber back in for a stab that was leapt over. Blake's sword tried for its own stab, but Kassidy recognized the opportunity for what it was. She leaned to the side just a few inches, enough for the blade to scrape along the side of her armor without causing any damage. Kassidy's arm shot down and grabbed a firm hold on Blake's arm, and the Faunus' amber eyes widened – there wasn't a way to use her damned Semblance to worm her way out of this.

A quick flash of the eyes, a quick relaxing of the tension. Blake only gave the tiniest of tells, but that was enough to save Kassidy's life. Abandoning her next stab, Kassidy instead shoulder-tackled the Faunus. Even with the incredibly fast reaction, the top layers of the skin across the back of her neck split open as a blade nicked her before crashing into the container. After stomping her boot on Blake's knee as hard as she could – only to find the knee of a shadow clone – Kassidy twirled around, only to duck under another strike as an axe blade sailed through the space her neck had previously occupied.

Her new opponent had no face, as it was obscured by a featureless, steel-plated red mask with an inch and a half wide, black plexiglass slit for the eyes. A brown cloak was settled over a padded, doubtlessly armored long-sleeved shirt and pants, but those didn't get as much of Kassidy's interest as did the twelve-gauge shotgun with an axe blade mounted on the stock. Kassidy and this new foe stared at each other for the briefest of moments, each trying to size the other up, but a quick pump of the shotgun gave away that playing the range game with her saber would not work in Kassidy's favor. Deciding not to find out if the person was actually suicidal enough to fire a shotgun into a decently sized puddle of Dust, she closed the gap and went for a slash across his chest, forcing her foe to abandon firepower in favor of blocking her strike.

Kassidy continued to press her advantage, weaving _Baton_ around and trying to reach around her foe's guard and forcing the person to give more and more ground. In the brief few seconds their encounter had lasted, Kassidy came to a realization: she finally found someone who sucked more at melee combat than she did! Sure, this person had obviously been given basic training, but she knew from experience that all a _little_ training did was make sure you knew how to get yourself in trouble. She intentionally let her strike carry a little too far, and she could almost see her foe's eyes widen even behind the mask as he tried to capitalize on the 'mistake'. It was a bait though, and she effortlessly ducked under the heavy strike that left the weapon stuck in the sheet metal of the container. She slashed up, and the guy had to use the back of his forearm in a desperate gambit to ward off the blow – a gambit that saw a rather shocking amount of red Aura escape from the impact. Kassidy was about to come back down to finish off his Aura, but she forgot about her other opponent.

The pain blinded her for a moment, just a moment, before her painkillers and norepinephrine began making themselves known. It still did nothing to stop Blake from pulling her sword out of Kassidy's shoulder, just outside where the armor protected her. Kassidy tried to flip her sword to her other hand, but a sickening screech told the story of her other assailant pulling his shotgun-axe free of the container. With only one functioning arm, she had no hope of fighting a two-on-one at melee. Still, the masked adversary was the weakest link, and as said adversary swung at her again, she once again ducked under the blade and shoulder-tackled him, knocking him into the wall of the warehouse as she raced away from Blake and behind another container.

Bullets started impacting with her new cover, and Kassidy took that as the cue to begin the gunfight. Before she pulled out from behind the container, however, she took the time to swap out her Taser rounds for a magazine of regular bullets. She'd had more than enough of this fight – if lethal force was what it took to get Blake and Mystery Person to stop poking holes where she didn't want holes, then those two have had more than enough opportunities to stop things earlier.

She stuck her gun out and fired three shots in their general direction, then poked her head out to find out that they had indeed retreated behind cover. At this point, it was easy, so long as they didn't try to do the same thing she did: just wait for one of them to stick their heads out, then blow said head to pieces. Blake indeed tried to stick her head out, but a quick shot nearly blew the bow off her head and revealed the cat ears beneath the not-quite-a-fashion-accessory. A distinctly male voice muttered something, but Kassidy couldn't strain her ears enough to hear. The barest edges of the brown cloak betrayed the now revealed man sticking his head around the corner, and Kassidy took her shot the instant his faceplate showed itself. Solid steel or not, a mask that thin wasn't protecting him from the sheer force behind _Rogue's_ bullets.

In complete defiance of every reasonable expectation of reality, however, the man actually ducked under the rounds – the same rounds that covered thirty five feet while traveling one point three times the speed of sound. His shotgun returned fire, and though Kassidy was already making her own retreat she still saw the small fireball being launched her way. The incendiary round definitely lived up to its name, and Kassidy could feel the heat as it made its impact – some bouncing off the sheet metal of the shipping container, most sailing past and impacting with the wall across from her.

"Munsell, you idiot! You trying to kill us all?! Or did you just forget that there's Dust _everywhere_?" Kassidy couldn't decide whether to smile at how panicked Blake sounded, or terrified at the reminder that this Munsell person had, in fact, fired an incendiary shotgun round in a warehouse filled to the brim with Dust.

"Not us, just her. And I didn't forget. By the way, we should run." A gasp and a quick glance at the area that took the brunt of the blast confirmed everyone's worst fear: a sixty-gallon drum of fire Dust had been ignited. It was anyone's guess as to when it would blow, but 'soon' was a safe bet.

When Blake absolutely screamed for everyone in the warehouse to head for the hills, Kassidy decided to follow those instructions as well. She emptied her magazine as she sprinted for the front door she first entered at, dissuading anyone from trying to stop her. Her shoulder screamed at her as she forced her injured arm to wrench the steel door open, but a quick glance out the side of her eye confirming the rapidly increasing combustion rate of the Dust gave her all the motivation she needed.

Nobody, not the White Fang, not the police, not the Atlesian forces backing up the police, and definitely not Kassidy could explain why the detonation of that one drum didn't start a chain reaction that turned this particular section of warehouses into more oceanfront property for the city of Vale, but all parties involved were damn happy that this didn't happen. As Kassidy plopped down on the last Bullhead to Beacon, however, she couldn't help but have a bitter taste about how tonight went. The White Fang had most certainly made off with plenty of Dust, she was no closer to actually stopping Blake and this Munsell person, and worst of all, there was no longer hiding her nightly escapades from her teammates. That final fact was only confirmed when a bit of turbulence made Kassidy shudder as her shoulder was jostled again.

* * *

 **AN 2: Well, holy crap, what's up with me and late chapters recently? I promise, I'm not doing this intentionally, guys. Let me get these Reviewer Responses done, get this chapter up, and then do my usual thing of super-fast spellchecking the instant I get it up to make sure I didn't leave any glaring mistakes.**

 **FloriteFlower: Spoilers, dude. And yeah, I was quite pleased with how I introduced SSSN myself, though I guess time will prove whether or not everyone else does.**

 **Firearm Legume: Heh, yeah, gunpowder indeed. Unfortunately, still no research for me, as this week was no less demanding than the last. I promise, I'm not neglecting what you have to teach, I just don't have the time for everything.**

 **Deiundzwanzig: Can't agree more. Glad to hear that you were pleased with my response, and I have to admit that reviews are a big part of my enjoyment of writing this fic, as it lets me gauge how much you guys are enjoying things. Which, evidently, means not a whole lot of people enjoyed last chapter it seems. Guess that's what I get for posting a chapter two and a half hours later than I usually do.**

 **serioushugsies: Well, unfortunately, good ol' General Cockblock is gonna make sure that where Bob and Penny go together is a whole lot of nowhere.**

 **AndJrew76: Your spring break is this late? Then again, mine was the first week of March, so I guess I don't have all that much ground to stand on when it comes to accusing people of having weird spring breaks.**


	66. V2C8: A Major Hiccup

**Volume 2 Chapter 8: A Major Hiccup**

 **AN: A Tuesday, what's this? Yeah, sorry for not uploading recently, stuff's been cranked up to eleven lately. RWKY is again on hiatus until finals are over next Friday. Sorry.**

 **For those of you who are interested, I put up a second story lately. I've been dropping the ball lately on this story's uploads, so consider the first chapter of** _ **Into the Jungle**_ **an apology from me. It's not going to be updated regularly – the remaining bit that I have written needs some serious rewriting – but it's a project I've given some thought to and I figured it'd be appreciated by those who are into that sort of stuff.**

 **In this Ruby-centric edition of RWKY, everyone finds out that they've been lied to by Kassidy. Well, gee, that can't possibly end poorly. If only, if only Kassidy had some semblance of a reason for doing all of this.**

* * *

(Perspective: Ruby)

Ruby wasn't sure what was making her feel worse: the fact that her sister was upset, the fact that one of her teammates could be really, really hurt right now, the fact that she'd apparently been lied to, or the rut that Yang seemed determined to carve into their dorm floor as she continued to storm back and forth. The source of their current situation was none other than Bob. Well, alright, he wasn't the source, but he was the one that let them know what was going on.

Kassidy had disappeared after lunch. First, it was to work out. Then it was to train with JNPR. Then she's been studying in the library all day. By the time dinner had come, the conflicting stories had been replaced with silence. With nothing else to turn to, it was the obvious decision to get answers from Bob. Of course, the computer had refused at first. Whether because Kassidy had told him not to say anything, or Bob just didn't believe it to be in Kassidy's best interest to be talking, nobody could tell for sure. But for several hours, the dorm room had been witness to Yang first yelling at it, then pleading with it, and finally it took Weiss having a philosophical debate with a black box sitting on a desk to convince the computer that yes, telling them about what Kassidy's been up to is indeed in her best interest.

As it turns out, Uncle Qrow had told Kassidy not to worry about the White Fang, a very reasonable request that she had promptly ignored after some rumor-mongering from a couple of the transfer students. Then she'd lied to Yang's face about not being interested in going after the group. A week and a half later brought them to today, where she'd been asked again about the White Fang, and she'd again lied to each of them about staying safe. That, in turn, brought them to right now.

It was difficult to figure out who was more infuriated at the situation. Firstly, there was herself, the team leader who had been repeatedly lied to and told that everything was all fine with her team. Then there was Weiss, who was all but frothing at the mouth that the White Fang had dared laid a finger on Atlas tech that her company had doubtlessly had some measure of making. Last, but certainly not least, Yang continued to pace the floor, muttering about how she could be so stupid as to not see it earlier.

"Ugh, I can't believe this!" Yang seethed. She stopped, took a breath, and then opened her eyes again. _Uh oh. If her eyes are already red… that can't be good._ "It's eleven thirty, I'm tired, I'd really have loved to take tomorrow off and spend it with my girlfriend, but no, now we've got to wait and stay up because my _idiot_ partner just _had_ to stick her nose into the White Fang's business the instant I turn my back."

While Weiss took the opportunity to go on her own tirade about the 'ignoble mutts in the White Fang', Ruby had tuned out the conversation and went digging for her Scroll. Maybe there would be something on the news that could give them some idea as to how Kassidy's doing? Right now, she wasn't even talking to Bob, leaving her computer as in the dark as the three of them were. If she could just find something, maybe she could…

Ruby gasped and dropped her Scroll. Fortunately, it didn't break on contact with the floor, and Weiss picked it up. Suddenly, the device had the attention of the entire room, and as Weiss began to read what was on its screen it was little wonder why. "'Disaster averted in waterfront industrial district'? Well, gee, if this doesn't have Kassidy written all over it."

"What?! Give me that!" Yang ripped the Scroll out of Weiss' hands, much to the latter's complaints, and began reading aloud herself. "Police and Atlesian forces responded to an industrial fire in a warehouse that had stored seventy five tons of Dust. The cause of the blaze appears to be complications during a White Fang robbery, which ignited a drum of red Dust. Signs of a struggle are evident in the warehouse. Three White Fang members were arrested, and an additional body was found. Roughly three tons of Dust of varying types are missing, not including the red Dust that detonated. Officers on the scene were, and I quote, 'greatly relieved,' that none of the remaining Dust stored in the warehouse had detonated as well. No evidence has been found as to who the White Fang had been struggling with, but spokespeople from both the Vale Police Department and the Atlesian military have denied involvement prior to their arrival on the scene."

Ruby leaned over the edge of her bunk, and saw that Weiss looked as if she had been slapped. Her partner quivered as she sat on the ledge of her bed, before she finally spat out, "Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. And Kassidy's just throwing herself headlong into this? What was she thinking?! Was she even thinking?"

"Probably not," Yang seethed. Letting her voice rise in pitch slightly, she mocked, "Oh, look at me, I don't have an Aura and can get hurt really easy. Let me go solve every problem under the sun because I don't trust anyone around me." Suddenly, Yang collapsed on Kassidy's empty bed, buried her face in her hands, and let out a sob. "How many times? How many times do we have to go through this? She promised that she'd leave this alone. I mean… I've tried to support her, I've tried to be her friend; Dust, we all have. I thought we've been doing so well, too. I thought she could trust me, but then she goes and does this…"

A pang shot through Ruby; at first, she was a little surprised and confused at the way her gut twisted. But then she looked back at her sister, sitting on Kassidy's bed on the verge of tears, and recognized it: anger. She was angry. Angry that Kassidy didn't trust her. Angry that she didn't trust any of them. Angry that she lied to them. Angry that Yang was upset because of her. Ruby took a deep breath. She could deal with Kassidy whenever she got back. Right now, she jumped from her bed and crossed the room to her sister. Ruby tried to remember how Yang always made her cheer up, and put her arm across her sister's shoulders. "Kassidy's gonna be fine, Yang. She'll get here just fine, and then…" Deciding that a lighter mood would do them well, she added, "Well, she might not be fine after we're through with her, but we'll get through this."

Yang chuckled and returned the hug, before answering, "Yeah, we will. Now, I guess we just need to –"

Footsteps outside the room made them all stop what they were doing and listen. The footsteps stopped outside their door, and their doorknob jiggled a bit before a voice they'd all been both waiting for and dreading to hear cursed. "Alright, Smith, just need to get Bob to open the door. Okay, you're okay. Been over this. Get some stitches done super fast, just gotta make sure you disappear before they wake up, and hopefully everything will be fixed up alright by the time you meet everyone for breakfast. Just… ugh. Alright, things are starting to get out of hand. Don't think this is a solo job anymore. Now, where did I put my…"

The three of them shared glances, and Weiss stood up and opened the door for Kassidy. Their fourth teammate paused from digging around in her pockets to look up at what made the door open of its own accord; if the way the blood drained from Kassidy's face was any indication, Weiss must have been wearing quite the glare.

Not that Ruby blamed Weiss, obviously. Crossing the room and drawing Kassidy's attention to herself, Ruby pointed at the bed Yang was currently sitting on before barking out, "Sit. We need to talk."

Kassidy winced, before sighing and asking, "Can it wait a few minutes? My shoulder's been a bit of a bother late-"

"Stitches," Yang interrupted. "We heard you in the hallway." Ruby couldn't miss another wince that Kassidy let slip as Yang leaned over to grab Kassidy's medical supplies – calling what that girl had stockpiled a first aid kit didn't do it justice – before her sister beckoned her over to the bed. "Alright, shirt off. Which shoulder?"

If it had been any other time, any or all of the four would have had something to say about Yang ordering her partner to basically strip; as things were, however, it was necessary. Kassidy didn't answer at first, though, as she started unbuckling what there was to unbuckle of her cuirass before beginning to lift it off. She had to stop and hiss in pain when it brushed against her shoulder. Yang took notice immediately, and shot over to her. The second pair of hands didn't seem like they would do anything to lessen the pain, but Kassidy seemed grateful enough for them regardless.

Kassidy failed to hold back a sigh, however, when Yang started helping her with peeling her shirt off. Her annoyance was confirmed when she said, "Seriously, Yang, I know how to do stitches. It's not like this is rocket science or anything."

"Shut up." Kassidy's annoyance didn't hold a candle to the annoyance that Yang – or any of them, for that matter – had towards her. Almost as an afterthought, Yang added, "Besides, I'll be able to put stitches on your body better than you can put stitches on your body."

As much as it looked like she wanted to, Kassidy couldn't find anything to refute that logic. Not that they would have noticed if she had; they were all focused on the grisly hole in her shoulder. The dark stain on her shirt didn't do justice to the wound beneath the fabric. It looked like something had tried to claw her arm out of its socket, and rent flesh hung limply from where what looked like a blade had been viciously torn out. The injury stretched from almost the end of her shoulder to nearly cutting through her bra strap. Yang swore softly, before adding in an equally quiet voice, "Stitches aren't gonna be enough for this."

"Gee, I totally didn't notice that," Kassidy spat back. "But it's really the best I can do at nearly midnight." She hissed as Yang got to work cleaning the wound, but managed to append, "If it makes you feel any better, it doesn't feel like it got any tendons. Got lucky there."

"What happened?" Ruby demanded. Yang was busy tending to the injury, and Weiss was even paler than usual, so the team leader took it upon herself to begin the inquiry. "How did that happen?"

Kassidy was about to answer, but jumped when Yang was about to begin her work. Yang shot an unamused look at her partner, who was eyeing the needle and thread warily. In a few seconds, though, Kassidy seemed to get over her fear of needles long enough to screw her eyes shut and look away. Even with wincing every time the needle pierced her flesh and carried the thread with it, Kassidy managed to reply, "Blake had backup this time."

"That Faunus girl from the docks?" Yang asked. When Kassidy nodded, Yang snarled. "Well why the hell were you fighting her to begin with?"

"The White Fang's getting out of control. They need to be stopped."

"Oh, and who's going to stop them? You?"

"Yes! Maybe?" Kassidy muttered to herself as she mulled over her words, before shaking her head and adding, "Worst case scenario, I slow them down enough for Ironwood's cronies to find their misplaced competence."

"Worst case scenario?" Yang parroted back. She laughed almost hysterically, then accused, "You seriously think _that_ is the worst case scenario?"

"Guys!" Ruby snapped, ending the argument there. Sighing, she said, "One thing at a time. Let's start with simplest: what happened down there?"

Kassidy winced again as the sutures did their best to try and pull her flesh back together, then answered, "Blake had a friend this time. Armed with a twelve gauge shotgun and a suicidal streak a mile wide."

"Why are you convinced –"

Kassidy interrupted Ruby with a groan. "I'm convinced he's suicidal because he fired incendiary rounds at containers filled to the brim with Dust, while standing in a veritable puddle of Dust that leaked out from another damaged container." She chuckled sardonically when the three of them gasped and looked at her with wide eyes and agape mouths. "Yeah, about my reaction too. Damn near turned the industrial sector into Vale's latest oceanfront property."

By this point, Yang had finished with wrapping her shoulder in gauze and bandages. It was the best that could be done in short notice; Kassidy would still need to head to the infirmary first thing tomorrow morning, regardless. Forcing down another growl, Ruby tried to force down the anger she felt from one of her closest friends almost getting so horribly killed. Instead, she decided to focus on what she could fix. Like getting Kassidy to stop with all of this. "Alright. That's that for the White Fang. That still doesn't explain what you were doing there, though."

Kassidy sighed, "Ugh, I said it already. The White Fang are getting out of control."

"And that's not your problem," Yang shot at her. "For Dust's sake, it's barely Weiss' problem, and it's _her_ family that's getting robbed."

"It is my problem!" was the equally fierce answer. "It's everyone's damn problem!"

"How?!" Yang demanded. "How is…" She trailed off for a few seconds, before more sedately saying, "You promised me that you'd leave them alone. That you wouldn't go fighting them."

Kassidy corrected, "I promised that I wouldn't get in over my head."

Ruby felt her jaw drop when that was said. She was so angry that she couldn't even form words at the moment. Fortunately, if the way Kassidy cringed was any indication, even she knew how weak an excuse that was. It was Weiss' scoff, however, that drew everyone's attention. "Well, you're certainly in over your head now."

"Gee, thanks, Weiss, I _totally_ didn't notice." Kassidy snarked. Sighing, she offered, "But yes, I need to take a step back now. Rushing in and busting up their heists isn't going to work anymore if this is the kind of shit they're willing to pull to get rid of me. I need… I need to go find Ozpin tomorrow, probably." Looking at her bandaged shoulder, she added, "Waiting for a functioning joint would probably help also."

"What you _need_ ," Yang ground out, "is to let this go."

"I can't let this go!" Kassidy shouted.

Yang replied just as fiercely, "Well why the hell not?!"

"Because this isn't the first time this kind of shit has happened!" Kassidy's chest trembled as it heaved. All three of them were taken aback at the fact that Kassidy just _yelled_ at them; sure, she's argued with each of them in turn, but never had she ever risen her voice to that extent. Slumping and sighing, Kassidy spoke again. "This isn't the first time I've seen these things happen. That people decide they've finally had enough of their lot in life, and will do anything to change it, society be damned. You don't… you don't know what they'll do."

"And you do?" Ruby challenged. "Yeah, the White Fang are bad guys and they need to be stopped. That's what the police are doing. That's what Atlas is doing. That's what people like Uncle Qrow are doing – who, if I remember correctly, made you promise to not get involved in this." Leaping down from her bunk, Ruby crossed the room to Kassidy, grabbed her hands in her own, and thought nothing of the girl's modesty as she bored into the hazel eyes she stared into. She could only hope that the hurt, the pain, and the anger of having been betrayed had made their way into her expression. "You lied to us. You lied to me. You told Uncle Qrow that you'd leave this alone. You told Yang that you'd leave this alone. You told me that everything was alright. I thought… I thought you trusted us." Ruby stopped for a bit to choke back a sob, before she demanded, "Why? Why did you lie to us? Why did you do… this?"

Kassidy was barely keeping herself from crying at this point. She wasn't even able to meet her eyes. Still, she sniffled, wiped her eyes on her uninjured arm, and looked at her lap before muttering, "I just wanted to keep you guys safe. I didn't – I didn't want you to worry."

"Oh, we are _so_ far beyond worrying," Weiss interjected. "How is any of this supposed to keep us safe?"

"Because I know what comes next," Kassidy began. She brushed a stray bang that had managed to escape her bun out of her face, then continued, "Back when I was on the run, back… home, things were falling apart. People hated other people for no reason at all. Depending where you lived, the authorities were either totalitarian or nearly nonexistent. Things got worse the longer time went on. First, common criminals and thugs became more numerous and more brazen. Then organized crime started popping up like mushrooms. Then… then…" Coughing a bit after her voice threatened to crack, Kassidy soldiered on.

"I don't know how they got their hands on military-grade equipment. I don't know what made them think that challenging the powers that be was a good idea. I don't even know who or what started the fighting. What I do know is that nearly every major city became a war zone. Tens of millions died in the fighting. And it all started with a particular group of people who decided they'd had enough with their lot in life. With people who became criminals. Then terrorists. Then… then armed soldiers roving the streets, shooting anyone and anything that wasn't on their side. I'm not an idiot, there was no way I could have stopped most of it or even some of it. But there were still people, here and there. Men, women, children, families that I could've helped. But I didn't. I was only worried about me. Dozens might not compare to tens of millions, but they were still people.

"And then… I think I was fourteen. By then, the government had relocated to Chicago, it had managed to avoid most of the fighting and none of the gangs had really managed to set up shop. Spent a few months without anyone trying to kill me, so I had a good thing going and wanted to keep it going. Was getting low on food and ammo, though, so I was understandably pleased when I came across a small outpost out in the Midwest. Small enough that I probably wouldn't need to kill anyone even; sneak in, steal what I need, sneak out. It wasn't until I had crept up that I noticed it. Even then, it was a big unmarked truck under guard, there wasn't much of a chance that what I needed was in there. I just waiting for it to leave before taking what I needed. It wasn't until…"

When Kassidy choked up and had to stop her story, Ruby almost let out a whine. While she was talking, Ruby had backed up to sit on Weiss' bed and had clasped her hands between her knees. Yeah, sure, Yang and Dad had always said she was a sucker for a good sob story, but this is different! This was terrible! This was something Kassidy should never have had to go through! She sniffled herself, she risked glances at her teammates. While they were obviously still cross with Kassidy if the furrowed brows were any indication, they were no less riveted by the story.

"It wasn't until the next day that I had found out that they had stolen a bomb. Like, a big bomb. They'd somehow raided a silo, pried the warhead off a Minuteman III missile, and drove a nuke right into the city. They must've decided that if they couldn't have it, nobody could…"

"What happened?" Weiss prompted.

Sniffling, Kassidy answered, "They _leveled_ downtown Chicago. Millions died. And I could've stopped it! It was a small outpost, there weren't that many guards! I've fought more than that just getting through Tennessee! But I didn't…" Trailing off yet again, she descended into more sniffles. It took a few minutes, but she finally managed to calm herself down enough to speak up. "I know what's going to happen next, because I've seen it all. The White Fang… they're going for something big. They're not criminals. They're not even terrorists anymore, calling them terrorists implies that they aren't capable of fighting a war."

"And what makes you think they can fight a war?" Weiss asked.

"Is it safe to assume you know what a Paladin is?"

The way Weiss gasped and paled suggested that yes, she did. The two sisters, however, were equally confused. Yang was the one who voiced it, asking, "What's a Paladin?"

Weiss was about to answer, but Kassidy beat her to it. "Atlas' newest toy. A thirty-seven ton bipedal tank, equipped with plasma cannons, rocket pods, and protected by two and a half inches of Dust-infused armor plating."

Yang and Ruby shared Weiss in the 'gasping and paling in disbelief' act. Ruby managed to weakly get out, "Y-You think the White Fang have one?"

"One?" Kassidy laughed bitterly. "Try twenty three. Not to mention… how many thousands of tons of Dust is it, now? The White Fang are militarizing – wait, no, they _have_ militarized, they can probably do at least as much damage as any of the gangs back home could. Ironwood's shown, if not incompetence, that he doesn't care enough to take this seriously. So if nobody else is doing anything…" Her voice still shaking but her eyes hardening, Kassidy finally managed to bring her head up and look them all in the eye. "I did nothing once – hell, I did nothing _twice_. I _refuse_ to sit back and allow untold thousands to be slaughtered. I can't do nothing." Dipping her head back down, she whispered, "I can't."

Yang let out a deep breath, prompting both Ruby and Weiss to let out their own breaths that they hadn't realized they'd been holding. Gritting her teeth, Yang said, "I get why this means so much to you. I do. But you should have come to us. We would have helped you, no questions asked. Right, girls?" Ruby and Weiss both nodded.

Kassidy sighed, "I don't want you guys to get hurt."

"Seriously?!" Yang all but shouted. Her eyes flashed red, and she motioned at Kassidy's bandaged shoulder even as she stood up. "What the hell do you call _that_?"

"A scratch." When Yang looked like she was about to blow up again, Kassidy reasoned, "This about this logically. Think about the White Fang's perspective. They've shot me in the head, stabbed me in the gut, stabbed me in the shoulder, bludgeoned me how many dozens of times, and damn near blew me up. They don't care that I don't have Aura, because as far as they're concerned I might as well be unkillable. For fuck's sake, they've taken to calling me 'The Immortal'."

"But you aren't!" Yang argued.

"They don't know that," Kassidy retorted, "and until they do, I'm no more likely to get an actually serious injury than you guys are. If one of us actually _does_ get hurt, then I can heal from it faster than you guys even with your Aura. And last I checked, Aura isn't going to save you from a warehouse blowing up with you inside it." When Yang just growled, Kassidy actually _begged_ , "Yang, please. You three are _everything_ to me. I mean that literally. This team… you're my family now, guys. I – I don't think I could live with myself if you got hurt. No, scratch that, I _know_ that I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you guys got hurt."

"That works both ways!" Yang surged back into the argument. "You think I enjoy watching you get the Dust-damned snot beat out of you? You think I like it when you come back to the dorm every day covered in bruises and more than a couple fresh cuts? Do you think I had any reaction other than absolute _horror_ when I saw your shoulder? When I learned how you almost got blown up?!"

Kassidy's mouth opened, but no words came out. Her shoulders slumped as she failed of a way to continue the argument. Fortunately for all of the room's occupants, Ruby had enough time to make up her mind. Striding to the front of the room, she cleared her throat and leveled her best glare on Kassidy. "I know you think you're doing the right thing – and you are! But this isn't good. Yang's right. We're a _team_ , Kassidy. You need to stop doing these things alone. Which is why, as your team leader, I hereby forbid you from continuing this on your own."

Hazel eyes shot up wide and pleading, and the girl that followed them up looked just as desperate. "But –"

"No buts!" Ruby declared. Sighing, she closed her eyes, let her glare drop, and then opened them again. "But you're also right. If this is as bad as you say it is… I can't ignore it either. I don't think any of us can." She looked around the room, to her teammates. Weiss gave her a curt nod, her face the spitting image of iron resolve. Yang didn't even need to do anything. The flash in her angry red eyes – red eyes that were no longer directed at Kassidy – told all. Having reached a consensus, Ruby made her decision. "Alright, Team Rookie. Together, we will be the youngest Huntresses to bring down a corrupt criminal organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale!" A quick glance at the digital clock showed that it was somehow past one in the morning, and Ruby stammered. "Starting tomorrow! For now, uh – Kassidy, get a shirt on or something, and then we all sleep! Yeah, sleep sounds good right now."

"You guys go on ahead," Yang said. "I need to go clear my head."

Kassidy stood up from the bed, and nearly chased Yang as she moved to head out the door, evidently not caring that she was still just in her bra. "Wait, Yang –"

"Just stay here, K," Yang told her. "I just… need to calm down a bit."

Yang threw on a pair of sandals and nearly slammed the door in Kassidy's face behind her. Kassidy, for her part, just continued to stare at the door without making any indication of moving. Ruby traded concerned looks with Weiss as they climbed into their respective beds – for that half of the room, at least, this conversation didn't seem to be over.

* * *

 **AN 2: I decided on the final time of past one in the morning because, well… it's past one in the morning for me right now. Reader reviews, proofread, upload, and hopefully bed, in that order. Damn insomnia.**

 **The Crimson Commando: Yeah, I was trying to go for "Ironwood was only working out his biological arm", without outright saying that he was avoiding working out with his prosthetic. Sorry I made it confusing.**

 **Tykene: Well, it's been damn near a month in the making, so hopefully the tongue lashing meets your expectations.**

 **Dreiundzwanzig: Yeah, good Cinders are always a treat to read, and I can only hope mine joins the ranks of good Cinders. Dat Ironwood, though… he seemed a bit hard, if I do say so myself. Writing is still plenty of fun… it's just that there's currently a negative amount of time I can give to fun at the moment.**

 **serioushugsies: Well, I mean… you can't really blame Ironwood, can you? Eh, you probably can actually, but he's just looking out for he and his, and is justifiably nervous when another AI comes up and starts chatting up the one he's currently running what's essentially a field test on. And, I mean, the White Fang have been a pretty hot topic ever since the docks, really. Not too far a leap of logic, if I do say so myself.**

 **FloriteFlower: Munsell knew that the explosion wouldn't chain react. How? Not telling. Not for a while, anyway.**

 **AndJrew76: Eh, second week of January for me. Glad to hear you enjoyed it, hope you like this one too. Sure as hell took me long enough.**


	67. V2C9: Making Progress

**Volume 2 Chapter 9: Making Progress**

 **AN: Hey, a Sunday upload, been a while since we've had one of these. Though it seems like it's been a while since…**

 ***checks calendar***

 ***ducks random objects thrown by the readers***

 **Let me see if I can make it up to you guys this time around. A bit of angst, a bit of Ozpin shenanigans, a bit of Bob shenanigans, a healthy dose of fluff, and more can be found in this chapter. I'll see what I can do about getting the second chapter of Into the Jungle up tomorrow, while I'm at things.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

A pair of birds flew uncomfortably close to her head – close enough to get Kassidy to duck down a bit as they sped by. As she sat back up, she decided to get another look at what she could see from a bench in Beacon's courtyard, while also tensing her arm in the sling it was in. While it was clear that the doctors were getting more than a little fed up by her yet again using the excuse of 'late night training injury', nonetheless she managed to get her stitches redone, her shoulder dressed properly, and – annoyingly as always – get her arm immobilized so it could heal in time for classes tomorrow.

None of that fixed her Sunday, though. Yang hadn't returned all night; she would've known, for she didn't get a hint of sleep last night, instead worry keeping her awake and awaiting the return of her partner. Her girlfriend was pissed at her… but this wasn't something that Kassidy could ignore, either. Left unimpeded, she was certain that the White Fang would turn Vale into Remnant's most recent ruin. She's spent the past hour sitting at this bench, trying to figure out a solution. On the one hand, her girlfriend, her team, her friends. On the other, putting an end to what has got to be an existential threat to the city. Her happiness, or her duty. Any time before Beacon, the choice would've been immediately obvious. _But I don't want to give this up. This is worth fighting for, isn't it? It's not greedy of me to want both, is it?_

Motion other than the courtyard's existing denizens caught the corner of her eye, and Kassidy's already sour mood worsened. At the same time she noticed him, Cardin noticed her. He sneered, puffed his chest up, and started stalking her way. Kassidy closed her eyes, sighed, and then decided she didn't want to deal with this crap today. Drawing Rogue and setting it on her lap, loading in a fresh magazine, and staring the boy down didn't get him to back off as quickly as she liked, but Cardin regardless got the hint and changed direction, doubtless looking for some other hapless victim. Kassidy slumped against the back of the bench and buried her face in her free hand, before sighing, "Why does it feel like every time I try to fix something, I just wind up making it worse?"

"That is not a situation unfamiliar with me, Miss Smith." The sudden voice to her left nearly made Kassidy leap out of her skin, before clenching her fist and mentally berating herself for letting someone sneak up on her. Cracking an eye open and tilting her head to the side, she caught sight of Professor Ozpin concealing a smirk with his omnipresent coffee mug. After taking a sip, he motioned to the unoccupied half of the bench, got permission to sit with her, and took one more sip before commenting, "Another training accident, I presume?"

"That's what the folks at the infirmary will tell you," Kassidy answered wearily. A week and a half of sneaking out at night to fight the White Fang, having an argument with her teammates last night, worrying about Yang and the situation out in Vale all day… she was spent, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

"And what would the girl who suffered the injury tell me?"

"Any recording devices near us, Bob?" After getting a negative from her computer, Kassidy replied, "The White Fang."

"Hmm, so I heard." When Kassidy shot up, banged her injured arm against the back of the bench, and gaped at him, Ozpin merely chuckled. "Bob saw fit to show me the conversation you had with your team last night. He seems to be somewhat… concerned."

"Is that so?" Kassidy again slumped bonelessly against the bench. "He's not the only one with concern. But, I guess if we're going to talk about this now… have you heard from Yang at all? Is she alright?"

Ozpin seemed to contemplate how to answer for a short moment, but the time he didn't answer seemed to drag on in Kassidy's frazzled mind. After what seemed like an age, however, he unhelpfully answered, "I can assure you that Miss Xiao Long is on campus, unharmed, and in good health."

Kassidy's brows furrowed, before deciding that she didn't want to bother asking further down that line, as it was obvious that she wasn't going to get a better answer than that. Deciding to get what she assumed to be the point of this conversation, she said, "I can't stop, Professor. You know I can't."

Ozpin let out a quiet sigh, and set his mug down on the armrest before answering, "I can understand why you feel that way. I can understand why you would want to make up for the atrocities committed in your past. I would tell you that you shouldn't feel guilty for anything that you may or may not have done, but I think we both know that you'd say that you don't feel guilty – regardless of whether or not you actually do – and continue on anyway. However, what I can say is that despite appearances, we are keeping a close eye on the situation."

"A close eye? That's it?" Kassidy wanted, so desperately, to be angry at that statement, but after a few seconds she sighed and decided that she couldn't muster the necessary energy.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow at her, then said, "It's important we have all the facts before we proceed, so that we can best determine how to resolve this issue. Would you prefer we didn't?"

"There's a saying where I'm from," Kassidy replied darkly, "that all that is required for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing."

"An unfortunately true statement."

"And nothing is exactly what I've been seeing from you and yours. No offense, Professor, but how is it that a girl with no Aura and an overgrown tablet has done more to delay the White Fang and recover the Paladins in a week and a half than two months of concerted effort by both the Huntsmen and the Atlesian military?"

"Perhaps in what is immediately visible, that would appear to be the case. However, if one were to look closer, not all is as it seems," Ozpin mentioned cryptically.

Kassidy raised an eyebrow. "With all due respect, if even Bob can't find a whisper of what you guys have been up to, then this is some obscure stuff we're talking about."

Ozpin hummed in thought, before asking, "Tell me, Miss Smith, how familiar are you with chess?"

Kassidy groaned, before answering, "Nobody ever believes me when I say that I suck at that game."

"I can only imagine why," Ozpin chuckled. "Still, in chess, it is important that you plan several moves ahead. The greatest of victories are often set up by the smallest of steps."

Kassidy closed her eyes as she thought for a moment – and then shot them open as she thought of something she needed to talk about. "As long as we're going with the chess analogy, there's a… piece, I guess, that I wanted to ask for your insight about."

Ozpin appeared curious, unusually so. Still, he hid it behind his mug well enough. "Oh?"

"There was a new guy whenever I busted up the warehouse raid last night," Kassidy explained. "Doesn't seem to be all that good; hell, I beat him quite handily in melee, which should tell you something. But when we got to a shooting match… I don't even know. What I do know is that he did something that should've been impossible."

"Auras and Semblances do tend to produce some extraordinary effects," Ozpin commented drily.

"One hell of a Semblance, then," Kassidy sighed. "He ducked out from behind some cover, I shot at him… and he dodged it."

"I understand that people dodging bullets is strange where you're from, but around here, in what way is that unusual?"

Kassidy groaned as she thought of the best way to put it. "My gun's bullets travel at one point three times the speed of sound. At the distance we were at, they would have taken thirty-five one-thousandths of a second to reach him. Not only is that nearly ten times faster than the average human reaction time, that's shorter than the length of time it takes for neural signals to travel from the eyes to the brain. In the time I fired my gun, the guy recognized the threat, decided upon a course of action, and dodged the attack – and he did all of that before his eyes had time to see me fire the gun in the first place."

Ozpin's eyes widened, but only just. He concealed the reaction by shifting the glasses on the bridge of his nose, and answered, "Now that is most definitely unusual. While such capabilities aren't exactly unheard of – I do believe Miss Rose, after all, has far higher than average reaction times – it's still something worth noticing. And the White Fang is willing to bring along someone like that to a robbery? Quite concerning."

Kassidy added on, "I've been hitting the White Fang pretty hard during their robberies the past little bit, and while I've been able to go toe-to-toe with someone that I'm fairly sure is a bit up there on the pecking order, they've never exactly had a proper answer to me. Without more information to go on, I'm tempted to say they brought this guy along specifically to deal with me."

A slight frown found its place on Ozpin's face, and he mumbled, "Yes, that's the theory I'm coming up with as well." He dug into his pocket for his Scroll, fiddled with the device a bit, evidently found what he was looking for, then said, "Until more is known about this mystery person, perhaps it would be best if you were to find an alternative means of slowing down the White Fang?"

"Like what?" Kassidy queried.

"Well," Ozpin began, and between the twinkle in his eye and the tone of his voice, it was evident that something either really good or really bad was about to happen, "it would seem best if you were to find more information about the White Fang's current happenings so you could better plan against them. Beyond that, it would seem that the White Fang already has access to the material they need to perpetrate their plans; therefore, if they have yet to move, it must be a question of either timing or manpower. If that was the case, you'd only be able to influence the latter."

"Something I can both find out what they're up to and limit how many people they can bring in to the fold?" Kassidy pondered. "Like a recruitment drive of some kind?"

"Yes, that would be an idea I would consider," Ozpin conceded. "Unfortunately, I seem to not know the time, date, and location of their next recruitment rally – I thought I had it in my Scroll, but it seems to have been misplaced." Kassidy cocked her head, silently asking why the pause, but her unspoken question was answered with a sound in her earpiece signaling that Bob had received a new message. "Oh dear, indeed," Ozpin continued, "I can only imagine what would happen if that information landed in the wrong hands."

"Same," Kassidy answered, lips slowly splitting into a grin. "It's a shame you lost that information, but I guess I can't have everything handed to me. Still, I've got some avenues to search myself. It's wonderful to have friends, is it not?"

"Indeed, but one must also worry about enemies." The tone changed abruptly as Ozpin's frown made a reappearance, and he met her eye. "I would advise caution if you were to continue down this road, Miss Smith. The White Fang are not the only ones who have taken an interest in you. I'm afraid politics does not much appreciate a change in the status quo, and you have caused not a small amount of change since your arrival here."

Kassidy groaned, almost theatrically, and rhetorically stated, "The powers that be want to make me disappear because they can't control me and I could possibly threaten the perfect little world they've built for themselves. Stop me if you've heard this before, Bob."

Ozpin evidently found the comment amusing, if his slight chuckle was anything to go by. He excused himself and made to walk away, but Kassidy suddenly panicked, as she still hadn't asked what has been bothering her all day. "Professor… I can't stop doing this. I honestly don't think I can. But… but Yang's mad at me because I'm doing this. I'm not wrong or greedy for wanting both, right? Stopping the White Fang, and getting along with my partner? Can I… can I reasonably want both? Is there a right way?"

The man in question hummed in thought, before answering, "Many are the mysteries of the heart, and few are the answers. When it comes to seemingly conflicting desires, however, I tend to keep in mind that what appear to conflict may, at a closer glance, may not be as conflicting as they seem." And with that completely unhelpful answer, he was about to turn away, before remembering something of his own and saying, "By the way, I do recall Dr. Narud to have wanted to speak to you. If you could stop by his office sometime today, then that would probably be for the best."

After Ozpin went along his merry way through the Beacon Courtyard, Kassidy again slumped against the bench. She contemplated taking a nap in the sun before her computer got her attention. "Kassidy, we have a couple problems. You remember how he said that I brought up last night's conversation to him?"

"Yes."

"… I didn't actually bring up last night's conversation to him. In fact, I haven't communicated with him at all for several days."

"And yet he somehow knew that the girls and I talked last night?" Sitting back up more fully, Kassidy groaned, partly from the deprived rest, partly from the dawning realization of what that meant. "Alright, whenever we get back to the room, search it for recording devices. While you're at it, see if you can't scan through the team's Scrolls; maybe they got compromised somehow." Bob gave his affirmative, and Kassidy leaned back before asking, "You mentioned another problem? How big is it?"

Bob answered offhandedly, "Oh, about five seven, one hundred seventy pounds – thirty of which is hair, likes to punch things, been standing roughly twelve feet behind you for the past ten minutes. Maybe you're familiar with her?"

The description got Kassidy to find a hidden reserve of energy as she sprang out of the bench and whirled around. Sure enough, Yang was standing behind her, cheeks turning pink from having been caught. Kassidy said, "Yang, we need to –"

"Need to talk, yeah," Yang said distractedly. She lumbered over to the bench, herself not looking like she had gotten much sleep. They both leaned against each other on the bench, using each other's bodies to prop themselves up. Yang began, "Hey, sorry for bailing on you last night. There was… it was just a lot you dumped on us. I had about a dozen different things going through my head, and I needed to make sense of it all."

"Pretty much all of it caused by me, no doubt," Kassidy muttered. "Anything I can do to help?"

Yang shook her head. "Just some personal stuff I needed to think about. Maybe I'll tell you about it someday, but for now… I've had enough thinking about it. Don't exactly like to think about it, y'know?"

Kassidy hummed, before asking, "Are we good, Yang? I… I didn't mean to make you so upset. I just wanted to keep you all safe, is all."

"We definitely still need to do some talking later," Yang replied. Kassidy stiffened, which Yang apparently noticed. "But later. For now… yeah, we're good."

"Okay, I can live with that," Kassidy said. She failed to fight back a yawn, before mentioning, "Ugh, the last time I was this tired was that one time I went a couple weeks without sleeping. Who knew getting your ass kicked was so exhausting?"

She felt more than heard Yang chuckle beside her. "I'm with you on that front, partner. My bunk or yours?"

The question got Kassidy to perk up. She hadn't planned on actually taking a nap – it was, by its very nature, an incredibly wasteful use of time – but if Yang was in on it, then she supposed that she could make an exception just this once. The two girls stood up, Kassidy had Bob remind her later to go visit the good doctor, and as they began the trek to the dorms Kassidy felt her resolve weaken with each step, until finally she blurted out, "Yours. Your pillow smells good. Think it's your conditioner."

"Yours would probably smell just as nice if you bothered using conditioner," Yang pointed out. Kassidy blushed as she only just now realized that she had said that out loud, and the blush only deepened as Yang whispered, "If you ask nicely enough, I might let you borrow mine for a little bit."

* * *

 _Mm, this feels nice. Can't remember the last time I had a nap – actually, have I ever had a nap?_

Consciousness returned slowly for Kassidy, and not entirely bidden if she were being perfectly honest. It took her a fraction of a second to decide that, for the first time in years, she didn't actually want to get up yet. Instead, she settled deeper into the bedding. Another waft of peach scent found its way to her nose as her head readjusted itself against the pillow, she reached a hand up to brush away the sheets that seemed to be tickling her face, and she snuggled further into the blanket that almost seemed like it was hugging her from behi…

Hazel eyes shot open at the myriad of strange sensations she was feeling, before she took a brief glance around and decided absolutely nothing was wrong. A few strands of Yang's hair had defied her attempts to get them out of her face, and had returned to scratching against her nose. Something tightened against her waist, and as Kassidy looked down the culprit revealed itself to be Yang's arm hugging her closer. Yang made some noise behind her, reacting to the shifting that Kassidy did as she slowly awoke. Sure enough, however, her partner's breath returned to being shallow and even on the back of her neck. Kassidy let her head fall against the pillow, and a sigh came from the back of her throat. _Sure, out there, the world's a few steps from falling apart. Here, though? In this room? I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. It's… it's perfect. If only this could last forever._ Of course, it couldn't last forever, and in this case it was interrupted by the sound of badly muffled giggling. Groaning, Kassidy rolled over so she was facing Yang, propped herself up on her good arm, and tried to get a good look at what precisely had disturbed the moment.

Her eyes bugged out and her cheeks lit with the flame of a thousand fires when she saw Ruby and Weiss staring at them, the former barely keeping in her apparently infinite amusement and the latter rolling her eyes with a small smirk as she filed her nails. Upon being spotted, Ruby threw away any impulse to keeping quiet, as she collapsed on the ground as she started laughing. This, of course, began a chain reaction as Weiss brought her legs up on her bunk to avoid the rolling redhead while letting out a grunt of some kind, and the added noise, in combination with Kassidy's own movement, was what finally got Yang to begin the process of rousing from her slumber.

Bleary lilac eyes slowly blinked open, and in her half-awake state Yang obviously only noticed Kassidy and gave a goofy smile. "Hey partner. Sleep well?"

Despite the situation, Kassidy couldn't help but smile as well. "Best nap I've had in… probably forever. At least, until I realized we were being watched."

"Watched?" Yang looked confused for a moment, before she stiffened also – no doubt as a result of her ears finally deciding to work – and rolled over. _And took away my main source of warmth, damn it._ The tension in the air heightened noticeably, before Yang's shoulders relaxed and she eased the situation with, "Like what you see, girls?"

This finally got the infernal laughter to stop, as both Ruby and Weiss went red in the face and started sputtering. It was Weiss who recovered first, eventually managing to get out, "Enough of that, you bumbling oaf. At least the two of you had enough sense to be fully dressed."

Ruby had recovered at this point, and started singing, "Yang and Kassidy sittin' in a bed… and that better be all you're doing, or I'm telling!"

"Too much noise," Kassidy complained. "Make them go away, Yang."

A fresh round of laughter sounded through the room, and soon enough Yang rolled back over and tapped Kassidy's shoulder. "Hey, much as I enjoyed this too, I think we've been beaten. Time to get up, partner."

"Noooo," Kassidy whined, still in the mindset of a petulant child who didn't want to wake up early on a Saturday morning.

"Actually, in all seriousness," Bob informed, "The dining hall will be close to ending dinner soon, and you still need to meet with Doctor Narud this evening."

The joviality left the room immediately, and Weiss voiced what the other two were thinking. "Is there something wrong with your shoulder, Kassidy? What do you need to meet with him for?"

Finally giving up on getting more sleep, Kassidy sat up, being careful not to crack her head on the ceiling. "Not sure," she answered. "Ozpin just told me that the doctor wanted to talk about something, wouldn't say what."

"Seven thirty?" Yang said, taking a look at the clock in the room. "Might not want to keep him waiting."

"Yeah, good idea," Kassidy said.

It only took a few minutes for the four girls to enter the infirmary, and as they stepped into the back office they found Narud frantically going through his Scroll. It didn't take long for him to look up and notice them, however. "Ah, Miss Smith? Excellent, excellent. I've got some good news for you."

"My arm or other?" Kassidy cautiously asked.

"Other," Narud said. "Please, come with me to the laboratory. Now, you remember how the data in that hard drive of yours had all the data on your modifications?" Without bothering to wait for a response, he swung the doors open, where the four girls were introduced to a quite impressive chemical setup, before continuing. "It took me a while, but I finally managed to decode and translate through the chemical formulae. Not only have I figured out exactly how they managed to attack your soul, but – if my experimentation is correct – I've even managed to develop an antitoxin."

The last statement made Kassidy halt in her tracks, her mind reeling from what was implied in those seven words. "You what? You can… cure me? Give me an Aura?"

"I think I can restore your soul to a healthy state," Narud corrected. "Now, as it happens, doing that would do the other things you said, so… yes. Of course, test subjects are hard to come by, and now that I've done what I can on mice…"

"Nothing left to do but do it for real?" Ruby guessed.

Narud nodded. "Obviously, there's still a lot of unknowns, not to mention the things that could go wrong – the antitoxin is itself poisonous if handled improperly. To be on the safe side, I'm only going to be administering the smallest dose possible that would still cause a reaction, and then I'll use my Semblance to monitor how your body responds to it. Now, are you ready?"

"Wait, hold on, Doc," Yang said, obviously still needing to catch up with the information bomb that had just been dropped on the team. "You're saying that you can fix what's wrong with K's soul?" Narud nodded, and Yang's face split into a smile. "Well, how about it, partner? Want to see what you've been missing out on?"

Kassidy eyed the syringe filled with the mysterious orange liquid warily, but after gulping – and ensuring that Bob had double-checked the doctor's work to ensure that nothing hilariously wrong existed in the work done – she nodded and screwed her eyes shut. Narud wasted no time in shoving the needle in, emptying the contents, and laying his hand on her forehead to monitor the changes in her body. Not knowing what to expect but assuming that something as grand as revitalizing her soul would be something not minor, she braced for… something. Which left her incredibly confused when absolutely nothing seemed to happen. After thirty seconds, she managed to open her eye, opening the other when it did indeed look like nothing had happened.

Narud mumbled under his breath, nodded, and removed his hand. "Disappointing… but also not unexpected."

"What happened?" Ruby blurted. "Did it work?"

The doctor shook his head. "It managed to permeate her bloodstream for a few seconds, enough for my Aura to guide it fully throughout her body, but as I suspected her body's immune system destroyed the compound before it could truly take effect. The small dose I had given her wouldn't have done the full job regardless. Still, however – oh."

"Is something wrong?" Kassidy asked.

"Nothing at a- oh? Oh. Peculiar." Finally removing his palm from Kassidy's head, Narud was met with four blank stares, and he explained himself. "It seems I may have misjudged the lack of work the antitoxin did, as it apparently lasted long enough to perform some slight amount of work. And… an interesting interaction."

"Is it anything to be concerned with?" Weiss asked.

"Not at all. The interaction seemed to be with her muscles. I can't quite tell for sure, but I think they've been reinforced. You might find that you have a bit more speed and strength now, Miss Smith."

Kassidy's jaw dropped. "Seriously? Like, you just gave me steroids that don't come with horrific side effects?"

"Not in the slightest. I think what happened is that your Aura pulsed – it was only very briefly, but still enough to get a bit of work done. And also… yes, as I feared. The more exotic and chemically expensive compounds your body produces have become diluted."

"Which means…?" Yang prompted.

Narud sighed, before taking a seat on a stool. "The way an Aura works is that it tries to keep a body at what it considers its natural state; that's how it heals us. Given the damage to her soul to begin with, it stands to reason that an Aura would consider the vast majority of Miss Smith's biology to be unnatural."

"So, what?" Kassidy asked. "You're saying that it made me stronger, but it also made me weaker?"

Narud shook his head. "More specific than that. I believe I've got the correct formula for the large part, but it still needs a fair bit of work. But once we're ready for this… it's going to fully activate your Aura, and your Aura in turn will try to remove unnatural effects from your body. In short, when the time comes, you'll need to choose between having an Aura, and having your augmentations. As far as I can tell, the two are mutually exclusive."

Team RWKY settled down for a moment as the gravity of the words sank into them. Eventually, Kassidy spoke up, "But you said that it'll still take a while? I… I guess I have some thinking to do. Is that all, Doctor?"

"Yes, I think so. I'll let you know when I've made more progress. Oh, and Kassidy?" Narud winked, before appending, "I'd be more careful in the training ring, if I were you."

The five said their farewells, and the four girls quickly made their way out of the infirmary. Once outside the door, Kassidy flexed her good arm and stretched her legs. Even now, there was a certain lightness to her step, a small amount of extra flexibility she hadn't had before. Putting it to the side for now, she asked, "So, what now?"

"Food," Yang immediately answered. In response, her stomach did its best Beowolf impression, and the other three laughed at her misfortune.

"After that, however," Weiss interrupted, shoving a finger in Kassidy's direction, "you're coming with me to the sparring arenas. He said that you're probably faster and stronger, and we need to find out if that's true. If you're better than you have been, then we need to put it to work and make sure you're comfortable with your new limits."

"Ooh! How about dodgeball!" Ruby exclaimed. Weiss' eyebrows furrowed and was about to argue against it, but Yang quite enthusiastically gave her support in favor of it. "We could invite Jaune! And Sun! And Neptune!" As Ruby took a breath, Weiss suddenly looked significantly less opposed at the mention of Neptune, something which Yang and Kassidy both definitely took notice of. "Oh, and Penny!" Ruby finished.

Kassidy blinked at the final remark. Dodgeball with an android? Either this was going to be hilarious, or incredibly painful. And definitely not something she wanted to miss.

* * *

 **AN 2: Well, same drill as usual. Proofread, Reviewer Responses, and publish. May or may not necessarily be in that order.**

 **I'll try to get the next chapter done in time for next Monday. No promises, though – this has been the month from Hell, and I'm not quite out of the woods yet.**

 **AgentDraakis: Yeah, these past two months have been a real pain. I'll definitely try to get better about uploads… but with my class schedule, I don't get no break just because it's summer.**

 **DIYEyal: Glad you enjoyed it, here's to hoping I can continue to please.**

 **Dreiundzwanzig: Have some more drama. Oh, and some fluff. I'll definitely try and make sure the quality is still up for these chapters, even if I can't put them up as often as I did.**

 **Tykene: Well… more to be had eventually. Not yet, though. Finals went as well as I could hope for, so there's that. Now it's time for more work and more classes.**

 **whitepriest27: Well, yeah, there's that. Honestly, there's enough fringe cases at this point where it's fair to say that not** _ **every**_ **weapon is a gun, but I'm still going to be using that as a descriptive phrase, because it still kinda is.**

 **FloriteFlower: Hopefully nowhere near our current future.**

 **Mama Wolf Pack: 46 chapters in one day? That's quite a bit of reading, I'm glad I entertained you so much. Hope your finals and assignments went well, and here's to hoping I can keep entertaining you.**

 **AndJrew76: Well, the semester started second week of January. Good thing about college: it's less about the year, more about the semester.**

 **serioushugsies: Kass and Matt were augmented… yeah, pretty much "because they could". While yes, I do have a bit of a story in my head as to why, it has literally no impact/bearing on the story and thus I don't see much reason to try and shoehorn it in anywhere. Here's to hoping I can keep entertaining.**


	68. V2C10: Painting the Town

**Volume 2 Chapter 10: Painting the Town**

 **AN: Well, here we are, that infamous night of Volume 2 is here! And no, I'm not talking the dance. Looks like it's up to Kassidy to infiltrate that White Fang recruitment drive that Blake did. Except… Kassidy's not a Faunus. Yeah, this might get a bit difficult.**

 **Also, remember how I said that I'd be updating the first half of Volume 1 as we went along? Yeah… call it procrastination, call it a full schedule, call it a lack of motivation, the end result is that I haven't gotten around to it yet. That project is still up in the air as to when I'll get off my duff and get it done, but still. At least we're back to regular, weekly updates. Assuming, of course, not yet another month has passed since I wrote this author's note and when this goes up.**

 **And to start off our return to some semblance of a schedule… oh, Kassidy, did you allow Weiss to put some makeup on you? You poor, poor girl.**

 **Also also, in case it isn't obvious enough, I have no freaking clue how makeup works… or basically anything regarding the female gender. If I got something horrifically wrong, I blame it on that.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

"Sit still!"

"I am sitting still! Ugh, this is ridiculous."

Kassidy yelped and rubbed the back of her head where Weiss had slapped it. Her teammate continued about her work immediately after, while chastising, "What's ridiculous is your reaction to this. Seriously, it's just makeup, and not even that much of it."

"Not much of it?" Kassidy asked. "I asked you for pointers on how make me look a bit different from how I usually do. I did _not_ give you permission to use my face as an art easel."

"I am doing no such thing! Really, the most I'm using is foundation to try and hide your scars some. And quit rubbing your eye! You're going to smudge your eyeliner and mascara!"

"Well excuse me if my eye itches!" Kassidy huffed, crossed her arms, and pouted when Weiss picked that damn roller brush again to go over her eyelashes. _That's it, this is the last time I ask Weiss for fashion advice._ With nothing better to do, Kassidy took in the image looking back at her in the mirror – and immediately decided that maybe she was a bit too hard on the Ice Queen. She didn't even realize that it was possible to make something as obvious as her scars nearly disappear; they were still visible, but you had to go looking for them. Hence the jet black lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, and dark blue hair dye: hopefully, they would provide enough contrast to foil any attempts to see them.

"Hmm… that will have to do, I suppose. Frankly, that's all we have time for," Weiss informed.

After breathing a sigh of relief, and then quickly paling when she realized the insinuation that Weiss wanted to put _more_ crayons and paintbrushes and stuff on her face, Kassidy stood up and joined her at the door to the bathroom, where they could quite clearly hear the barely muffled giggles and laughter of the two half-sisters in the room beyond. Kassidy traded glances with Weiss, pounded on the door, and yelled, "Hey, is it safe to come out, yet?"

"Sure – hrk – sure thing, K," Yang managed to choke out. "Don't tell me y-you two are done entertaining us yet, though. There's still more to come, right?"

Weiss rolled her eyes beside her, then opened the door to the dorm room proper. Yang promptly and effectively arrested all of her attention, obviously, what with the combination of miniskirt, thick stockings, and a top so low-cut that her bra was slightly peeking over it. Not to mention the bulletproof, fireproof jacket Kassidy had gotten her featuring prominently and _damn_ if she couldn't wear it. However, her… _appraisal_ , let's say, of her girlfriend's attire was ruined when Yang wolf-whistled in return. "Damn, partner. Trying to make me jealous or something?"

"Of what, Firecracker?" Kassidy sniped. Walking over to her desk, she snapped her armor over her undershirt, then hid both under a zip-up sweater. After pulling on the gloves she got from Jaune, she turned her attention to her boots… which only brought her attention to the part of tonight's attire that she despised most.

"Of other guys seeing you in that more than me. Duh." Yang waggled in eyebrows, and motioned toward the black miniskirt and stockings that Kassidy herself was wearing. "Seriously, though, what gives? I can already tell you're not comfortable wearing that – and I thought you hated wearing skirts."

"I'm not and I do," Kassidy answered, trying to at least pull down the hem of the skirt enough to cover even to the midpoint of her thighs. "The working theory is that guys'll be too focused on my legs to pay much attention to my face. I need every advantage I can get in not being recognized; if even one person notices who I am…"

"Yeah," Yang muttered. Kassidy kept fidgeting with her wardrobe, until Yang surprised her with a hug. "You sure you want to follow through on this?"

Kassidy nodded into Yang's shoulder. "Even if I wanted to play chicken, there's too much at risk. This is something I need to do." She pulled back far enough to get a good look at Yang's face, and hoped the concern she felt showed on her face. "How about you guys, though? You aren't obligated to help me with my problems; it's not too early for you three to back out."

Some serious poking at her shoulder caught Kassidy's attention, drawing it to Weiss. "First off, you're our teammate, so yes, we _are_ obligated to help you with your problems. Second off, you said it yourself: there's too much at stake here."

Ruby, having finished buckling her boots, took this time to try and lighten the mood. "Alright, guys, today's the day. The investigation begins!"

Weiss had to take a step back when the team leader launched herself off her bunk, and commented dryly, "I'm glad we're taking this so seriously."

Yang kept one arm over Kassidy's shoulders, while extending _Ember Celica_ on her other wrist to make sure it worked perfectly. "Hey, we've got a plan! That's… moderately serious."

While Kassidy rolled her eyes, Ruby prompted, "Right! Everyone remember their roles?"

"You and I will head to the CCT to check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies, or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem."

Kassidy pushed away from Yang long enough to pick up where Weiss had left off. "Old Oz tipped me off to a recruitment drive the White Fang is hosting tonight. If I can sneak in, I should be able to find some hints as to what they're really up to."

"And I've got a friend on the shady side of town that knows _everything_ going on in Vale." Yang finished with a smug grin. "Getting information out of him shouldn't be _too_ hard."

Ruby capped off the briefing with, "Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we've found. Let's do this!"

"Yeah!"

The sudden voice had all four girls jumping and swiveling their heads towards the window hard enough to give them whiplash. The culprit? A certain blonde Faunus boy, hanging upside down from his monkey tail.

Kassidy managed to vocalize what everyone was thinking. "Sun?! How did you get up there?"

Sun shrugged – or, at least, did the best job of shrugging he could while hanging upside down. "It's easy! I do this all the time!"

"You what?" Yang growled. Kassidy was certain that she wasn't the only one who had a chill run down her spine at that moment.

"I climb trees all the time!" Evidently, Sun was both without said chill and unaware that he had nearly suffered a severe case of dead; heck, he seemed unaware that he had insinuated that he peeped on the four of them in the first place. He flipped into their room and asked, "So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

Kassidy shook her head. " _We_ are going to be investigating the situation. _As a team._ "

"Sorry, Sun," Ruby reinforced. "We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to."

"Psht, that's dumb," Sun blew off. "You should always get friends involved. That's why I brought Neptune!"

Kassidy met each of her teammate's eyes; as though an unspoken signal had been exchanged, the entirety of the team shot over to the window. Sure enough, the aforementioned blue-haired teen was perched precariously on the ledge outside their room. Keeping his cool personality up as he always does, Neptune obviously had to greet them with a, "Sup?"

"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked.

"I have my ways," he replied. The smug grin vanished when he looked down, however, as did his coolness. "Seriously, though, can I come in? We're, like, really high up right now."

While Weiss and Ruby were helping Neptune in through the window, Kassidy, Yang, and Sun stepped further in to give them all room. Kassidy noticed Sun looking at her, and raised an eyebrow at him. He scratched the back of his head and said, "So, you're looking –"

"Yeah, no, let me stop you right there," Yang interrupted, bodily stepping in between her and Sun. "She's self-conscious enough about it, thank you very much."

"Whoa, hey, I wasn't meaning anything by it," Sun defended, throwing his hands up. "I was just about to say that I hardly even recognized her."

"Actually, Yang," Kassidy interjected, "maybe a… male perspective would help out." When both of their jaws dropped, she turned to Sun. "So, my goal with this getup was to draw attention away from my face, or failing that, my scars. Did I do a good job of that?"

Sun squinted as he stared at her face, before nodding and flashing both a thumbs-up and a grin. "Only reason I can see them is I know what to look for, and even then most people will be ogling over your legs. And don't worry, I'm good!" Sun hastily added when Yang's eyes flashed his way. "I'd prefer keeping all my organs where they are, thank you very much."

While Yang calmed down a bit, Kassidy scratched her chin in thought. While it sounded like Ruby and Weiss were filling Neptune in on what was going on, she asked Sun, "Alright, are you sure you're wanting to help us? Once we all leave this room, I'm going to officially declare it too late to back out."

"Dude, you remember what I told you at the café a few months ago?" Sun's expression darkened considerably, so much so that it almost took Kassidy off-guard. "I owe it to the Rosettes. The White Fang's not gonna take anyone else if I have something to say about it."

Kassidy nodded at him, her own resolve showing through her clenched jaw and furrowed brow. "Okay then. The White Fang's organizing a recruitment rally tonight, and I was going to sneak my way in and find out more about what they're up to. I already have a plan on how to do it, but having an actual Faunus with me would only help things."

Sun tilted his head even as his jaw went slack. "Exactly how were you going to convince people that you're a Faunus?"

"I'll tell you on the way over; if you're still in, that is."

Sun nodded, but before more words could be said Ruby got everyone's attention. "Alright. I'll go with Weiss, did I hear that Sun would be going with you, Kassidy?" The two parties in question nodded, prompting Ruby to… start shoving Neptune across the floor? "And Neptune, you can go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner. Everyone good?"

"Actually," Weiss interposed, "Why don't you go with Yang? After all, she is your sister."

Ruby cocked her head. "But who would go with you, then?"

Weiss smiled and lifted a hand level to her face. "I guess Neptune could come with me."

Kassidy blinked, before turning to her girlfriend and mouthing 'what'. Yang winked, but before she could say anything Ruby interrupted by way of breaking into laughter. "Pfft, nah! Okay guys, let's move out!" Ruby punctuated her statement by dragging a protesting Weiss behind her.

The four remaining souls exchanged glances, before Kassidy espoused, "Be careful, Yang." Ignoring the cocked eyebrow that came from her, she caught Neptune's eye and said, "You keep my woman safe now, you hear?"

Neptune nodded, but Yang snorted before responding, "You're the one that needs to be safe, partner. And speaking of…"

Yang strode up to Sun, but Kassidy stepped in front of her and planted her hand on her shoulder. "Actually, I'll field this one, Firecracker." Turning her attention to a now incredibly nervous Sun, she intoned, "Alright, since you're probably tired of Yang's death threats… if I find your hands where I don't want them, I'll shove my boot so far up your ass that you'll be tasting leather for the next week. We clear?"

Sun turned a bit green, and fervently nodded. Yang whistled low, and muttered, "Damn, and I thought I had good threats. Though, just to be clear, I was about to tell you to look out for her, alright?"

"Alright, ladies and germs, no time like the present," Kassidy announced. "Let's get this show on the road."

* * *

Sun's arm squeezed tighter around her shoulders as yet another passerby wolf whistled and gave her a wink. Kassidy shrunk closer into Sun's side, away from what felt like the five hundredth lecherous male this night (but in actually was only the eighty seventh… not including the baker's dozen of women who acted similarly). Kassidy sighed, mentally thanking whichever gods existed that Yang wasn't here… she might have had as high a body count as Kassidy did when all was said and done. Not to mention that they'd never find all of Sun's pieces.

But really, it was for the best. Sun pretending to be her boyfriend kept the worst of it away; more importantly, it helped establish an important part of their alibi when they tried to get into the recruitment rally.

Rounding the corner, Sun asked, "You sure this is the place?"

Kassidy nodded. "If my intel is correct, it should be in this alleyway up ahead." She fidgeted with her miniskirt yet again, then ensured, "You remember your part of the plan, right?"

"Relax, K, I got it."

"Don't call me K," Kassidy shot back even more harshly than she intended. When Sun raised his eyebrow, she explained, "Only Yang gets to call me K. Just like I'm the only one other than her uncle that can call her Firecracker."

"Cool," Sun shrugged. They turned into the alleyway, but Sun suddenly stopped and his eyes widened before he turned to her. "Crap, I completely didn't notice, are you even armed right now?"

Kassidy facepalmed; forget noticing his body language, Sun was lucky that nobody had heard him, so close to the entrance to the rally. "Yes, Sun, keep in mind who you're talking to. Everything's hidden under my jacket; as long as nobody tries to feel me up, I should be good."

"I'll make sure it doesn't come to that," he reassured. "Let me do the talking until he starts asking about you."

"Good evening, my good people," the greeter said. Dressed in a cheesy and, dare Kassidy say, out of fashion suit, he kept a calm, patient smile. His eyes, however, were what gave him away, as they narrowed on them – and her in particular. "Pray tell, you wouldn't be lost, would you?"

"Only by those who wish to lose us," Sun said, almost as though he had rehearsed it. "We wish to be found."

"Well, you have come to the right place, then. May I get your name, Mr…"

"Sun Wukong."

The greeter nodded, and handed Sun a Grimm mask. "Very good, Mr. Wukong. And what about you, Miss…"

"Nocturne," Kassidy said. "Artemis Nocturne."

"Indeed?" the greeter mentioned. His smile disappeared as his brow furrowed. "Pardon me to ask, Miss Nocturne, but what manner of Faunus are you?"

"Panther," Kassidy lied.

The greeter's eyes narrowed, and Kassidy knew that she needed to put on the acting performance of her life. _I sure do hope that getting Ruby to teach me how to turn on the waterworks at will pays off._ "If I may ask," the greeter said after a pause, "you do not look like much of a Faunus. What are your traits?"

Discreetly nudging Sun in the side with her elbow, Kassidy willed her eyes to widen and start watering. In a faux shaky and cracking voice, she stuttered, "My ears… they were… they were… oh, Sun!"

"There, there, they can't hurt you anymore," Sun comforted, allowing Kassidy to throw herself into his chest as she faked bawling into him. He raised his gaze to the greeter, and sheepishly explained, "I'm sorry about that. Last week, she got attacked, and…"

The greeter's eyes widened until they were the size of dinner plates; the man even took a step back and sucked in a sharp breath. "Dear Oum. I am so sorry, Miss Nocturne, I had no idea, please forgive me." He handed a white mask to her, then planted a hand on her shoulder; fortunately, he didn't seem to notice the armor underneath. "Let me tell you that you are doing the right thing, coming to us. If Oum wills it, then perhaps you'll be able to repay the vermin personally."

"That would… that would be nice," Kassidy seethed. Still pressed into Sun's chest, she stepped into the warehouse when the greeter opened the door for them. She waited until they rounded the corner, then pulled herself out of his torso and slipped the mask on. She frowned at how it constricted her peripheral vision, then tapped her earpiece. "That was even easier than I thought it would be, Sun. Alright, Bob, I'm in. We still recording? Everyone still doing good? Is my distraction in place?"

"Yes, yes, and yes."

Unfortunately, there was no time for any more words, as they were pushed into an assembly, split in half between existing and prospective White Fang members. They waited a few minutes, before a monster of a man stepped onto the raised stage and tapped on a headset microphone. "Thank you all for coming," he announced. "For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours. I can assure you, he is the key to attaining what we have fought for for so long."

The cane came out first, followed by a pair of brown shoes and black slacks. Kassidy nearly growled, already knowing who their 'special comrade' was. Although, as the man stepped out, she couldn't help but notice that Roman was _still_ wearing more mascara than she was. "Thank you, thank you!" he announced. When the only reaction to his appearance was frustrated grumbling, he added, "Please, hold your applause."

"What's a human doing here?!" the girl in front of Kassidy yelled out. _Finally_ , Kassidy thought, _someone with brains. Might even be able to use that._

"I'm glad you asked, dearie!" Roman shot back, no doubt referring to her antlers in what Kassidy had to admit was a halfway decent pun. He quickly turned into what could only be described as a salesperson, though, and began, "I'll be the first to admit: humans are the _worst_. Case in point. So, I understand why you would love to see us all locked away. Or, better yet, killed."

Kassidy felt Sun rustle the top of her hair as he leaned over to whisper, "So, is he going somewhere with this, or…"

"Not to mention the fact that you and I all have a common enemy," Roman continued. "The ones in control. The people pulling the strings. The dirty, rotten humans that run our Kingdoms." Getting fully into the act, he started counting out on his fingers, "Government, military, even the schools; they're all to blame for your lot in life."

"I'm not sure what's worse," Kassidy whispered back. "That he had to resort to such a hilarious reason you'd expect on a Saturday morning cartoon, or that it's actually working."

"And they're all pests that need to be dealt with," Roman announced. "Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around… no offense to any rodents in the room."

What happened next made Kassidy so pale that she was certain it was showing through the small mountain of foundation that Weiss had piled on her face: the curtained backdrop was ripped away. Standing behind it? Nothing less than a fully armed and operational Paladin. She heard Sun mutter something next to her, but she was practically mashing into her earpiece. "Bob, please tell me you can get into that Paladin."

While Bob wound his way through every wirelessly accessible device in Vale in an attempt to find a way in, Roman continued his speech. "As some of you may have heard, this right here is Atlas' newest line of defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my employer, we managed to snag a few before they, uh, hit the shelves. Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay in the city, that's fine. But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in… this is the arsenal I can provide you." Posing with his cigar and cane, and giving the biggest shit-eating grin Kassidy had ever seen, Roman concluded with, "Any questions?"

"This is bad," Kassidy said. Stuck in a warehouse, surrounded by hostiles, and staring down a bipedal tank which was definitely more intimidating in person than on blueprints, genuine panic was threatening to set in. She heaved a few great breaths and, through force of will, kept her wits about her.

"We've got a bigger problem," Sun nearly sang.

"Bigger than a Pala…" Kassidy trailed off when she saw the problem: Roman Torchwick staring right at them. Sure, it was almost certain that he couldn't recognize _her_ , but she didn't even think about the fact that Sun could've been recognized, and the fact that she'd been no more than eighteen inches from him at any point throughout the night meant that it didn't matter if they knew who she was, because she was now an enemy by association. Fortunately, there was a plan for this. "Bob, I need that distraction right about now."

Roman had gotten the announcer's attention and was pointing right at them. When he turned back to look at them, Kassidy took the time to flip him the bird – _dear Oum has Yang been a terrible influence on me_ – and it was immediately afterward that Bob made his presence known. The lights went out, the fire alarms started blaring, and the water sprinklers started dousing the warehouse's occupants.

"Sun, get to the window! I'm right behind you!" Unlike nearly every single person in the building, Kassidy did not have good night vision; fortunately, it was still good enough to follow a monkey tail poking out of a white shirt. Sun rushed through the crowed, and whatever he couldn't muscle out of the way Kassidy was more than able to dodge. Her heart leapt into her throat when the unmistakable sounds of heavy machinery turning on told the story of the Paladin behind them activating. And she and Sun were the targets.

Sun smashed through the glass, and the moonlight gave Kassidy enough sight to know the best way to jump, dropping into a roll on the way down and being thankful none of the glass decided to stick itself into her arm. She had kept running for a few seconds when an ungodly crunching sound came from behind, and a quick look over her shoulder made her eyes widen as the Paladin sprinting after them, moving even faster than she was. Sun leapt onto a car in front of them, then made the Aura-boosted jump to the roof of the building ahead of them. She cried after him to get his attention, then rolled up the sleeve of her sweater and fired her grappling bracer at him. Sun wasted no time in hauling her up to the roof, and as soon as her feet were on the shingles they both took off in a dead sprint across the rooftops.

"You wouldn't happen to have, I don't know, some form of backup?!" Sun yelled at her. Kassidy scowled; she couldn't afford to lose even the slightest bit of momentum, or else she wouldn't be able to make the jumps across these roofs. Heck, the small but noticeable strengthening Narud's test serum had given her muscles was the only reason she could do this at all. Consequently, she couldn't afford her attention to be anywhere else except making sure she didn't slip, or slow down, or do anything that would have a best case scenario of broken legs.

Thinking quickly, she took her earpiece out of her ear and tossed it to the guy that actually had Aura to help him along with the impromptu parkour training. "That's got a direct line to my AI," Kassidy shouted. "Get in front of me! I'm following you; I can't afford to look around and figure out where we're going! Not all of us have Aura to make this easy!" After she had finished yelling at Sun, she returned the full extent of her focus to what was in front of her, though as he guided her from rooftop to rooftop she could hear him yelling into the earpiece for backup.

Kassidy nearly panicked again, however, when she saw that they were quickly running out of roofs to jump across. She was about to ask Sun what now when she spotted a freeway passing under them. "Oh god, please no," she muttered, but her heart sank when Sun did indeed take a leap of faith. In front of her, a jump that she could not make and would almost certainly leave her crippled; behind her, thirty seven tons of Dust-reinforced steel that would most definitely ensure she wouldn't live long enough to regret coming out tonight. Two terrible, terrible options, but one was still better than the other. Muttering a quick prayer for maybe the fourth time in her life, Kassidy took what she fully expected to be her last breath, and jumped.

"Gotcha!" Sun yelled. Kassidy's arm felt like it was being ripped out of its socket, but she hung on for all she was worth, and soon she found herself resting in Sun's arms. She might have been embarrassed if it weren't for the bowel-voiding terror that was the Paladin _also_ making the jump and continuing the chase on the freeway. Kassidy looked around from her quite limited vantage point, but still didn't like what she saw.

"I can't make these jumps," Kassidy said when Sun was about to put her down.

Sun looked around himself, gritted his teeth, then looked down and asked, "Get Yang to not kill me?"

"Get me out of this alive, and deal."

Sun was about to go taking off, playing a real-life and infinitely more lethal game of Frogger, all while carrying her bridal style, when what sounded like sci-fi energy blasts started sounding behind them. They both turned around, and caught sight of the cavalry: Yang and Bumblebee, and on the back of both was Neptune, his rifle firing blue bolts of plasma that impacted hard against the Paladin. "I've never been so glad to see Neptune," Kassidy muttered.

"And I've never been so glad to see Yang," Sun agreed.

And then, of course, Neptune had to ruin a good thing and do something that Kassidy would never understand: instead of continuing to fire at the Paladin, he turned his rifle into some kind of bladed spear, leapt off of Bumblebee, and stuck his weapon into the back of the war machine while hanging on for dear life.

"Sorry about this," Sun warned, before immediately dropping her on the roof of the car they were riding on, handing her the earpiece back, and squaring up to the Paladin. "Neptune, hang on!" He slammed his open palms together, and… there were two more Suns? _No, that isn't right, they're just outlines. Almost like Blake's shadow clones, except these seem more tangible._ Sun's light clones, for lack of a better name at the moment, dashed ahead of them and suicide bombed themselves into the Paladin's hide, before Sun himself pulled out his staff and leapt after them. Roman reacted beautifully, however, finally managing to dislodge Neptune and even getting the two boys to collide in midair, carrying them off the side of the freeway – and out of the fight.

She didn't have time to panic over their loss, though, as Weiss started shouting into her earpiece. "Kassidy, I'm in position!"

"Position for what?!" Kassidy shouted back, before she turned around just in time to see Weiss gracefully backflip onto the freeway – _yeah, rub in the fact that I don't have Aura, why don't you?_ – and bring _Myrtenaster_ up into a guard. Kassidy was about to ask something along the lines of what the hell was she thinking when the blade frosted over. Knowing what was about to happen, and knowing that she didn't want to be anywhere near it, Kassidy looked to the side, saw that there wasn't about to be any cars there, muttered her second prayer of the night, and dove off. Fortunately, the combination of her leather jacket and the metal armor underneath kept the concrete from skinning her alive.

Her head shot back up in time to see Weiss spread a thick layer of ice over the entirety of the road… and, in a manner that would almost seem more at home in a bad movie than in real life, the Paladin actually slipped on it, losing control and careening off the edge.

However, it just _had_ to choose to lose control immediately next to Kassidy, and as it tore through the concrete and rebar it also tore through the very ground she was standing on. She had just long enough to glance around, seeing Weiss' hand come to her mouth in shock, and Yang scramble off her motorcycle as quickly as she could, before she was no longer on terra firma. Fully fledged panic set in before she remembered her grapple bracer, aimed it somewhere above her, and fired it off. As if answering her prayers that night, Yang snagged the cable out of the air and let Kassidy lower herself to the ground.

Of course, nothing was allowed to go right for Kassidy Smith tonight, as evidenced by the fact that she had lowered immediately in front of the Paladin. Almost as if on cue, Torchwick's voice came through, no doubt enhanced by some sort of speaker system. "All right, ya brat, now you're just getting annoying. Let's see you survive this!"

Before the plasma cannon had even finished charging up, however, Kassidy felt something slam into her side and drag her away. As suddenly as her motion started, it stopped, and Kassidy had to fight to not throw up all over… "Ruby?!"

Said girl flashed her a thumbs up, even while extending _Crescent Rose_ over her shoulder. "Got your back!"

Two thumps sounded beside her, prompting Kassidy to come face to face with both Weiss and Yang. _Hey, the gang's all here. Except…_ Her gaze returning to the hulking monstrosity in front of them, Kassidy could almost feel herself shut down as the fear truly set in. _I'd rather fight an Abrams. At least that thing's too big and slow to get out of its own way. This thing? I can't do shit to it, it's faster than me, and has the perfect weaponry for just removing my existence entirely._

Kassidy was drawn out of her thoughts when a hand settled on her shoulder. Yang's eyes – already beginning to flicker crimson – looked back at her, and the omnipresent cocky sneer was in place. "Relax, K. We got this." And at that moment, Kassidy truly did believe that they had this. A girl carrying around a 40mm cannon in her scythe, someone hilariously skilled in using what basically amounted to magic, and a bruiser with a theoretically infinite capacity for absorbing and delivering kinetic energy? What was a walking tank to that?

Weiss and Ruby shared similar sentiments, allowing Kassidy time to take a breath, reset her thought process, and draw her weapons. A clip of explosive ammo found itself slammed into _Rogue_ , and _Baton_ was curled up under Kassidy's chin in her imitation of Weiss' guard.

"Oh, look, you brought all the other brats with you this time!" Roman goaded, having recovered from whatever Weiss and Yang had done to his mech on the way down. "At least I won't have to waste time hunting you four down. And… hmm, what's this? So many buttons! Eeny, meeny, miny… all of them!"

As the Paladin began powering up even more, Kassidy caught Yang's gaze out the side of her eye. Really, there was only one appropriate reaction to this situation.

"Am I seriously about to fight a bipedal tank with a sword?"

* * *

 **AN 2: Hope you liked the extra 1k words in today's chapter. Consider it my apology for being gone so much. Also… I kinda need a full chapter for the robot fight scene, and I didn't want to split it between two chapters. So, here you all go.**

 **Now time to work on** _ **next**_ **chapter while I'm on a roll. Hell, at this rate we might even be able to go back to 2x/week uploads over the course of the summer.**

 **Coming up next: oh, c'mon, you now what's coming up next.  
**

 **Right after these Reviewer Responses.**

 **Captain marvel 36: Fear not, I have disappeared no more! (hopefully)**

 **Dreiundzwanzig: I'd probably feel more of an urge to ask "how you would know what living in someone else's head is like", but I have a disturbingly good idea of what your answer will be.**

 **Nice to be back in action, here's to more RWKY!**

 **serioushugsies: Thanks for the sentiment, but after those rough few months we should be back to normal here. Maybe even better than normal, if I can keep up this writing schedule.**


	69. V2C11: BattleBots

**Volume 2 Chapter 11: BattleBots**

 **AN: So… yeah. Not much going on here at the moment. Summer class is hilariously easy. Writing's coming along well. RWBY Chibi is hilarious. Still waiting on the RWBY V4 OST.**

 **Yeah. You guys want it. I want it. No more delays. It's… robot fightin' time!**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

The powered up Paladin began stalking forward. One thunderous step. Then another. Each step shook the ground they were standing on. Despite all the bravado, all the fancy tricks, all the monstrous sniper scythes they had… it still didn't change the fact that they were facing down a walking tank that reached their height five times over, and their weight many dozens of times over. If they wanted this fight to be on favorable terms, they needed to kick things off now. _It shouldn't be me, though. Out of all four of us, I'm the only one that's probably completely incapable of even inconveniencing it. But if nobody does anything soon, then –_

"Freezerburn!" Ruby cried.

 _Well, there's that, I guess._ Kassidy backpedaled as quickly as she could, Ruby in hot pursuit, while Yang leapt into the air even as Weiss twirled and manifested a great sheet of frost on the ground. Kassidy's partner came crashing down an instant later, throwing up an instant smokescreen that bought them time. The fact that this was steam – not smoke – meant that even infrared sensors would be fooled, at least for a while. A sensor beam popped up right next to Kassidy's head, making her flinch and panic, until she realized that it was a simple proximity beam. As long as the beam itself didn't hit her, the Paladin was currently blind.

Kassidy stayed hot on Ruby's heels as the four girls circled around, each trying to find an opening as Roman continued to search for them. He even had the gall to goad them over the Paladin's speaker systems. "Come out, come out, wherever you are. Old Uncle Roman's got some presents for you girlies."

"Any luck getting into that creep's systems yet, Bob?" Kassidy whispered.

"No can do, that's a closed system the Paladin unit is operating on. I'd need a direct link to do anything."

Ruby came to a stop, peeking around a pillar before ducking her head back. Silver eyes glanced towards her, and their owner asked, "What does Bob need from us?"

Kassidy shook her head. "He can't get in. We need to do this the hard way. Actually… Bob, don't we have that armor piercing shell we made for Crescent Rose in my locker?"

"That's an affirmative," her computer confirmed.

"Get my locker over here, then; that ammo's the best chance we have of taking this thing down fast." A blur of motion across the way caught Kassidy's eye, which happened to be Yang sprinting to the next pillar that served as their only cover. Kassidy's heart leapt into her throat when the Paladin stopped, turned, and aimed right at where Yang was hiding, but fortunately Roman made no attempt to be the aggressor in this instance. Trying to will her erratic pulse back to some faint semblance of normalcy, Kassidy turned back to Ruby, who seemed to be tensing up. "So, in the meantime… what am I supposed to do, again? Even with my explosive ammo, I can't do shit to that thing."

Something skidded to a stop right behind her; Kassidy jumped and had to clamp her hand over her mouth to keep a yelp from alerting Roman to where she was, almost giving herself a new scar with _Baton_ in the process. Weiss seemingly materialized next to her, and tensed again before speaking over her shoulder, "I took the time to study the schematics a few days ago. Those sensors it has aren't sturdy at all and should come apart easily enough if you hit them. Plus, now that you're stronger than you used to be, you _should_ be able to shear through any external hydraulic lines if you put your weight behind it."

"If you get its attention, I can go in and get this party started," Ruby mentioned almost off-handedly. Kassidy was caught off guard; usually, whenever they fought, Ruby was without any shadow of a doubt their leader, but she was still Ruby. Now, though, with so much on the line, there was no trace of the awkward little girl with far too much fondness for cookies and strawberries than was healthy. There wasn't a trace of fear. Of doubt. Of anything other than conviction and iron will. Ruby's face was nearly blank, her eyes sharpened in focus, her tongue even poking out of her mouth a bit as she thought. It didn't matter that she was the youngest person to ever attend Beacon Academy. It didn't matter that she was staring at the closest thing Remnant's ever come to a tank. She was in control of the situation, not Roman – and she all but dared anyone to challenge her on that.

Weiss nodded, and shot back, "Get ready." Her legs coiled, eyes narrowed, and her breathing remained easy. Shoulders back, left foot forward, hands steady. Whether through pride, ego, a desire to prove herself to her father, a desire to prove herself to her friends… call it what you will, but Weiss Schnee would _never_ back down from a challenge of any kind. _Especially_ not a challenge like this. Countless hours spent in the training arenas, hitting the books, and experimenting with both Dust and her Semblance ensured that the Schnee heiress was ready for anything. A desire for perfection that bordered on fanaticism ensured that her accuracy was peerless. _Myrtenaster_ was as precise and sharp as a surgeon's scalpel. Backed by her team, Weiss' reaction to this situation was obvious; in her mind's eye, they'd already won. Now, it was simply a matter of breaking through the Paladin's defenses, and tearing Roman apart piece by screaming piece with surgical precision.

Before Weiss could launch herself into the fray, however, Kassidy spied a golden shock of hair peek around the pillar opposite her, and locked eyes with the lilac orbs of her girlfriend. Yang Xiao Long was a veritable force of nature on the battlefield: relentless, irresistible, unstoppable. There was no quarter given, no room for error. If you were at anything less than your absolute best, then Yang would beat you into a pulp, drag you kicking and screaming out of any fantasies or delusions of superiority, and leave your broken body on display as a warning to any that would attack that which she held dear. The woman that Kassidy had grown to care about like none before her – in one or two ways, not even like her old family – was all but a goddess of war, destruction incarnate. And when faced with thirty seven tons of the densest package of violence the eggheads in Atlas could come up with, it was surely little more than just another obstacle to clobber into the ground, kindling to fuel her flames.

It was from their strength, their conviction, that Kassidy drew her own. There was no question; she was the least of them. The weakest by far. But in other ways, she was so much more. She was Special Weapons Project 31187 Model 2: a weaponized human. Forged on the anvil of mad science and tempered through the fires of war, she was the greatest biological weapon ever conceived. Dozens – nay, hundreds – of times prior, she had stared her death in the face and laughed at it. Her world had sought to kill her, and had certainly done its best to do so. But not even the end of reality itself could destroy her; she'd just gone to a new universe and continued to live there. What she lacked in power, she would make up in intelligence, precision, and experience. Even after having fought her twice previously, Roman had no idea what he was going up against.

By the time this night was over, she'd gut him like a fish and stick his head on a fucking pike. After, of course, he lived exactly as long as it took to regret endangering those whom she cared about.

This is why, when Weiss dashed out of cover to draw Roman's attention, he had already lost; he was fighting Team Rookie, after all. The Paladin swiveled, and twin bursts from its plasma cannons atomized the concrete that Weiss standing on mere moments prior. Of course, in that time, Weiss had already stopped, reversed course, and returned to Ruby and Kassidy. Like the Huntress finally getting bored with simply watching its prey, Ruby struck. The recoil of _Crescent Rose_ , combined with Ruby's Semblance, quickly accelerated her to supersonic speeds. Merely half a second later, the girl that could literally outrun bullets swung her scythe; the impact carried so much force that a long, large scar was torn into the front plate just by that first blow. Bouncing back and staring down her foe, Ruby called out, "Checkmate!"

Kassidy dashed forward with Weiss, keeping up with her white-haired teammate despite having run for her life for so long previously, and despite not having an Aura to help her in the speed department. Two explosive bullets thundered from _Rogue_ , detonating against the armored hide and blinding Roman from launching a counterattack. Having closed the distance, the two swordswomen got to work, expertly slicing through sensor after sensor. Kassidy had gotten through three before the Paladin had steadied itself; Weiss was balanced on a glyph and in the middle of removing her rapier from the mech's primary sensor cluster under the cockpit.

It was here that Kassidy got greedy, and her first mistake was made. Believing Roman to have not yet compensated for their blistering assault, she tried for the final remaining sensor node on its left arm. The colossal steel limb, however, was pulled out of her range with far more dexterity than its size belied. Kassidy stumbled, caught off balance; when she regained her footing, it was to see the Paladin's right foot above her head. Roman obviously had every intention to squash her like the insignificant bug she had felt like just moments prior. But, unlike all those previous times they'd fought, Kassidy was not alone. A glyph spun up below her, Weiss pulling her to safety and out from under the steel shoe that slammed down where she had stood not a second ago.

Roman would not be denied so easily, however; this much was obvious when the Paladin's rocket pods opened and the first salvo fired. Kassidy's eyes bulged for a moment before they turned to Weiss. She was out of her depths in this fight, and Weiss knew it. Her white-haired teammate quickly tossed her head over her shoulder, beckoning her backwards, before she started performing backflips and leveraging her glyphs to both create distance and confound the rockets' targeting systems. Kassidy followed suit, and while she had no penchant for acrobatics she was able to achieve much of the same effect.

An audible growl came from the Paladin's speakers, no doubt as a result of Roman's frustrations from being able to do anything even remotely effective so far. That changed quickly when the twin plasma cannons aimed up at an airborne and presently helpless Weiss Schnee. Kassidy did not fear for her teammate's health, though, since Weiss' glyphs were both versatile and powerful enough to save her from such an attack.

Instead of doing anything to block the attack, however, Weiss elected instead to eat the plasma shots head on. Blue clouds of particles detonated, throwing her back. Before she disappeared, Weiss gave Kassidy one final gift, in the form of a golden ribbon racing to the ground. Its aim was off, but Kassidy recognized the haste glyph for what it was and rolled to its target location. Another series of rocket pods opened on the Paladin, and Kassidy knew what was expected of her. She would not let her teammates down. The magazine of explosive ammo slid out, to be replaced by regular ammo, just as the glyph's effect took hold. Between whatever biological nonsense was done to her, and the effects of Weiss' most powerful use of her Semblance thus far, the rockets were no longer traveling faster than her eye could track. In fact, they were quite trackable.

It was here that Kassidy shone, amongst all that her team could do. Two brains calculated individual trajectories; years of experience guided her aim; the twitchiest muscles to have ever twitched spat out bullets at a rate one might expect to find in a fully automatic weapon. One, two, four, eight rockets exploded before they had fully emerged from their pods. Slide magazine out, slam new one in, plot new trajectories, resume firing. Even before the final bullet had reached its target, _Rogue_ was slid into its holster and _Baton_ was drawn from its sheath. Kassidy's experience told her exactly what would happen next, and her reactions – coupled with the fading effects of the haste glyph – ensured that she would be able to perform accordingly.

Thus, even before Ruby had cried, "Ladybug," Kassidy was already moving. Ruby herself had already blown past her and was righting herself for another pass, while Kassidy decided upon a route of attack – an exposed line on the left leg. Unlike Checkmate, a series of precision strikes aimed at crippling their opponent, Ladybug was a frenzied flurry of sweeping steel, too random to predict and counter and too quick to react properly to. Tendons and ligaments started flaring in complaint as Kassidy pushed herself to limits she'd never pushed to prior, but she grit her teeth and forced her body to comply with her demands. With every pass, _Baton_ would find some critical point in the armor to weaken or pry loose, prompting _Crescent Rose_ to violently exploit the new weakness on the next attack. Hydraulic fluid leaked on the pavement and one of the legs' movements became noticeably choppier, but their attack was finally halted when Roman found some targeting solution and blasted apart the road right in front of Kassidy, forcing her from her path.

Fluttering rose petals told the story of Ruby's departure as the girl headed straight for a certain locker that had slammed into the pavement. In the next breath, Yang was at her side. Their eyes locked, and they shared a nod – then they descended again upon their foe. Yang stood her ground, ducking around any attempts to take her out of the fight but ultimately holding her ground as she fired a mix of steel slugs and explosive shot at the critical joints on the Paladin's legs. Kassidy, meanwhile, continued to flit about as quickly as she could, defying Roman's attempts to lock either of them down and finding some crucial exploit or another that her girlfriend could take advantage of. Still, Kassidy had to bite back a groan as she dodged around a flailing metal arm and struck for the fourth time a particular line, finally severing it and further hampering the mech's mobility. Even for her second to none stamina, this was too much – sprinting for a mile and a half across rooftops and the freeway, then pushing her body like it's never been pushed before in this fight. This attack wasn't sustainable; she needed a break. When Yang's eyes met hers again, comprehension dawned on her partner's face.

" _Now!_ " Ruby cried, signaling at the same time Kassidy's break, and something far sweeter. Dug in sixty feet away was _Crescent Rose_. Ruby manned the gun, stabilizing the gun in the concrete and taking aim through the scope while also slamming into the breech the largest round the cannon could accept. Weiss stood next to her, a series of acceleration glyphs materializing in front of the muzzle. Yang and Kassidy dove out of the firing line, while Roman had no choice but to stand and eat the hell that was about to come his way.

When _Crescent Rose_ fired, it was not one of those paradoxically quiet sounds that came from Ruby's usual ammunition. The crack sounded like it had cracked the very fabric of space. Out of the gun, emerged what had to be Kassidy's greatest – and most expensive – creation so far. A lead core, surrounded by Dust-reinforced titanium, propelled by none other than the ridiculously energetic thermite-fire Dust mix previously relegated to high explosives. On its own, it had punched through a Deathstalker's shell on its first field test. Out here, propelled by Weiss' glyphs, _Crescent Rose_ was effectively transformed into a railgun. It was, by far, the strongest attack Team Rookie could muster, and it was aimed right at Roman Torchwick. After the crack, there was an ear-bleeding scream as it flew so quickly the air ignited around it. Then, there was a horrendous groan that seemed to tear the heavens apart. When the displaced air calmed enough for everyone to return their sight to their foe, it was in time to watch the Paladin's left arm fall to the ground next to the mech. Those arms were designed to take thousands of tons of force, and repeatedly stand up to anything up to and including a Beringel, Bullhead assault, and other Paladins.

They had torn that arm off in one shot.

It was here, when it had seemed to Kassidy that they were on the cusp of victory, that things went wrong. To begin with, she knew from experience that large and powerful a shell had damaged _Crescent Rose_ 's firing mechanism; Ruby knew that, too, and yet had fired anyway, so she must have had deemed her last shot to have been worth it. It was when Ruby and Weiss were still trying to reengage in the fight, however, that Yang leapt onto the Paladin itself and began firing into the armor plate protecting the cockpit. Rather than be slow to react after such a devastating blow, like Kassidy had thought, Roman had even seemed to predict that Yang would attack him in such a fashion. Utilizing a mobility that they had thought they had severely hampered, the Paladin smashed through concrete columns, Yang-first, before rotating around, bringing a giant mechanical fist over its remaining cannon, and punched her through another.

Kassidy didn't hear Yang's name tear through her own lips in an agonized scream. She barely saw Weiss dash forward to distract Roman from pressing his advantage. She hardly even felt Ruby tugging on her shoulder. All she saw was bloodied golden hair, laying in the pavement. Then, for the briefest of instances that Kassidy couldn't have been sure it had even happened, it wasn't pavement – it was the forest floor, with an Alpha Hunter-Killer stalking forth to finish the job. Kassidy was about to run to her; to throw down her sword, throw down her pistol, ignore everything except her girlfriend lying face-down in crumpled concrete. She would have, too, if Yang hadn't gotten back up.

It was a slow thing. Her arms shook, weak at first. Her breath was choppy before she spat out a glob of blood. When she had fought to her hands and knees, however, Yang's head rose – and eyes of the deepest red glared at the Paladin, a terrifyingly feral growl on her lips. Flames danced in her treasured mane, and she rose to her feet just in time for Weiss to dodge out of the way of a titanic punch that tore through another concrete pillar; Kassidy idly wondered how the freeway above them hadn't collapsed yet. With the heiress out of the way, Roman seemed to have happened to spy the just-rising form of Yang, and obviously decided to finish her off. The mech reared back and threw a punch that could shatter buildings. As it sailed towards its target, there really was only one obvious outcome.

Almost casually, Yang threw out an arm and caught the Paladin's punch one-handed. Kassidy wasn't sure how much kinetic energy her girlfriend had absorbed, but 'a lot' seemed like an understatement. Yang's right hand balled up, and with a flaming fist the Paladin's other arm practically disintegrated. A white glyph appeared under Yang and dragged her away from a kick; even with a grand total of zero intact offensive systems, Roman evidently wasn't ready to give up just yet. _Fine, then. If you aren't smart enough to figure out when to quit, I'm more than willing to put you down the hard way._

"Yang, catch!" she cried. Her grapple bracer fired out, but before Yang had caught it Kassidy slammed a magazine of ice ammunition home into _Rogue_. Handing her gun to Ruby, Kassidy said, "Make sure he can't see what's coming." As Ruby all but flew off to deposit a load of ice on Roman's windshield, Yang had taken a step back and stared at her, silently asking if she was ready. With a nod, Kassidy braced herself, and willed her body to obey her commands just one more time.

Like a giant ball-and-chain, Kassidy started spinning in a circle, dragging her grapple bracer and, ultimately, Yang around as she gathered momentum. Without exchanging words, they quickly reached their top speeds while grounded, but that was insufficient. To solve this, Yang fired _Ember Celica_ directly beneath her. Kassidy's arms were nearly pulled out of their sockets – she almost felt one of them dislocate before it somehow resisted the massive forces in play and remained in place – and with a strength only possible through her chemical rushes, caused Yang to fly. Seeing that Ruby had sufficiently blinded the Paladin, Kassidy brought her partner to bear.

And like a burning star, Yang fell upon the Paladin.

Her fist found the original gash that Ruby had carved upon its armor with her first strike. The metal screamed as it tore, tons of steel ripping off the cockpit. Unable to compensate for the immense load suddenly placed upon it, the mech started to fall. Except, with the precise, almost surgical damage they had suffered, the legs were not capable of supporting the new center of gravity. It was the right leg that gave first, snapping and shearing at the knee. From there, it was only a matter of time until the Paladin had fallen, never to get back up.

Ruby sped to in front of it; they all fell in step behind their leader, waiting to see if Roman had any other tricks up his sleeve. A faint click sounded, barely audible over the diminishing sounds of chaos, before the far more audible sounds of their foe cursing up a storm rose above. Roman stumbled out from the wreckage, hand clutching at a bloody wound in his stomach. He turned around to and fro, eyes widening as they came upon the four teenage girls that trounced him.

"Give it up, Torchwick," Kassidy shouted, stepping forward with _Rogue_ aimed at the man. "It's over. Come quietly, or I'm gonna have to get angry." Letting her snarl grow teeth, she added, "And believe me, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

Despite everything, Roman sneered at them. "I think I'll take my chances," he answered.

"So be it," Yang muttered. Cocking _Ember Celica_ , she let fly an explosive round at the crook that promised to end him then and there.

A blurred shape dropped in front of the round. When the explosion died down, it seemed as though it was blocked… _by a parasol?!_ The woman – or, really, girl – wielding it glared at them with heterochromatic eyes. From the corset, to the thigh-high boots, to the jacket, to the thick collar on her neck, the half-pint obviously had a peculiar taste in fashion. A taste in fashion absolutely nobody cared about at the moment.

"Ah, thank you, Neo. Perfect timing, as per usual." Roman found his cane on the ground next to him, glared at the four of them, and then mentioned, "If you would."

'Neo' bowed, and then both her and Roman seemed to freeze. Acting on a sneaking suspicion, she held Yang back from charging in on them, then used the last round in _Rogue_ 's current magazine to blow away the glass their forms had been replaced with. The four of them looked around, only to find a Bullhead flying away with both villains on board. Kassidy considered reloading and sending shots after it, but decided not to waste the ammo.

"Well. That was… brutal," Yang mentioned. "Looks like he got a new henchman, too."

"Yeah," Weiss muttered. "She really made our plans… fall apart?"

Ruby might have snickered a bit at it, but Kassidy and Yang glanced at each other for the briefest of moments before simultaneously deadpanning, "No."

"What?" Weiss shrieked. "You two do it all the time!"

"The difference is," Kassidy reminded, "we're actually good at it."

" _Ahem_ ," a voice cleared behind them, causing all of them to freeze. In synch, the four girls turned around, finding none other than Glynda Goodwitch glaring at them. "Would _any_ of you care to explain yourselves?"

Ruby nervously giggled and Weiss paled, but once again Kassidy and Yang acted in synch. After trading glances and shrugging, Kassidy turned to the other half of the team and asked, "You two mind fielding this? I'm pretty damn beat, and Yang was _actually_ beaten. I think we could both do with a good night's sleep after this."

" _Ahem_ ," Glynda repeated.

 _Well, shit._

* * *

 **AN 2: For those of you wondering why I left out basically all of the banter after the fight, keep in mind this is RWKY, not RWBY.**

 **Alright, let me explain that cheap excuse: Kassidy is more willing than Blake to go to any length to stop the White Fang. I've shown that already: while Blake reads news reports, Kassidy sneaks out at night and has gunfights to try and break up robberies. Both sides are far more willing to use far more force to stop the other at this point in the story, compared to RWBY proper. Hence, while in the canon show there was a bit of amicability that lead to a bit of trash talking, here in RWKY, both sides (to some extent – looking at you, Ruby) are more than willing and are absolutely trying to outright kill the other side. Sounds like an atmosphere less conducive to shit talking, if you ask me. There's a lot more at stake here than in canon.**

 **Now, with that ray of freakin' sunshine out of the way, let's get to Reviewer Responses.**

 **Coming up next: A bit of time for relaxation. Trust me… we're gonna need it. And on that note, I apologize in advance for the two chapters after that.**

 **EWR115: IMO, it depends on what you're doing. I'll kinda explain more as part of the story next chapter, but an Abrams would pretty much wipe the floor with a Paladin… but they're also designed for different jobs. I'd pick a Paladin over an Abram for fighting Grimm, for example, because that was what it was designed to do. An Abram's main gun is horrendous overkill for anything smaller than a Deathstalker, and probably even then. After that… you're just left with a giant metal box that can't get out of its own way.**

 **AgentDraakis: I wouldn't bet on it. Or maybe. Your pick, I suppose. Really, Ruby would tell her dad – who else? To be fair to Kassidy, Roman didn't recognize her at first. Damnit, Sun. People's reactions are something I'm trying to put more focus on as the story goes on. This isn't a case of "oh no, I'm being chased by a robot, how terrible"; this is a case of "HOLY FUCKING SHIT I'M GETTING CHASED BY A WALKING TANK THAT'S FASTER THAN I AM RUN FASTER DAMNIT"**

 **What happened in dodgeball? Well… have you ever stood in front of a pitching machine, and got hit by it? Yeah. In all honesty, I just laughed way too hard at that Chibi skit and felt it necessary to include some passing reference to it. Of course, that being said, Penny's block (or head, in this case) getting knocked off is** _ **not**_ **RWKYcanon.**

 **Also, speaking of which, did I do well with reactions/feelings/etc. this chapter? Kinda sorta felt like I was too heavy-handed in this chapter, and if I messed up… well, this is probably a big enough chapter to require an outright replacement if I done screwed up with that stuff. Not to mention changing my writing style accordingly.**


	70. V2C12: I'm So Meta, Even This Acronym

**Volume 2 Chapter 12: I'm So Meta, Even This Acronym**

 **AN: Title pun, yay! Gotta admit, that's one of my favorite one-liners, right there.**

 **Guarantee of no Monday chapter, considering I have an exam that day. Yay summer classes. Next chapter Friday, if I have anything to say about it (which seems to become more and more of an oddity these days).**

 **Tonight, RWKY have to deal with the aftermath of the robot fight. Plus, it's kinda been a while since we've seen JNPR and I feel guilty for not giving Ren the screentime he needs.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Kassidy leaned back and sighed, content with the dinner she'd made and just finished off. However, something caused her to frown immediately afterwards. Something seemed off, something subtle. She didn't know what, but she knew that she needed to find out. Her instincts hadn't let her down yet, after all, and now they were definitely informing her of an error in the environment. It just remained to identify it.

"Now that's what I call a meal, K!" Yang called, shoving her plate in and scooting her chair out. Ruby and Weiss got the time to express similar sentiments before Yang followed up with, "Where did you learn to cook like that?"

Kassidy thoughtlessly replied, "Home," before glancing over to her girlfriend to see how she had fared through the meal. At Kassidy's insistence, Yang had received nearly twice as much food as anyone else at the table, but… _ah, there's the problem. I thought something was wrong._ "I noticed you only had the one glass of milk, partner," Kassidy chided, making Yang stop halfway through telling Ruby a joke. "I take it you already finished what I tasked you to drink?"

"Uh, yeah, totally."

"Is that so?" Kassidy stood up and walked across the common area that RWKY shared with JNPR. Even though Kassidy was still pretty bad at lying herself, she knew how to tell if someone else was lying. She didn't even need the brief, panicked way Yang's eyes widened, or the slight hesitation in her answer, to know what had happened. She paused upon reaching the fridge, before calling over her shoulder, "So, if I were to open this door right here, I wouldn't find –"

"Ugh, okay, no I didn't finish!" Yang huffed and pouted, before disputing, "Who the Dust even drinks two gallons of milk in a day?"

"I do, whenever I need to repair skeletal damage," Kassidy reminded. "And now, so do you." Ignoring Yang's theatric, almost comical wailing, she drug another glass out of the nearby cabinet and poured out what was probably going to be the first of four servings this evening.

"Please, no more," Yang pleaded. "You already had me eat so much, and that's not even counting what I've already drunk. I can't take any more."

"You can, and you will." If there was to be any mercy, it would not come from Kassidy. She set the glass down with an intimidating clunk, then allowed a sigh to escape her. Reciting from experience, Kassidy explained, "Dinner is the most important meal in any recovery process. It's usually the largest meal of the day by far, and it occurs immediately before the time your body naturally shuts down to repair damage. Even with Aura, your body still needs the raw materials necessary to perform those repairs."

Yang still looked unconvinced by the argument. Kassidy wracked her brain for ideas on how to convert her partner to the idea, before the perfect solution suddenly came to her. Leaning in with a toothy grin, Kassidy asked, "Do I need to have Bob explain to you how this stuff works again?"

"No!" Yang's face paled instantly, and oddly enough she started glancing from side to side, almost as if she expected a floating tablet computer to sneak up on her. "Please, no. I got it the first time, honest! Even if he did go super in-depth using words that I'm sure weren't even Common!"

"Then drink up," Kassidy commanded.

Yang groaned, then held her stomach. "I don't think I can…"

"Fine," Kassidy sighed. "Let me find a funnel."

"I'm serious, K," Yang insisted. "Three pounds of meatloaf. Two and a half pounds of mashed potatoes. And… so much salad. It was amazingly delicious, and amazingly painful to eat it all. Why do you –"

"WHAT?!" a new voice cried out, making Kassidy and Yang halt their argument, and making Ruby and Weiss halt their increasingly amused observance of their byplay. "You made FOOD and didn't invite US?!"

Kassidy snickered, shook her head, and turned around. "We didn't have enough to host another eating competition between us, Nora." Finding the rest of their sister team, she greeted, "How are you guys doing?"

"Just got done eating food that obviously wasn't as good as what you guys had," Jaune answered. His eyes narrowed and his lips formed a frown when his gaze fell upon Yang, and his confusion was merely confirmed when he asked, "What's up with Yang?"

"Oh thank Oum you guys are here!" Yang wailed. "Please, you've got to help me! Someone kidnapped K and replaced her with some sort of care-taking demon! She won't let me run, she won't let me work out; for Dust's sake, she won't even let me take a walk around campus! And the food…" Yang shuddered at the thought. "So tasty… but there was _so much_ of it. I never thought I'd ask K to stop cooking."

Kassidy pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yang, we literally _just_ went over this. Your body needs nutrients to repair itself. Protein to reinforce your overstressed muscle fibers. Calcium to repair your skeleton. Carbs for the energy your metabolism needs to get the ball rolling."

"Wait, did Yang get hurt?" Pyrrha asked.

Nora jumped in place as a thought came to her. "Ooh! Was this that big fight you guys had last night?! Why haven't you told us that story yet? Oh, wait, _did you record it, Kassidy?!_ "

"Nora," Ren groaned. After setting his partner to some semblance of ease, he added, "Let's do one thing at a time. What happened to Yang?"

"Nothing serious," Yang insisted.

"Ignore her," Kassidy denied. Ignoring the indignant squawk that her girlfriend made, she began to explain, "When she woke up this morning, she was complaining about her arms hurting. I had Bob take a look at her, and he found several dozen microfractures in her skeletal system, mostly in her hands and arms. With Narud out for the weekend, I decided to take it upon myself to see to her care."

"And she's been a nightmare ever since," Yang lamented. "Seriously, she won't let me do _anything_."

"That's because you shouldn't be doing anything," Kassidy fired back. "If those microfractures get much worse, then your arms might as well be broken in about twenty different places. Even if your main method of fighting _didn't_ revolve around punching the everliving crap out of everything, that's some serious bad news."

"Ouch," Pyrrha winced. She paused for a bit, as if trying to think of what to say, before coming up with, "Well, at least you shouldn't need to be still for very long?"

"But you need to stay still long enough to watch movies!" Nora announced. All but vibrating in place, wide turquoise eyes gleamed at Kassidy before their owner asked, "You record everything you see, right? Can we see your fight? Can we? CAN WE?"

Kassidy chuckled, "Easy, Nora, easy. Yeah, I recorded it. Bob, care to set them up?"

"Yeah, we want in on this too!"

Kassidy nearly jumped out of her skin _again_ , before groaning and facepalming. _Seriously, is Sun yelling something while standing behind me going to be a regular thing? This cannot be good for my blood pressure._ By the time her head came back up, Neptune had returned to Weiss' side, as seemed par for the course these days, while Sage and Scarlet brought up chairs to the increasingly large gathering around the common room table.

"Hey," Sun said softly, taking care not to disturb the imminent replay of the robot fight. "Sorry for not being there to help you guys take on Torchwick."

Kassidy shook her head. "From what I remember seeing, not much of a way for you two to get to us after he up and chucked you off the interstate."

Sun's eyebrows raised and he tilted his head, before asking, "The what?"

"The freeway," Kassidy explained, rolling her eyes. "Was called the interstate back home. You guys come out of that alright?"

"Better than you guys," Sun snorted. "Seriously, how did you guys convince that Goodwitch woman to not give you, like, several months' worth of detentions?"

"Umm…"

* * *

"… _and what you girls did was so unfathomably irresponsible that I can hardly think of how to properly vocalize my sheer amazement that you even thought it was a remotely good idea," Glynda said. Huffing and standing straighter, her fearsome glare turned upon the three girls sitting before her (Yang having already been excused, which she was currently using to sleep her exhaustion away). "But," she continued, "I know very well that people have reasons for what they do, so I suppose it is only fair that I give you a chance to explain yours. Think carefully on your next words, for they may very well decide a great many things regarding your continued stay at Beacon."_

 _Ruby and Weiss both gaped at her, mouths opening and closing like a fish's would but ultimately unable to form a proper response. Kassidy, however, had no such problems, as she smoothly answered, "We did it because Ozpin told us to."_

 _The twitch that Glynda's left eye gave was positively legendary, the near-spasms threatening to spread to the rest of her face before she closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and seemed to count to ten. The glare that opened to greet Kassidy could've melted steel beams with ease, and might in fact had been the actual culprit behind 9/11. "Tell me, Miss Smith," she said curtly, "why I should even entertain that notion."_

" _Because," Kassidy answered, counting off her fingers, "Ozpin was the one to clue me in to the fact that there would be a White Fang rally to infiltrate in the first place. Ozpin was the one who knew the when, where, and how as to how to get into said rally, before he conveniently lost that information. I then happened to conveniently find that very same information mere moments after my conversation with him had concluded. And it was Ozpin himself who said something along the lines of wishing to know what went on in one of those rallies, but lamented that he didn't have a talented young woman to infiltrate it in his stead."_

 _It was Glynda's turn to gape at her in disbelief, Ruby and Weiss already having had their fill of the experience. Eventually, their teacher asked, "And if I were to ask Ozpin about this –"_

" _I might not know him as well as you," Kassidy interrupted, earning a mighty scowl in the process, "but I think we both know that he'd never give any sort of meaningful answer if you were to ask him."_

 _Straining her ears, Kassidy could just barely make out Glynda cursing, "Of course he wouldn't, damn him." Pinching the bridge of her nose, she harshly bit out, "Don't think for an instant that this is a clean bill of health for the four of you. But as for now… consider yourselves dismissed. There are apparently… some discussions I need to have with the Headmaster about this issue."_

* * *

"Actually, now that I think about it," Kassidy decided, "the less said about that, the better."

"Uh," Sun made out, evidently trying to piece together exactly how he felt about the issue, "why do I get the feeling that's going to be a far better excuse than most of us would like it to be?"

"Because it is," Kassidy freely admitted.

Sun was about to say something, but they both winced as Nora leapt up and yelled incoherently when Ruby's railgun shot tore off the Paladin's arm. When the others had finally calmed her down, Sun managed to ask, "Seriously, though, how did you guys pull through? I thought I heard something about Yang getting hurt?"

"Her arms got messed up a bit," Kassidy replied, nodding. "It's not a big deal now, but it could be a really big deal if it's not taken care of."

"She doesn't exactly seem pleased about it – what you've been putting her through, I mean," Sun noticed.

"She isn't," Kassidy agreed. "She isn't the kind of girl to sit around and do nothing, letting the day waste away while she takes it easy. I mean, sure, she'll do it once in a blue moon, but being forced to?" Shaking her head, she added with a chuckle, "I also maybe kinda sorta forgot that I do this whole healing thing faster and easier than everyone else, even after you throw Aura into the picture. Even with only a couple minute's hindsight… yeah, maybe making her eat five pounds of food – on top of two gallons of milk and what I'd been able to make her eat earlier – might not have been the smartest thing ever."

"That poor, poor girl," Sun muttered, shaking his head. "Are you sure you're her girlfriend? That much sounds closer to torture than a recovery plan."

Kassidy defended, "Hey, it's scientifically sound. Backed by about a dozen years of data using the best test subject of all: me!" They chuckled for a bit, then fell silent as they watched ten of their classmates watch Yang finish the whole deal off.

"She seems to be taking it like a champ, though," Sun interjected.

Kassidy groaned, however, piquing Sun's curiosity. Her exasperation was explained when she said, "Thank Oum Yang didn't hear you say that. She could make so many jokes out of that, I'm sure."

Sun paled slightly. "Yeah, you're right. Thank Oum she didn't hear me say that, indeed."

"Hear you say what?" a third voice interjected. Jaune turned around to the two of them in his seat, the group of students evidently having finished watching the recording. "By the way, let me be the first to say great job in that fight. You guys did really well; Dust, I don't have the slightest idea how we would've handled it."

"You guys were AMAZING!" Nora blurted out. "I didn't even know Ruby's gun was that big! Oh, and did you see Yang? She was all grr and pow and rargh and BOOM!"

Ren finally got his partner under control with a, "Nora!" With his partner properly chastised, he congratulated, "You handled yourselves well out there, as my teammates have already mentioned; you should be proud of yourselves."

"Hey, I'll be proud of myself if I can just convince K to wear more skirts," Yang said lecherously, adding in a purr for good measure. "I'd be more than willing to fight more of those things if I can get the view to go with it."

The reactions were exactly as predictable as one might expect. Nora wolf whistled. Weiss, Ren, Sage, Sun, and Neptune all gaped at first Yang, then Kassidy. Ruby and Jaune blushed. Pyrrha and Scarlet did both of the above. And Kassidy?

"God fucking damnit," she muttered. "This is why I never fucking wear skirts." Hiding her face in her hands for a moment to clear her thoughts, she counted to ten and turned her now molten gaze on her girlfriend. "Let me get this straight: you thought it was a good idea to sneak a peek while we were in a life or death struggle with a thirty seven ton walking tank?"

"Can you really blame her?" a new voice asked. Jumping and turning around, a newcomer that Kassidy didn't recognize led Velvet into the room. Kassidy's first impression was 'rich kid', as the pants, shirt, boots, beret, gloves, and sunglasses were all obviously of a kind of make that came with throwing a few extra zeroes at the end of a price tag. _Speaking of which, why the hell is she wearing sunglasses indoors?_ Kassidy's appraisal of their newest arrival was interrupted when the girl quickly added on, "You _do_ have a nice ass, after all. Even nicer than Fox's… though, don't tell him I said that." As if to illustrate her point, the girl leaned over and gave Kassidy's behind a quick swat, an action that caused her to yelp and freeze in shock.

A couple chairs were knocked over, a testament to the support Kassidy's friends gave to her, and each other, as every member of RWKY and JNPR – and most of SSSN, for that matter – leapt to their feet. Most of them looked at least uneasy at the action, gazes flickering between their respective team leaders. It was Yang, however, that stepped forward and set the tone. "Look," she started, "Coco, was it? I'm sure you're nice and all… but I'm gonna have to ask that you don't do that again."

"Alright, fine, fine. I was just teasing," Coco conceded. Placing a hand on Kassidy's shoulder, she ensured, "You're fine, right? Didn't mean anything by it."

"She really didn't," Velvet said from the side of the room. "She just tends to get… erm, physical, I guess, with the people she takes a liking to?"

Finally, Kassidy managed to press the reset button and return to the here and now. Shaking her head, she replied, "Yeah, sure, we're cool. Just… yeah, don't do that again, please."

"Sure thing, champ," Coco drawled. Sauntering over to where everyone was now slowly taking a seat, she murmured, "Hmm, freshmen that know their way around a decent wardrobe as well as they do a fight? Might be what I'm looking for."

"Is there something you need us for, Miss Adel?" Weiss asked. From the way her back straightened, to the emphasis placed on her words, it was apparent to Kassidy that Weiss had gone to what Ruby affectionately labeled 'PR mode'.

"As a matter of fact, Miss Schnee, there is," Coco answered just as smoothly. Kassidy was struck by a complete and utter lack of surprise that someone who could throw money at the kind of outfit Coco was wearing would also be versed in talking like a fancy person. "As I'm sure you're no doubt aware of, the Vytal Festival Dance will be in a couple weeks' time."

"Ooh, that's right, the dance!" Yang commented. "Crap, I still need to get a dress for that."

"I might be able to dump something on you to make your job a bit easier in that department," Coco replied. "Velvs and I have been planning the thing out for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, we have our mission coming up next week, and I don't think we'll be able to finish everything in time. What do you say, Weiss, and was it Yang? Do you think we can trust you two freshies to finish the job?"

Weiss and Yang only had to trade one glance, before Yang cockily answered, "Uh, yeah. Don't worry, Coco, we got this."

"Xiao Long, would it kill you to have some small morsel of decorum?" Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose before smoothing out the nonexistent creases in her skirt, before also answering, "We would be happy to assume this burden. Fear not, Miss Adel, this year's dance will be one to remember."

"Glad to hear it," Coco answered. "We'll probably swing over some time tomorrow to go over what we've already managed to get set up. Anything you want to add, Velvs?"

Velvet thought for a moment, before replying, "Um, no, I think I'm good."

"Alright, we'll get out of your hair then. See you freshies tomorrow."

With that promise, Coco and Velvet left the common room RWKY, JNPR, and SSSN were sharing. It took approximately three seconds for most of the room to descend into frenzied conversation. Blinking a bit, Kassidy leaned a bit towards Sun and asked, "So, uh, what exactly happened again?"

"I think Weiss and Yang just volunteered to plan an event that'll force us to dress in stiff, scratchy, and all around unbearable clothes for a night," Sun answered.

Kassidy shuddered a bit, before shooting right back, "Sounds terrible. I'd probably skip it… but I think we both know Yang's gonna drag me into it, and I won't be able to do a damn thing to stop her."

"I think Neptune's gonna do the same with me," Sun agreed.

"Wow," Kassidy contemplated, "Putting up with me today, then Yang's going to have her hands full with planning a dance, _on top of_ a hastily increasing workload in our classes… she's going to be busy."

"Ain't that the truth? Glad I'm not doing that."

"She's going to need a break," Kassidy mused, thinking aloud. "Plus I kinda need to make up for being a bit of a nightmare today. Maybe I should take her out somewhere next weekend?"

"I heard the Achieve Men are going to be having a concert next Saturday," Sun offered. "Not half-bad for a boy band."

"Yang's pretty crazy about them," Kassidy muttered. "No idea why, though. More of a Jeff and Casey Williams fan myself."

"That father-daughter duo?" Sun asked. When Kassidy confirmed it, he said, "Nice, I've been liking what they put out, myself."

"Still, that concert's going to make Yang's… month, probably. Thanks for the idea."

"Not a problem. Just do me a favor and don't take me with you." When Kassidy raised an eyebrow at Sun's statement, he asked, "Seriously, when was the last time I've been anywhere near you in the city, and some form of drama hasn't come up?"

"I think you flirting with me whenever you didn't realize I was dating Yang was literally the least interesting time we've all had out there," Kassidy agreed. "Alright, won't ask you along then. Wasn't planning to anyways… but hey."

Yang picked this time to yell at them, "Yo, K, does Bob have anything for us to watch? I think we're all agreeing to hang out together for the evening."

Ignoring Weiss' stern remarks about how she most certainly did not agree to that, Kassidy rubbed her chin in thought. "That depends. What do you have for us, my man?"

"Hmm, let me see," the AI responded. "I've found something about an animation company called Rooster Teeth. Seems to be pretty well received from what I can find in the archives… oh, drat."

"What's up?"

"All the data's been corrupted. Not sure how, really, but still… a shame, that. Let me see if I can't line up something else for us."

"Go ahead and do that," Kassidy ordered. "Eh, it's just entertainment. Not like there would be anything important there, anyway."

"So, where we all setting up to watch this?" Jaune asked.

While the room descended into chaos once again, with Sun this time joining in the proceedings, Kassidy watched Yang sidle up to her. "Hey, K, please tell me I'm done for the night."

Kassidy tried to think of what she meant, before remembering her recovering outline. Nodding her head with a smile, she confirmed, "I think we can get away with that for the night, Firecracker." Yang leaned into her and mumbled something into her shoulder that sounded vaguely like a thank-you. Kassidy reached an arm around Yang's shoulders, dipped her head down a bit to get a sniff of the rich peach scent that followed Yang around (and was rapidly becoming Kassidy's new favorite smell), and explained, "I just wanted to make sure you're taken care of, is all. You took some really damn big hits, there, and I was worried."

Yang leaned into her further, and mumbled, "Why do you have to be such a worry-wart? I really appreciate it, K, but I'm fine, honest." For all the words, though, Yang's tone definitely leaned closer towards 'amused and grateful' than it did 'annoyed'.

"Better I'm the worry-wart than Weiss," Kassidy reasoned. She could feel Yang chuckle into her side, and then she decided to follow up with, "I know today's been a bit of a bummer for you. How about I make it up next weekend? I hear that band you like is having a concert."

"The Achieve Men?" Kassidy nodded when Yang looked up, when then proceeded to smile even bigger than before. "You know me too well, partner."

"No," Kassidy argued. "You know me too well. But, I guess I can try and make up the difference like this."

* * *

 **AN 2: And so they went to the concert, had a wonderful night, and then made out in the park in the moonlight – alright, yeah, no, I'm sorry, I can't lead you guys on like that.**

 **Coming up next: You've been warned.**

 **EWR115: Glad to hear you enjoyed it. And sorry for not going into the full explanation of Super-Abrams vs. Paladin I promised, but this chapter wound up writing differently than I had originally planned. Still, it's basically the same as what I wrote last time.**

 **AgentDraakis: If you still haven't watched Chibi… shame on you. As for horrible, lasting, and potentially life-altering injuries for our beloved OC during the Breach… I can neither confirm nor deny that.**

 **Also, your request for Shipmaster Kassidy has been denied.**

 **Tykene: Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much, here's to hoping I can continue to entertain.**


	71. V2C13: Beaten

**Volume 2 Chapter 13: Beaten**

 **AN: So, writing this Author's Note on a Tuesday… yeah, I'm going to be trying to do something incredibly, incredibly foolish: I'm going to try and write four chapters in seven days. Something big's coming up in seven days, and I want to have an appropriate chapter for it. Of course, that means getting through this current arc. Good thing I already have it all planned out.**

 **EDIT: Hang on, what? Why am I suggesting four chapters in seven days is anything other than a horrible idea? Someone go find me from yesterday and slap the stupid out of him, will ya?**

 **Ugh, here we go, I guess. Kassidy gets in a couple fights this chapter. One goes better than she could have hoped, and one goes worse than she would have hoped, to put it mildly. Like I said, I'm sorry in advance.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Kassidy drew the practice sword out of its place on the rack, then rolled her shoulders. Friday's combat training class would prove to be key in more than one way: after nearly eight months of training, it was finally time to put all the pieces together to her fighting style. Narud's work had given her muscles a slight boost to edge over where she had peaked a month and a half prior; benching one fifty might not sound like a lot, but that was still more than what Kassidy weighed, and she was stronger now than she had ever been before. She was top five in the freshman year when it came to speed, even after her classmates start throwing Aura into the mix. Several hundred separate spars with Yang, Weiss, and a few with Ruby for good measure. And, of course, a month of fighting the White Fang in a desperate attempt to slow the organization down. As she took her place on one side of the dueling stage, she told herself that putting everything together for the first time was all this duel was for.

"Russel Thrush," Glynda barked out. "Are you ready?"

Kassidy wasn't sore about what had happened several months ago, honest. She called the boy out for the sole reason of having a good opponent to test things on. Wiping off that smug smile, or making him regret that wink he just gave, or –

Glynda began the match, and Russel sprinted right up to her. While it might have been fast by White Fang Hired Help standards… forget Ruby, _Yang_ was faster than that. Flipping her sword to the side, she sidestepped the swing from Russel's own training blade before slugging him in the nose as hard as she could with her fist.

 _Oh, who am I kidding? This is_ totally _about payback._

"That wasn't very nice, little bird," Russel taunted, spinning his sword in his hand but otherwise remaining passive. The last time they'd dueled, it was a blowout win for the boy, so the fact that she had just so soundly won the opening exchange made him pause.

"Very few people have ever accused me of being nice," Kassidy replied. Deciding not to let Russel have all the time in the world to recover, she initiated with a charge of her own. Her attack was chambered, she was approaching Russel faster than he was approaching her… and, instead of attacking, she ducked under Russel's counter, coming up behind the boy while he was still mid swing. Remembering how Yang had always managed to take her out quickly whenever they had first began sparring, she adapted the style and went from there. Her sword crashed into Russel's rib cage, her shin immediately followed into his knee, and she followed up with driving her elbow into his cheek.

When Russel finally managed to counterattack – a clumsy backhanded swing that seemed like it was more for show than anything – Kassidy had already move, pirouetting out of the way a few paces from him, before immediately dashing back into the fray. Remembering Ruby's lessons on momentum, not to mention the experience and practice she got against the Paladin, Kassidy pushed herself as hard as she could, dashing in and out of the boy's reach and connecting with a solid slice each time. After nearly a solid minute of this, Kassidy backed off to catch a quick breath. While her opponent was simply trying to crawl to his feet, giving something between a groan and a snarl the whole way up, she took a quick glance to the scoreboard.

 _Kassidy Smith – N/A. Russel Thrush – 49%._

The boy hadn't been able to lay so much as a hand on her yet, all the while she was absolutely demolishing him. Everyone else was taking notice, too: apart from Ruby, Yang, and Nora yelling their heads off (and more reserved shows of support from Jaune and Pyrrha), the room was dead silent, absolutely riveted by the display before them. The weakest fighter in the whole school, without Aura, was soundly trouncing a member of a team that seemed more likely than not to be headed to the Vytal Festival Tournament. Kassidy, for one, liked her chances. At this point, he needed to use his trump card now, or –

"Rargh!" _Oh, look, the trump card. Definitely couldn't see this coming._ A dull, deep green glowed from Russel as he charged anew, though measurably faster than his first attempt. His Semblance – Momentum – let him store any momentum he's gathered, then continue building on it. Basically, it was the bastard child of Ruby's and Yang's Semblances. He wasn't as fast as Ruby like this, nor as strong as Yang, but his physicality shot up by more than a fair bit like this and he would only get faster.

Of course, even if Kassidy didn't have a hilarious advantage in the stamina department – _I'm sure Yang could make a joke somewhere here_ – she had one now. Russel never was one for stellar physical conditioning, and his Semblance merely exacerbated that issue. All she had to do now was not get her ass kicked, and the boy's Aura would drop into the red all on its own.

And this is where months of Weiss' relentless, brutal training came in. Tempo manipulation, guards, parries, blocks – the Ice Queen's guidance lay not with offensive power, but with setting the pace of the fight, forcing your opponent to play your game, forcing them to make mistakes, and then brutally punishing them. Although, Kassidy did have a tendency to get more physical than Weiss ever did. A quick deflection to a side here, a shoulder check there, and every now and then an elbow or knee found themselves in Russel's gut whenever he overextended. She did her best to kill any momentum he generated the instant it started developing, and at the moment her best amounted to standing her ground against a force that had even given Nora pause when it had fully charged up. Of course, when Russel was swinging at empty space more often than not, the job tended to be easy.

Russel yelled again, a harsh cry of impatience and frustration that did little in the form of actually doing anything other than letting Kassidy know it was time to end this. She dodged out of the way of an overhead swing that could've probably broken bones, if it somehow hadn't swung a full half meter to the side, then smashed her training blade into Russel's nose. The crook of her elbow found its way around his neck, and she threw him over her hip, choke slamming him into the arena floor. Planting her boot on his sword hand and sticking her own blade in his face finalized the deal, as the green glow of his Semblance finally faded.

"Alright, that's enough." Glynda barking out the end of the match prompted her to get her training sword out of Russel's face. And no, she totally didn't put a bit more pressure on his wrist before stepping off of it. Turning around to face her professor, Kassidy got a front row seat to Glynda's analysis. "Impressive display of combat acumen, Miss Smith. Most impressive. I'd advise working on your offensive repertoire some – they were sloppy, and towards the end Mr. Thrush's own Semblance did more damage to his Aura than you did. However, overall you've shown clear and massive improvement. It might prove to be rather… tricky, if you were to decide to sign up for the Vytal Festival Tournament, but I think it might be safe to say that ability won't be the issue. Excellent work."

From here, Kassidy tuned out Glynda's rather epic dressing down of CRDL's swordsman, instead turning her attention to the stands. Her glance fell upon CMNE for a brief moment, and for an instant… _is Emerald sweating? Nah, that has to be a trick of the light_. At any rate, they seemed to be getting along with Ruby quite well recently, so Kassidy made a mental note to expect to see more of at least Emerald and Mercury in the near future.

Then, of course, Kassidy's eyes fell upon the seven people she could easily call her friends, without reservation or remorse, and every single one wore a large smile. Some expressed their happiness differently – Ren, for instance, seemed to be bodily holding Nora back from jumping onto the ring, a circumstance Kassidy was very grateful for – but their excitement at her victory couldn't be more obvious. Hazel eyes then connected with lilac. Yang was uncharacteristically rather silent and still, but the answer why was obvious: she was beyond tired from the past week. If there had been any doubt as to Yang's work ethic before, there were none now, as she would often put eighteen hour days between studying, training, and planning the dance. Yang needed a break. Fortunately, Kassidy had one on plan for tomorrow.

 _Still, I think I'm going to be roped into cooking dinner tonight. Hopefully Ren left me a usable amount of flour this time._

* * *

The concert was in the midafternoon, which meant that Yang had decided to head out into Vale that morning to work with Weiss on some things for the concert. Annoyingly, her girlfriend was already gone by the time Kassidy had returned from her Saturday morning workout with Pyrrha and Nora. And yes, it was an annoyance, since rather than go into town with Yang, Weiss had instead elected to remain in the dorm room, and the two communicated via Scroll so much that for a moment Kassidy had thought that _Ruby's_ tendencies to be a chatterbox would be put to shame. The extra conversation certainly made working on the Grimm Studies assignment difficult.

"… and that is why pale blue and deep red is a superior color pallet choice," Weiss finished, capping off a five minute long argument as to why blue and red was better than yellow and green.

"Ugh, alright, fine!" she heard Yang groan over the phone. "I'll get us some quotes for the blue and red balloons. Don't even know why you're so hung up over the colors of the balloons."

"Did you not hear _any_ of what I _just_ said?" Weiss challenged.

"No, no, I heard the argument. I just didn't hear how the subject of the argument itself wasn't stupid."

 _That's an opinion we can both agree on, partner._

Having, at this point, developed a sixth sense (well, more like a ninth sense, in Kassidy's case) as to when Weiss was about to launch into a lecture, Kassidy decided it best to interrupt. "Hey, Yang, can you hear me? I'm pretty much all caught up in my studies, why don't you say I clean up and come out to treat you to a late lunch before the concert?"

A brief delay made Kassidy wonder if Yang had missed what she said, before the voice spoke over the Scroll, "Uh, shoot, if I knew you were planning on that I wouldn't have eaten already…"

Kassidy shook her head and waved her hand at the screen, for all the fact that Yang wouldn't actually see it. "Don't worry about it. I'll just make sure to put that time into looking a little nicer, I guess. See you in an hour?"

"Sounds great, partner. Lookin' forward to it! Alright, Weiss, you've…"

Kassidy tuned out the conversation at this point, instead going through what she had. Deciding eventually on a simple t-shirt, shorts, and… "Remind me why I let you convince me to pick up a pair of sneakers, Ruby?"

"Because boots aren't good for everything! Duh!"

Kassidy opened her mouth to comment on the fact that Ruby literally _never_ wore anything other than boots, other than the shoes that were part of the school uniform, but a surprisingly fierce glare shot that idea down. _Must've been hanging around Weiss too much. Might want to fix that before, heaven forbid, Ruby picks up any more of her partner's habits._ She dashed into the bathroom, changed, used the minimum of fashion advice she'd picked up from her teammates to make one or two extra changes, and then picked up a small backpack. It payed to be prepared, after all, and so Kassidy had taken the opportunity to pack sandwiches, water, sunscreen, and – obviously – her pistol. _Ember Celica_ had been thrown in too for good measure, since Yang went into town without her gauntlets despite Kassidy's repeated insistence that she shouldn't be unarmed with the White Fang as they were.

The Bullhead ride off campus was riddled with even more anxiety than normal, despite the fact that Kassidy had comparatively little trouble holding her stomach this time around. No, a myriad of thoughts ran through her mind, every single one about Yang. Worries about how she was handling the stress, to whether she had managed to get into trouble – or make trouble, knowing her – to stuff as simple as whether they were going to get to the concert on time. Yang'd had a rough week, and in all likely hood more rough weeks ahead of her, so Kassidy wanted to ensure her half day off was perfect.

Most of the worries related to Yang's bodily health proved to be unfounded when she landed to find Yang waiting for her at the station. Kassidy rushed forward, they embraced, and then Yang instantly went to the commentary.

"You're wearing shorts."

"I'm glad your eyes are still working, at least."

Yang gave a snort to Kassidy's snark, and continued, "You're wearing your hair down."

"Still rocking that 20/20 vision, I see."

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Yang teased. She took a step back to hold Kassidy at arm's length, kept a straight face as she looked her up and down, then nodded. "You look different. Real good, though. Glad you're feeling more confident about your body that you don't feel the need to cover up so much."

Kassidy shrugged. "Today was supposed to be a record high, and I don't deal with that kind of heat well. Figured shorter clothes should be the name of the game." They stepped out of the air taxi station, then Kassidy appraised her own girlfriend. "You're taller than me. Again. Strange that these couple inch growth spurts of your keep popping up at random, then disappearing again."

Yang laughed. "They're called shoes. You might want to try some that aren't combat boots at some point."

"I am," Kassidy replied, wiggling a foot around for emphasis. "And the answer is no, you're never getting me in heels, so quit asking."

"I didn't ask," Yang shot back, grin in place. "Though, if you really want me to…"

"I really want you not to," Kassidy replied. She stroked her chin in thought, then brought her bag in front of her and started digging around in it. "Gotta say, you look great as per usual, Firecracker. Though, your outfit does look like it's missing a certain pair of bracelets that are totally bracelets and not shotgun gauntlets."

Yang's preening was cut short at the mention of her weapons, at which she groaned. "Did you really…?"

"Yes, I did really," Kassidy answered. When Yang sighed, she reasoned, "Look, it's nothing to do with you, Yang. I know you're more than capable of handling yourself with or without them. I just don't trust the White Fang to leave well enough alone."

"I know you're worried," Yang said. "But c'mon partner, this is the heart of Vale. There's no way the White Fang –"

Yang was cut off by an explosion across the street blowing open a storefront. Instants later, people that Kassidy was willing to bet any amount of Lien were plainclothes White Fang members dashed in to the carnage in what was such a well-timed refutation of Yang's statement that it was up in the air as to whether they timed it based on what she said.

Of course, Kassidy could only get the worst of the views of the situation, seeing as how Yang had grabbed her up and curled around her, putting herself between Kassidy and the blast. When Kassidy finally squirmed her way out of Yang's grip, she dug through her bag again, more frantically this time. Yang opened her mouth to say something, but Kassidy cut off, "For the record, I'm not blaming you for that hilariously bad timing."

Yang nodded. "New plan: give me my gauntlets." When Kassidy's eyebrow raised, Yang explained, "A, I'd be shocked if you _weren't_ going to go intervene, and second… well, I mean, we do have a few hours to kill before the concert anyway."

Kassidy did her best impression of a fish for a moment, before shaking her head. "That made no sense whatsoever, but I agree. Hopefully this won't take long."

The two Huntresses in training sprinted across the street, making excellent time as they sped to the obliterated storefront. Inside, they could see the suspects cramming every electronic they could get their hands on in backpacks. Kassidy met Yang's eyes, and the latter spoke up, "How about you circle around back and cut them off while I get their attention?"

"Stay safe," Kassidy muttered, before slinking around the side and keeping close to the wall. Yang got to work immediately, and Kassidy was sure she heard her girlfriend saying something about explosive personalities. _Well, if there's anyone that can keep someone's attention, it's Yang._

Kassidy had managed to get to the far wall of the store, drew _Rogue_ , slid home a magazine of electric ammo, and started to make her way around the back to circle the White Fang members. By and large, they seemed to all be staring down Yang, foolishly believing that they liked their odds facing down one teenage girl. There was one, however, that got Kassidy's attention more than what was reasonable. She was confused as the figure quite calmly abandoned their fellows, before their face rose. Kassidy found herself staring at a featureless red faceplate looking right at her, with the person behind it hefting a shotgun with an axe blade on the end over his shoulder, before he just as calmly strode out the backdoor.

 _Oh no, you are_ not _getting away. You and I have unfinished business, Munsell_. Yang must have seen him too, for she immediately kicked off the fight in the front of the store. Kassidy abandoned any pretense of stealth, charging for the back door and following her adversary out.

She barely managed to get into the alleyway when a shotgun blast forced her to dive behind a dumpster, leaving her backpack behind in the process. She chanced trying to take a peek around her cover, but his weapon fired again the instant her head appeared from behind it. _Alright, Smith, not the first time you've been pinned down. Should be easy. Let's do thi-_

"Good afternoon, Miss Smith," Munsell called out. "I apologize for interrupting your plans this afternoon, but… actually, I am not all that sorry. Your girlfriend has a terrible taste in music. I am doing the two of you a favor, really."

Getting her breathing under control, Kassidy fired back, "For someone I've only met once and talked to never, you sure know a lot about me. How'd you figure that one out, Munsell?"

"I did my homework," the man answered. Almost as if he knew that Kassidy was currently trying to see if she could put shots into the fight Yang was in, he said, "You need not concern yourself with your partner. The animals I managed to dredge together for this mission will pose no threat to her, barring the statistically improbable."

Kassidy obviously took note of the wording. "You sound like you're not with the White Fang."

"You are every bit as intelligent as I have heard, truly."

Rolling her eyes, she answered, "So… am I supposed to just assume you like blowing up storefronts whenever you're bored? Or rob warehouses, for that matter?"

"Not at all," he answered calmly. "My employer has taken a… curiosity in the White Fang, and has a vested interest in seeing it succeed."

"Do they now?" By this point, Kassidy had flopped on her stomach, and could actually see the guy's boots through under the dumpster. She would've taken the shot, too, if she weren't almost positive that they would be insulated enough to prevent Munsell from falling in a convulsing heap.

"But, you see, you have been a thorn in their side as of late. A rather impressive thorn, actually. For a girl with no Aura to speak of, you are surprisingly difficult to kill."

 _Alright, what's this guy's play? Sure, he's not giving me the grand scheme of things, but other than that I might as well be reading his diary or something._ "And you're being surprisingly talkative to the girl that's been such a thorn in your side."

"You misunderstand me. You have been a problem for the White Fang – not for me. Which, I suppose, is for the best: problems that I have tend to have rather short lifespans. But, you see, this was merely a distraction."

"… doesn't admitting that this is a distraction invalidate the whole purpose behind it?"

"It would, if you were in any position to stop it. Relax, relax, you need not fear for your life. Not immediately, anyway." Kassidy did relax, but not from Munsell – rather, from Bob informing her that Atlesian Knights were mere moments away. She quickly tensed back up, however, when Munsell spoke again not from the other side of the dumpster, but immediately above her. "This is called removing variables from the equation. Goodbye, Miss Smith."

Kassidy stood and looked up just in time to see Munsell step away from the edge of the roof above her. She stepped out from behind the dumpster, and before she could get more than a few steps out of the alleyway the Atlesian Knights Bob promised rounded the corner. _A full squad, too. Decently quick reaction time, considering they weren't at ground zero._ She motioned with her pistol, "He got away on the…"

Her speech faltered when all nine of them aimed their rifles at her. The one in the middle activated speakers, calling out, "You are under arrest for terrorism and manslaughter. Release your weapon, put your hands on your head, and lay flat on the ground."

Kassidy facepalmed, muttered something about faulty programming, and replied, "I wasn't the one who bombed the damn store! The guy just got away on the-"

She was again interrupted, this time by a crack of a rifle. Fortunately for her, it was not lethal ammunition they were using. Unfortunately for her, it was not lethal ammunition they were using.

The human nervous system is a delicate thing, even at the best of times. The application of large amounts of electricity – say, the amount of electricity a Taser puts out – can interfere with said nervous system to the point of effectively paralyzing the target for a short time. Kassidy's body was many things, but almost above all her nervous system was even more delicate. With two separate sentiences, each capable of individually controlling her body, her brain and spine played a very delicate balancing game to ensure that they were both on the same page, as well as to minimize the chances of… unpleasantness.

The introduction of the lightning Dust Taser round to Kassidy's arm brought enough electricity to not just disrupt, but positively ruin said balancing act. Suddenly out of synch, her spine and her brain lost their ability to communicate effectively. Each intelligence assuming the other had somehow failed, they both tried to take control of Kassidy's body, with terrifying results for the girl in question.

For a solid five minutes, Kassidy couldn't see. She couldn't feel. She couldn't hear, or taste, or smell, or anything. She had been completely disconnected from her body. Reality was viciously torn away from her, replaced solely by pain. Blinding, crippling pain, pain that made her want to curl into a ball and cry rivers, if only she could. Pain that eclipsed even having her eye shot out, or her neck snapped, or her stomach stabbed, or her arm broken, or any other pain that was merely physical. For those five minutes, Kassidy's sole state of existence was one of pain.

Eventually, finally, her spine and brain managed to reestablish their connection. It took a few moments, but the world came back to Kassidy in pieces. The pain faded, leaving her light-headed and out of breath… if only those were the worst things that were happening to her.

When her senses came back to her, she felt her arms pinned behind her, something ratcheting closed around her wrists. When she opened her eyes, she saw an Atlesian Knight dragging her along the alleyway by each shoulder, towards a waiting police van. She had no time to compensate before they callously chucked her in the back, nearly breaking her nose on a bench. The doors slammed shut, and her balance was quickly ruined as the vehicle sped away.

* * *

 **AN 2: So, yeah. That happened.**

 **Well, I kinda imposed a limit of 48 hours or less per chapter at this point, so I'm going to skimp on this Author's Note in favor of getting the next one done.**

 **Coming up next: Kassidy's disappeared.**

 **MC Gaming369: Unfortunately, and with a bit of shame, I must admit that I still haven't gotten past the first season of RvB. Something I'll need to fix at some point… just, probably not over this next week.**

 **AgentDraakis: Glad to hear you enjoyed the chapter so much. Hoping you liked the change of pace… probably not. *preemptively ducks thrown objects***

 **Tykene: So glad you think so much of my writing.** _ **Into the Jungle**_ **is going to be updated sporadically at best, though I do aim to have it finished before RWKY. What comes after RWKY? In order to avoid spoilers… more RWKY.**


	72. V2C14: Enhanced Interrogation (RATED M)

**Volume 2 Chapter 14: Enhanced Interrogation**

 **AN: Fun fact of the day: whenever this story came out, I initially was uploading a new chapter every day. Something that it appears I'll be doing something similar to for the immediate future. Dear lord, even if I had forgotten why I'd stopped with that upload schedule two weeks in, this is definitely a good reminder.**

 **Also, in case it somehow needs to be said, I (fortunately) have exactly zero experience with torture, either dealing or receiving. So, sorry if this comes off as unrealistic. Although, if you know enough about the stuff that you can tell how hilariously unrealistic it is… do me a favor and don't tell me.**

 **On with the story, I guess.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Consciousness returned slowly, and agonizingly, but still it came. Of course, at the moment Kassidy would very much rather be unconscious rather than conscious, especially when opening her eyes gave her more or less the same view as leaving them closed. She tried to fight through the immense pounding in her head, trying to remember and piece back together the immediate past.

Whenever she'd gotten to… wherever they were, a pair of Atlesian Knights had thrown a bag over her head before marching her down what she assumed to be a long, twisting series of halls. After, nearly ten minutes later, they'd finally removed the bag, she was left puzzled by the fact that they weren't in front of anywhere to keep her: no room, nothing, just a bare, plain wall. Of course, it wasn't just a plain wall, as the robot to her right pressed a button and caused a previously unnoticed panel to slide away, revealing… well, calling it a cell was far too generous. You might think that twenty seven cubic feet was a generous amount of room, but Kassidy's opinion on the matter changed abruptly when they spun her around and quite literally crammed her into the box built into the wall, not even bothering to undo her handcuffs. It seemed to be a miracle that she had even fit, but eventually they had managed to squeeze her in enough to slide the panel back in place.

And that was how Kassidy managed to find herself in a three foot by three foot by three foot hole in the wall, with a ledge extending halfway out and up serving as the crudest bench imaginable. Her forehead was pressed into the front of the "room" even while the top of her head cracked on the ceiling every now and then and her knees knocked into her chin. Her arms, still handcuffed and with her wrists sporting bloody welts from her fruitless struggles, were viciously pinned between her back and the rear wall. Her legs were similarly immobile, hedged in on all sides from the walls as well as the rest of her. She could feel, above and behind her, that an air vent provided her with a steady supply of fresh air, at least. Of course, it was _hot_ air, so it's felt like she's been locked in the world's worst sauna for the past… _alright, how long have I been in here for, again?_ Keeping track of the time was basically the only thing Kassidy could do to try and keep her sanity in here. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on which mood swing she happened to be on), her captors had made it almost agonizingly easy to do so.

Every six hours, that Agent Burnes asshole would come by and ask her questions. During the first few times, he stuck to keeping his questions about the bombing. Kassidy was quick to tell him everything… well, almost everything. She left the part about Yang's involvement out, hoping against hope that they had no reason to lock her up as well. Assuming, of course, that they didn't already have her. After that, the questions became focused elsewhere. Kassidy shook her head as best she could, banging her head against the walls repeatedly in the process, in an effort to escape the tangent and get back to focusing on how much time had elapsed. Every six hours, they'd interrogate her. After the fourth interrogation, they'd figured out just how excruciatingly painful electrocution was to Kassidy; they proceeded to the obvious thing after that, which was giving her electric shocks every sixty minutes. She wasn't even sure where or how they were doing it. She just knew that she could probably set a clock to the fact that once an hour, she'd be ripped out of her own head and into an existence of pain. It simply stood to reason, then, to add up the number of interrogations she's had, plus the number of times she'd been zapped since the last one, to figure out how long she'd been in here.

Forty seven hours. For forty seven hours, she'd been locked in this hole. Over those forty seven hours, not once has the door in front of her opened. She hadn't eaten once. She hadn't showered once. She hadn't been allowed to move once; at this point, even the cramps had stopped as her body just gave up with ever changing her position. The only restroom breaks she got were when her control over her bladder finally failed. The closest thing they'd allowed her to sleep was the brief bouts of electricity-enforced unconsciousness every hour. What was far more worrying, however, was that she hadn't gotten anything to drink either. If the Rule of Three could be believed – and it could very much be believed – a person could only survive three days without water. Kassidy was currently about to finish her second day without it. By all reasonable guesses, she currently had less than twenty four hours to live. The most elementary, if also most incorrect, reasoning would lead her to believe that there was an easy way out of this: just tell them what they wanted. But, Kassidy determined, that wasn't an option. After the first two interrogations, they abandoned the terrorist attack in favor of one thing.

They wanted her computer. Sometimes, they asked for Bob's specifications, trying to glean how they could build a similar machine themselves. More often, they demanded his access codes. Either way, they wanted something that Kassidy could not, under any circumstances, allow them to possess. Given enough motive, Bob arguably had more computing power than every other system on the face of Remnant _put together_. If truly unleashed, he could singlehandedly hold the entire planet hostage, basically ignoring every security system out there. That was _not_ something Kassidy wanted in the hands of people willing to shove her into a glorified dumbwaiter and try to electrocute the answers out of her. Hell, she didn't want them to have that kind of power even if they hadn't done that. That was the kind of power she trusted absolutely nobody with; not even herself, half the time, which is why Bob's most exotic and devastating routines were hid behind three different layers of access codes on top of the rather absurd security he had in the first place, to prevent her from just using them on a simple whim. It was for this that they tortured her. They electrocuted her. They piped noxious, bordering on toxic, fumes into the room. They chilled it as cold as a freezer, and heated it like the inside of a furnace. And all the while, they would not be quiet. All the while, that damn Burnes character kept asking the questions. The infernal questions that just would not stop!

Despite all of this, this was not the worst torture Kassidy had to endure. No, what drug her repeatedly to the brink of insanity – and, she suspected, maybe off of said brink once or twice – was simply a lack of information. Where was Yang? Had she managed to get out? Had they drug her into this hellhole of a situation? Was her girlfriend currently locked in a hole in the wall? Was Yang forced to endure everything they threw at her? Was Burnes asking her the same questions? Different? Was Yang languishing in the wall, kept company only by the electricity, the questions, and the increasingly festering stench of her own sweat and urine pooling on the floor? Kassidy snapped up – and managed to crack her head painfully against the ceiling in the process. So many of those she asked herself were the same question. Surely not already…? But, no, already she had trouble remembering exactly what was asked, what was said, during even the last interrogation. Was delirium already setting in?

"Hope you're awake, you little bitch." Kassidy flinched from the incredibly loud speaker projecting sound _right next to her ear_ , before immediately closing her eyes and falling as still as she could. She'd managed to glean that, somehow, there was a camera, a microphone, and a speaker somewhere on her side of the door; that probably also meant that there was a display screen, microphone, and speaker somewhere on their end, wherever their end happened to be. Maybe if she played dead, they'd leave her alone? Just this once? Her hopes were dashed when the speaker blared again. "Hmph, maybe not. Oh well, no worries, this should be sure to wake you up. Don't say I didn't warn you."

It took a little while for Kassidy to figure out what exactly he'd meant by that… and she _really_ wish she hadn't found out. It didn't take long for her to start choking on thin air. It took even less time for even her delirium-riddled brain to piece together that she was suffocating. Almost immediately, Kassidy's faculties nearly fled her, and it took a truly herculean effort on her part to keep from panicking, her knowledge of physiology being her only lifeline to lucidity. The human body started suffocating not with a lack of oxygen, but with an excess of carbon dioxide. If they could pipe far more dangerous stuff in here earlier, stuff that she should have had no right to survive if not for Project Colossus, it stood to reason that it was a probably simple matter to pipe excess carbon dioxide in with the air she usually got. _I will not be broken. They still need me alive for Bob's codes. Surely they wouldn't… wait. Did the vent turn off? I can't feel any more air coming in. But… no! They can't kill me yet! It doesn't make sense! It doesn't-_

Here was the most recent occurrence of reason fleeing young Kassidy Smith. She spat; she swore; she begged; she pleaded; she promised deaths with untold magnitudes of pain if they didn't let her out this instant. For ten minutes, she was a quivering, babbling mess, always panicking over whether this breath would be her last, whether it still had the oxygen she needed. An agonizing eternity later, Kassidy's head slumped against the door panel, as the excess carbon dioxide evidently was removed from her air supply. The vent above her started pumping in her usual blazing air at full blast, and she greedily gulped down great breaths that didn't prompt a suffocation instinct.

"Ah, you're awake, good, now we can begin." Burne's damned voice came back over the speakers, dashing her fleeting thought processes into pieces as he began the most recent interrogation. "Look, despite all I've heard about how smart you are, you're apparently too stupid to figure out how things work around here. So, let me explain this to you real nice and simple: either you tell me what I want to know, or you keep choking on thin air. Understand? Good. Now, let's start with something easy: we know your computer has two different levels of access codes. Your executive override code is the lower level code. What is your executive override code?"

"Why, exactly," Kassidy managed to gasp out, "should I… trust you… with that?"

"Wrong answer." With the damning words from the voice on the other end of the line, the air seemed to turn off again, and again a ten minute period of time was spent suffocating on absolutely nothing. If Kassidy had her full faculties, she would've noted that Burnes was actually humming over the speaker while watching her panic and thrash in the room, reopening the scabs on her wrists and earning a few bruises in the process. When it finally ended, and she finally caught her breath, he continued as if nothing had ever happened. "And the reason why you should trust us with this is that we'd use it to protect people. Unlike yourself, we actually have morals."

"… is irony overload part of your torture program? I think the amount of irony in that last sentence made me sprain my brain."

The man on the other side of the speaker continued as if she hadn't said a thing. "While the Grimm continue to be an ever-present threat, the White Fang – the White Fang you've singlehandedly antagonized into a frenzy, I might add – have terrorized, bombed, and murdered our citizens for far too long. Your computer's full power will give us everything we could possibly need to root the bastards out. While you're content to use one of the most powerful forces on the planet to rob bank accounts and play vigilante, we'd actually put him to good use finding an effective solution to the terrorist attacks in our Kingdom. We'd be making the citizens of Vale safer. It's kind of our job, in case you haven't noticed."

"Yeah," Kassidy wheezed. "Because… I feel… _so_ safe… right now…"

"Well aren't you an ungrateful little brat. You do realize that if the Grimm somehow busted in here, you're literally in the most protected area in this whole building, right? Why –" Burnes' brief monologue got interrupted, though when Kassidy strained her ears she could've sworn she'd heard another voice in the background. The speaker resumed trying to make her eardrums bleed a few seconds later, though, when the guy spoke back up. "Alright, looks like there's a new plan, and hoo boy are you going to like this one. Last chance to do this the easy way – what are your codes?"

This time, Kassidy elected for the 'say nothing' approach, and after several seconds of this the sound of Brunes clicking his tongue could be heard. "So disappointing. Just remember, you brought this on yourself. Sleep tight."

The instant those words were finished, another electric shock ripped through her cell, tearing Kassidy from herself and replacing her world with yet more pain.

* * *

When she awoke again, Kassidy had found that her situation had radically changed and, dare she say, improved. No longer was she in the box. Instead, she found herself hefted between two bodies – actual people, this time, and not robots. Neither of them said a word, neither of them offered a meaningful glance at their faces, and so Kassidy was forced to simply idly watch as they drug her through corridor after corridor and limply struggle against the handcuffs she was _still_ wearing. She was tired, she was hungry, she was absolutely disgusting, and above all she was so thirsty. Honestly, those first three things might as well have been a non-issue; even if she hadn't been through worse of each of those in the past, the sheer sensation of thirst drowned them out half the time. Add on to the fact that she had so many questions… not the least of which being where Yang was and how she was doing.

While the questions surrounding her girlfriend went unanswered as the doors in front of them were swung open, quite a few more were answered. A rather heavy-set man in quite the opulent suit turned around from his seat at a table. His eyes glared at hers for the briefest of moments, before turning to the man to her right. "Special Agent Burnes, thank you for your work so far."

Kassidy managed to instantly recognize the man even in her current state, and interrupted any conversation they were about to have. "Councilman Jay Winchester. Perhaps you could fill me in as to my complete and utter lack of surprise that you're the one trying to make me disappear."

If Jay were in any way perturbed that she recognized him on sight, he didn't show it. Instead, he merely chuckled. "Trying to make your disappear? Why would you think I'd try that? Clearly, I've succeeded." When Kassidy's eyes widened, he chuckled again. "It was a simple matter, really. A brave Huntress in training had fallen in battle against the White Fang, after all. After I had personally delivered the news to what remains of your team, they were quite willing to believe anything I had to say. But, enough of that. We're not here to talk about them. We're here to talk about you."

"You… Yang?" Kassidy's brief and all-consuming numbness was quickly replaced by anger, fiery and absolutely _murderous_. Drawing upon what little strength she had left, she thrashed against her captors in a desperate bid to reach the man. " _You killed Yang?! I'll fucking kill you!_ "

She didn't get very far, however. The guy on her left stomped on her knee, nearly dislocating it in the process. Burnes, to her right, punched her in the gut as hard as he could, to the point where she would've lost her lunch if she'd had anything to eat at all in the past couple days. She collapsed to her knees, wheezing and coughing her lungs up, and nearly missed Jay walking up to her. He got down on a knee himself, took her chin in his massive hand, and forced her to look at him. "You don't seem to be in much position to do anything. But, enough. Time is short, and we have much to discuss. Get on your feet."

As the two men started dragging her through the room behind the councilman, Jay continued. "I must admit, you've proven unusually resilient. A product of Project Colossus, I suppose. Even subjecting you to a nerve agent barely made you flinch. However… there are other ways of making one talk. For instance, a little birdie told me that a certain someone is afraid of water."

Almost as if his speech had been timed with their pace, they had reached the doors on the other side. Burnes pushed the door open ahead of them, and Kassidy gasped at what she saw in the darkened room. A table with a multitude of straps. A washcloth. Many, many buckets of water.

Everything needed for a waterboarding setup.

"It is pointless to resist, Miss Smith," Jay said. "Everyone breaks in the end. It's merely a question of time."

" _I_ don't break," Kassidy spat back, trying to dig up the last dredges of her defiance. Even when they undid her cuffs, only to throw her to the table and start strapping her to it, she did her best to keep her breathing even. She couldn't break. The fact that they couldn't get into Bob was the only reason she was still alive. Breaking meant dying. Staying strong meant surviving. And above all, Kassidy Smith was a survivor.

"You might not," Jay freely admitted, in a move that surprised her. "But computer security… even the best can be broken. Burnes, warm her up."

"With pleasure," the man replied. Leaning over to give Kassidy full view of a toothy grin, he snarked, "Well, you absolutely stink. Looks like somebody needs a bath. How about we fix that?" With that, a cloth was pressed over her face, and a bucket was slowly upended over her. For a brief second, maybe even two, Kassidy felt like she could hold her breathing steady, avoid the sheer terror that yielded her fear of water in the first place. That hope was ruined, though, when something slammed hard into her chest, making her lungs spasm. And thus, her composure was completely ruined, as her lungs began filling with water and she desperately tried to evacuate them.

"Alright, Burnie, that's enough for now," Jay ordered. He waited several minutes for Kassidy to clear out her lungs to some extent, then began leafing through a manila folder he'd been carrying with you. "Ahem, like I was saying earlier, even the best computer security can be broken. Bob, was it, was certainly an impressive adversary, but even he cannot resist my will. And he has so many interesting things in his memory. A father, a brother… why, a whole planet that you left to die. And why was that, Kassidy? Was it all to spite this Benjamin Alcot person? Are you truly that petty?" Drinking in the wide, pale face she stared at him with, Jay drew in closer. "Make no mistake, Kassidy, you are a menace to society and the worst monster I've ever had the displeasure of coming across that isn't the Grimm. Even when you aren't letting common criminals blow up population centers, like this Chicago here… why, how many dozens have you killed these past few weeks? You are exactly the kind of threat I swore to protect the kingdom of Vale from."

Kassidy was reeling. They cracked Bob? No, impossible. Not only was he beyond state of the art even for Earth tech, the fact that Bob was such a powerful AI gave him the ability to dynamically alter his own defenses in response to an attack. Even if, heaven forbid, a more powerful computer tried to brute force its way into his systems, Bob could just as easily change the passwords as alter his settings as simply shutting off his own power. And yet, where else could they know even a fraction of the information Councilman Winchester was throwing in her face?

It took many, many agonizing seconds longer than it normally would for Kassidy to find the answer to that question. The simulator, of course! Her father, Matthew, Benjamin… it was all in that damned simulation that made her run out into Vale! Not exactly public knowledge, of course, but if one knew where to look…

"What do you want," Kassidy finally asked. "If you've finally cracked my computer, I don't know what you still need me for."

"Clever girl," Jay praised. "You see, while we have access to his full commands, your computer's subroutines are still slowing him down substantially, hindering our efforts. Now, if we were to have certain access codes…"

"Indeed, that would make your job easier," Kassidy agreed. "So, you've cracked my computer, my girlfriend is dead, everyone thinks I'm dead, and basically all hope is gone, is that right?" When Jay nodded, Kassidy's brow furrowed and her eyes hardened. "Except I'm not convinced of that. I'm going to need more than something you could've just gotten from a camera somewhere. Something only Bob would know."

The shit-eating grin her captor gave would've won a shit eating contest, if indeed such a thing actually existed. "By all means, ask away."

Kassidy closed her eyes, dug down, and hoped this wasn't a massive, massive mistake. "What was my sister's name?"

Jay's eyes widened almost comically, but he got the reaction under control quickly. He consulted with his Scroll for a moment, then confidently answered, "I should have known you'd go for a trick question. You never had a sister."

"That is correct. I did not have a sister." Jay's grin threatened to return in full force, but fell once again when Kassidy again asked, "What was her name?"

"We just established that you never had a sister; ergo, she did not have a name."

Rather than rise to the bait, Kassidy simply gazed at Jay. "If you cannot tell me my sister's name, then you have not beaten my computer's security."

Jay opened his mouth to respond, but all in the room froze when a new voice spoke up, at once familiar and utterly terrifying. "That is enough. Unhand Miss Smith at once."

All the room's occupants turned to look at the opening doors; well, almost all of them, seeing as Kassidy was currently kept from moving her head any. Still, it was hard to miss the voice that had boomed out, or the various grunts and growls of the three people accompanying him. Jay, for his part, also recognized their visitor. "Headmaster Ozpin. This isn't your jurisdiction."

"Even if not, it is mine, seeing as you're the one who personally invited me to Vale to beef up security," a new voice said. Numerous, numerous bootfalls heralded the arrival of more visitors, with a certain Atlesian General at the head of the procession. "Councilman, while I was happy to lend to the Kingdom of Vale a good number of Atlesian Knights, the kidnapping of Huntresses in training were not in the terms and conditions."

Burnes suddenly leapt to his feet next to Kassidy and yelled something, but a shotgun blast that was literal music to Kassidy's ears sent him flying into the opposite wall. The weapon's owner danced into her vision immediately after, giant mess of blonde hair and fiery red eyes completing the look. "K! We found you!"

"What have you just done, girl?! Apart from assault an officer, of course!" Snarling when all eyes returned to him, Jay wheeled on Ozpin. "I told you to take care of this… this _girl_ , Ozpin. Hell, we all did, it was a unanimous vote! We gave you ample opportunity to see this Kassidy woman disposed of _properly_ , _responsibly_."

"And I once again tell you that I am _not_ going to 'dispose' of one of my students simply because she makes you uneasy, councilman," Ozpin rebutted. Interrupting what the elder Winchester was about to say next, he continued, "However, this does appear to be an interesting situation we find ourselves in. Tell me, exactly how many laws have you broken with this little stunt of yours? Or did you simply think that you were above such things, as long as nobody remained to report on it?"

"Even you don't have the clout to remove me from my seat," Jay growled.

"No, but the courts do. And not only do we have… hmm, it appears to be five eye-witnesses here that aren't under your employ, but we also happen to have a certain tablet computer that's been recording this entire encounter."

By this point, Yang had undone all of Kassidy's straps and wrapped her up in a bone crushing hug, literally – Kassidy could've sworn she heard some ribs crack. Of course, she ignored it in favor of returning it, seeing as her girlfriend was not, in fact, dead. Ruby and even Weiss joined in on making it a group hug, and the four girls got a front row seat to Jay Winchester currently being at a loss for words. He eventually made out, "I am a pillar of this community, Ozpin! What would you have from me? You can't simply think you can have me removed just like that!"

"Maybe not," he admitted, "but you must admit that you are in a precarious situation. I propose a trade, therefore: in exchange for my silence, I was hoping you'd meet me in my office tomorrow morning, so that we may discuss the votes that will be turned in to future Council meetings."

"Professor!" Weiss gasped. "Surely you can't –"

Ozpin held a hand up to silence Weiss, returning Jay's nod before turning to the general. "James, may I trust you to ensure the safe return of my students to their dorms?"

"Of course, old friend," Ironwood replied. As Ozpin and Jay strode out of the room, and the two agents standing dumbly off to the side, the general walked up to them. "Kassidy… Bob's managed to break their systems. He informed me as to what you've been through, but… Dust, there's no way to talk about this. Are you alright?"

"No," she freely admitted. "I need -"

"Water, food, a shower, and sleep, in that order," Weiss listed out. When Kassidy twisted on the table to look at her better, Weiss gave a grimace before whispering to herself. "Oh _fuck_ , what did they even do to you…? I think zero campaign contributions are going to be the least he'll need to worry about from the SDC, if I have anything to say about it."

"Kass?" a weak voice asked. Ruby's head tipped up to get a better look at her, silver eyes shining with tears. "Are you… no, you're not okay, you just said that… do you need help?"

Kassidy nodded, then shook her head, then shrugged. After locking with the red-rimmed eyes of her partner, she tried to get off the table… only to immediately collapse under her own weight, her legs being completely unable to support even a fraction of her. She would've hit the ground, too, if she hadn't been swept up instead. She looked up from her now reclined position to the woman in whose arms she now sat. Yang's voice broke and cracked every other word, but she was still able to get out, "Don't – don't worry about a thing, K. I'll t-take care of ya. I promise."

Kassidy could do naught but nod into Yang's shirt at this point. As the horrors her body had been through finally caught up with her, the world fell away as she again fell unconscious, this time in Yang's arms.

* * *

 **AN 2: So, we managed to hit 60k views while I was in the middle of writing this. In fact, now that I think about it, I completely forgot to mention when we hit 50k views. So glad I've been able to entertain so many people for so long. Really, I'd write more here, but…**

 **Did I really just write this whole thing in thirteen hours? Well, at least I don't have to do that again. What? I need to do that two or three more times in the next four days?**

 **Well fuck me.**

 **Coming up next: Yang's perspective**

 **Right after these Reviewer Responses**

 **Captain marvel 36: Yes, it's going to be an issue. Yes, it counts as an augmentation. Yes, I've thought of it and of a solution to that particular dilemma. Good eyes, though.**

 **AgentDraakis: Erm… not quite. Eh, she got to punch an asshole special agent, though, and Yang punching people is always a win in my book… so long as said people do not include me.**


	73. V2C15: Reforging Relationships

**Volume 2 Chapter 15: Reforging Relationships**

 **AN: Oh, hey, I get to try and do** _ **another**_ **chapter in a twenty or so hour period, lucky me. Well, better get down to it…**

 **Wait, what's this? Skyrim's on sale on Steam? Oh god pleasenoripmywriting.**

 **Welp, time to see how much of this I get written before it finishes downloading.**

* * *

(Perspective: Yang)

Two blondes slumped through the halls, eventually coming to a stop in front of a particular classroom. Kassidy had to meet with Prof – Doctor Oobleck, and Yang had taken it upon herself to ensure that she had gotten there without issue. Kassidy muttered something that sounded vaguely like a thank you before heading in to what Yang strongly suspected was therapy of some kind. Sighing, Yang slumped against the opposite wall for a little bit, trying to get even a moment's rest from the past several days of absolute hell, before her duties beckoned her onward through the halls. _Still,_ Yang mused, _it's better than what I felt when that councilman guy came in, told us K was dead, then carted off all her stuff for some nebulous criminal investigation._ Yang was a complete wreck for the two days after that visit. She hadn't eaten, she hadn't slept; for Dust's sake, she hadn't even taken care of any part of her. Anything that would have distracted her from working with Bob (wirelessly, of course, for they'd taken the housing he lived in) was completely ignored, even up to and including personal hygiene. For nearly two days, she'd been frantically searching for something, _anything_ about where her partner was, refusing to believe that she was dead even while fearing it. When she'd _finally_ found K's whereabouts, gotten her teammates and the headmaster behind her, and literally kicked in the front door, she was so happy, so relieved to finally have her K back in her arms.

Oh, how naïve she had been to believe that the worst was out of the way. Nowadays, it was near the whole team that had been stretched to the breaking point. Kassidy was the obvious one, completely abandoning any semblance of her usual schedule. She didn't work out any more. She didn't pay attention to class. They had to force her to eat, half the time. Kassidy woke up, shuffled through the day, shambled through whatever they could drag her through, and then collapsed into her bed and curled into a ball whenever night arrived. Rinse and repeat for three days, and that was Kassidy's life in a nutshell ever since they'd gotten her back in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

Weiss honestly wasn't much better off. She had taken the abduction of Kassidy _very_ personally, and at the moment that was manifesting in her liberally and proudly abusing her status as the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company in some kind of politically underhanded attack on the Winchester family. Because nothing in Atlas was allowed to be simple, it seemed, there were also some kind of family troubles with her father and brother that had led to nightly shouting matches for anyone unfortunate enough to be caught within earshot. Combine that with their usual schoolwork and the fact that she was helping her plan for the dance in only ten days' time, and Weiss Schnee was a cranky ball of complicated emotions that Yang was surprised hadn't melted down and snapped more than it already has.

Of course, there was no talking about their team, in Yang's mind, without bringing up her kid sister. If there had been any doubts in anyone's minds as to why Ruby was team leader, this week had disproven them many times over. Oftentimes, it seemed like the sole reason their team was still held together was on the redhead's admittedly diminutive shoulders. Always keeping a cool head, always going out of her way to help everyone, Ruby seemed to be everywhere at once. One moment, she was right next to Kassidy, cracking what jokes she could, helping her with notes, and trying to keep things as animated and stimulating as possible. At the next, to the point of nearly seeming simultaneous, she was walking with Weiss through the halls, keeping her calm and level-headed. Her kid sister was truly the kindest, simplest, most honest and generous soul Yang had ever known, and she couldn't be prouder of her.

Then, there was herself. Yang more often than not found herself the pillar of strength that the team built itself on. What was one more instance of being leaned on? For her sister? Her teammate? Her girlfriend? They were worth it, and so much more. Yang had ensured that she was never more than five paces away from Kassidy at any given moment. She helped her to and from class, let her snuggle into her side on more than one occasion, chased off anyone that was curious as to what was up with her, and in general just tried to be there for her. When Kassidy had questions, or just wanted to talk, Yang made sure she was able to lend an ear. Whatever Kassidy could have possibly needed, Yang provided freely.

Why wouldn't she? Even if Kassidy wasn't her girlfriend, her partner had done oh so much the prior week to make things go so smoothly for her. When Yang had first thrown herself headlong into planning for the dance, Kassidy had taken care of… basically everything else. She took notes for the both of them, cooked dinner daily, made herself a (mostly) willing punching bag whenever Yang needed to de-stress. Hell, she'd even given her a _massage_ one night when she pushed herself too hard in the gym! Sure, she needed to have Bob propped up on her shoulders to show her how to do it right… but it was the thought that counted to Yang. Even before all of this: sure, Yang was more than willing to piss and moan about how Kassidy basically put her under house arrest after the Paladin fight. It didn't change the fact that she'd almost literally bent over backwards to make sure nothing could have possibly been wrong with her after the matter, and only continued to do so as her days got more and more hectic.

However, even her strength could only go so far, and right now Yang was running on fumes. If it were simply dealing with a hectic schedule, she could still handle it, no problem. If it were simply dealing with a near-comatose girlfriend that was bearing more and more resemblance to a zombie as time went on, she'd play ball, no questions asked. Both at once? It was quickly all adding up. Sure, Yang had absolutely no problems with spending her nights in Kassidy's bed, tending to the trembling girl in her arms and chasing away the many, many night terrors that came her way… but it didn't change the fact that _she_ was the one that was now only getting four or five hours of sleep if she was lucky. And unlike Kassidy, she was _not_ used to dealing with what seemed like eighteen hour days on around half the sleep she usually got.

Their friends helped where they could, obviously. JNPR in particular was more than eager to do some heavy lifting, whether it involved Jaune chatting her or Kassidy up to try and distract them from their days, or Pyrrha and Nora both willing to drop whatever they were doing to help with anything they needed, or Ren being… honestly, being the best friend anyone could ask for. Seriously, he could cook, study, even crack a joke now and then straight out of the blue. Who wouldn't like that in a guy? And then the man's Semblance… now that Ren's Semblance was out in the open among their group, it had become a semi-regular occurrence for him to work his calming magic on one or all of them, chasing away whatever threatened to overwhelm them and bring serenity to any particular moment. SSSN did what they could, as well, though not in the same capacity as JNPR. Even Mercury and Emerald, as removed as they normally were, seemed willing enough to at least chase people off and let them some measure of privacy.

So wrapped up in her thoughts was she, that Yang hadn't noticed a shape hanging around behind a pillar. She was quickly made aware of such a hole in her situational awareness, however, when a certain boy yelled out, "Carpet munchers, ahoy!" and shoulder tackled her into an abandoned classroom. The sheer suddenness of the situation left Yang stunned for a brief moment, and although she got to her senses quickly it was still enough time for her to get shoved against a wall. When she spied her assailant… well, she wasn't like most people anyway, and when such a golden opportunity presents itself? Maybe her luck was turning around after all. Climbing back to her feet, she cracked her knuckles as she stared her dance partner down. "Cardin, Cardin, Cardin. It's funny, I was actually looking for a bit of stress relief. I'm so glad you volunteered."

"I'm sure you are," he sneered. Oddly, he didn't look even the least bit concerned when _Ember Celica_ expanded over her fists. "Tsk, tsk, tsk," he said instead. "I wouldn't do that if I were you,"

"And why no-" Yang's advance, as well as her maybe kinda-sorta cocky desire to punch the smug grin off his face, halted instantly when something pricked her neck. Something sharp. She tilted her head down as far as she risked, and just barely managed to catch sight of a knife held against her neck. A drop of blood trailed down the edge… a drop of blood that was drawn _while her Aura was up_. The color drained from her face as quickly as that drop did, as she all but whispered, "You have an Aura-piercing knife? The illegal and almost nonexistent weapons? Why? How?"

"Simple, really," Cardin boasted. "Once my dad found out the kinds of people I called classmates, he saw fit to make sure I could better protect myself. What kind of man wouldn't look out for his son, after all?" Dove showed up to the side of her vision, also smirking, before slowly pushing the knife closer, forcing her back against the wall. "Not so tough now, are ya, you bitch?" Cardin spat, taking his time to stalk right up to her.

"You better have your buddy take this knife away from my neck," Yang warned, "or I'll be sure to send you back to old daddy dearest in pieces."

"Somehow I doubt you'll manage to do that," Cardin dismissed with a roll of his eyes. Yang cursed in her head, knowing that there wasn't a whole lot she could do here. "See, we've got a bit of a problem, and I was hoping you'd help us out a bit. I'm so glad you decided to volunteer."

"What makes you think I'm volunteering?" Yang shot back.

"Because if you don't," Cardin said, "then… well, it would be rather unfortunate if your whore of a partner happened to have a bit of an accident, wouldn't it? She doesn't even have any Aura. Nah, I just wanted a sparring partner. I didn't mean to swing that hard. It's not my fault that she's so weak and pathetic and doesn't belong here in the first place, even if she wasn't a mass murderer."

Yang's breath caught in her throat, and tears leapt into her rapidly reddening eyes. "You…"

"So, here's how you're going to help us," Cardin continued. "The little in-house tournament to decide who gets to participate in the Vytal Festival Tournament is in about a month. You're going to challenge us. And you're going to make sure you lose. I mean, it's not like they'd let you compete anyway with your little whore without an Aura, so you're not even losing anything in the first place." Yang opened her mouth, but Cardin cut her off. "You're going to make sure we have a cakewalk into the Vytal Festival Tournament, or little Kassidy's gonna have an accident. Maybe even your slut of a sister, too, who knows? So what do you say, Goldie-tits?"

" _I say_ ," a new voice interjected, even as the arm holding the Aura-piercing knife against her throat was ripped away and a pistol was levelled on Cardin's head, "your boys have until the count of ten to leave you in here with me and Yang before I start shooting." Throwing Dove to the side with the other two members of CRDL, Kassidy manually cocked her gun for added effect. "One. Nine."

Nobody bothered correcting her miscount. Three of them because they were in the middle of sprinting out of the room. The two remaining occupants didn't do so out of fear. Even Yang could barely get her thoughts in a row before Kassidy kicked Cardin's leg out from under him, sending him sprawling against a desk. "Did I not _specifically_ say that if you messed with my teammates again, you'll live long enough to regret it? And now, I find you not only threatening my girlfriend's life, but her sister's as well? Didn't your old man ever teach you not to fuck with someone else's woman?"

Cardin sneered, stood back up, and challenged, "And what are ya going to do about it?" Immediately after he had spoken, he was reaching out for Kassidy's pistol.

Of course, something as hilariously broadcasted as that wasn't going to work, and Cardin found his arm pulled behind him in a hammerlock while _Rogue_ was pressed against the back of his skull. "This is what I'm going to do," Kassidy answered, as cool and calm as if nothing bad had ever happened. "In case you haven't gotten the memo, my gun fires forty five caliber bullets at one point three times the speed of sound. At twenty five yards, it can punch through an Alpha Beowolf's skull, brain it, and then pass through to kill the Beowolf behind it. Do you really want to find out what it'll do pressed up against your skull?"

With Cardin suddenly finding himself in a reverse of the prior situation, he was suddenly far less brave. "Y-you can't get away with this. I-I'll tell P-Professor G-Goodwitch about this."

"You could do that," Kassidy nonchalantly agreed. "But then _I'd_ need to tell her about what all you just did to Yang. Including the possession of an incredibly illegal weapon, threatening her with said incredibly illegal weapon, and then threatening the lives of two of her teammates." Yang's eyes continued to grow wide as the encounter continued. Cardin, pale and bug-eyed, bent over a desk (oh Oum how she could be joking about this if what had just happened hadn't happened), while Kassidy stood over him, holding her gun to his head and acting like she was reading a particularly boring newspaper article. Sure, she wasn't depressed anymore… but even Cardin was somewhat emotional making his demands of her. Right now, Kassidy wasn't anything other than completely and utterly bored while threatening to murder someone. It was starting to scare Yang even more than having a knife stuck in her neck was.

"W-what do you want?" Cardin croaked out, his voice actually cracking.

"What I _want_ is for you to leave us alone!" Kassidy shouted, emotion suddenly returning full force. She shuddered, and choked out, "So hard. I try _so_ hard to be a better person, to not be the monster people tried to make me to be. I try to be a normal student, I try to keep my grades up, I try to protect people from actual monsters. I try so hard to be a better person. And then people like you need to fuck it up. People like your father. Heh, y'know, I'd wondered for a while how he'd react if he knew what you were up to here… he has to be so proud of you, doesn't he?"

"Uh…"

Kassidy interrupted him by shoving him off the desk onto the floor. "I am going to use the very last of my immeasurable patience to give you one more chance. One more chance. One last opportunity before I start drawing blood." Turning around, her shoulders shaking madly and tears starting to run down her face, she ranted, "I want you out of this room, I want you out of our interactions, I want you out of our _lives_. Go! Get out! I don't even care where you go, just GET THE FUCK OUT!"

And like that, it was over. Cardin scrambled out of his feet, tripping over himself nearly a dozen times trying to leave the room. Yang was left still against the wall, watching Kassidy's sword fall limply from her hand, as the dams burst. Falling to her knees, she quickly curled into a ball and started crying her eyes out. Yang didn't think. Didn't even react. There was no movement, no progression from point A to point B. The next instant, she was at K's side, bringing her back in her embrace and cooing soft words of encouragement. It only made Kassidy cry all the harder though, and she barely managed to choke through her tears, "I'm sorry, Yang, I'm so sorry. I tried so hard to be… I tried… I couldn't do it. I couldn't. I just couldn't. I'm so sorry, please believe me."

"Shh, it's okay," Yang reassured. "You did nothing wrong. You got him away from me, got him to stop, and then stopped when all was done. You did so well there." And that was the truth. In what was most certainly a hypocritical thought after being terrified of what K might do, Yang couldn't get out of her head how lucky that Cardin had gotten out with little more done than a threat and a wet pair of trousers.

"They're right," Kassidy sobbed, getting Yang's attention. Suddenly, she broke away and stood up, back to Yang and hands on her hips. "I'm a monster. I try to fix things… and I just make them worse. All I do is kill, and kill, and kill more people, and hope that if I kill enough people, people will be safe."

"Don't listen to them," Yang bit out. "You're a _good person_. I know this. Everyone that matters knows this. _They_ made you do this. The White Fang pushed you too far, and now that bastard and his bastard father's pushing you…"

"Please, don't," Kassidy bit out, shocking Yang even more. "That's… that's kinda what I've been thinking about these past few days. I don't… I don't… oh God, I'm so sorry, I'm so, _so_ fucking sorry."

"What is it?" Yang asked, voice meek and almost as filled with tears as Kassidy's own.

"I… I…" Trying and failing to get her shuddering under control, K took a few shaky breaths and tried a different way. "This isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened. I… I have a tendency to make enemies, Yang. Dangerous enemies. If they're willing to go to these lengths already… then how long before they start going after you?"

"Let them," Yang affirmed, punching one fist into another. "That's not going to stop-"

"I know that!" Kassidy shrieked. "Please… don't…" More shaky breaths, before Yang's heart started to break. "I think… I think… what we are… it needs to stop."

Yang's legs failed her. Her knees knocked together. Her hands reached out, trying to steady her against something, anything, before she crashed flat on her butt on the floor. Through tears and a breaking heart, Yang only managed to get out, "K…?"

" _You_ are not the problem," Kassidy said, suddenly kneeling in front of her, eyes wide and overflowing with tears of their own. "You're smart and strong and dedicated and beautiful and the single greatest and most wonderful person I've ever had the pleasure of knowing… and I can't let them hurt you. Whoever 'them' happens to be. You _will_ get hurt at some point, and I can't… I can't let them hurt you. I know you wouldn't let something like this stop you, you're so strong and so much better than I deserve. Please, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

Yang's resolve pieced itself back together as Kassidy explained herself. That's what she was worried about? Interrupting Kassidy's babbling with a flick of the nose, Yang found the strength to stand back up. "Y'know, for someone as smart as you are, you can be a real idiot sometimes, you know that?"

Kassidy's face somehow fell even further, and she choked out, "Yang…?"

She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and began to explain herself. "Let me tell you a story, K. You know about my parents. Tai and Summer. But… Summer might've been my mom, but she wasn't my birth mother. Dad wouldn't tell me anything, but I figured some things out. Like that she left me just after I was born, and that her name… was Raven Branwen."

Even as distraught and devastated as Kassidy was, Yang could still see the gears turning in her head. "Any relation to –"

"She's Qrow's twin sister," Yang finished. "Anyway, nobody's seen her since she left me. Ever since I knew, I've been trying to find her. It was all I thought about. I'd ask anyone I could what they knew about her. Then, one day, I found something. What I thought was a clue that would lead me to answers, or even to my mother. I waited until my dad left the house, put Ruby in a wagon, and then headed out. I must have walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises, I was totally exhausted, but I wasn't gonna let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand. But I didn't care. I had made it. But then I saw them. Those… burning red eyes."

Yang paused to shudder and take some breaths. Out of the side of her eye, she could see K with similarly wide eyes as before, but no longer bawling her face off. Yang continued, "So there we were, a toddler asleep in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter. But… as luck would have it, our uncle showed up just in time."

As Yang finished her story, Kassidy took a breath to steady herself. "Yang, I –"

Yang interrupted her, whirling around on the spot and meeting her eyes. "For the woman who abandoned me, I wandered around a Grimm-infested forest with no chance or ability to defend myself or my sister. I did all of that on a _hunch_ , for someone who more likely than not hated my guts. We should have died that day. So, Kassidy Smith," Yang finished, punctuating her point by poking her finger into Kassidy's chest, "If I'm willing to do that for someone like that, why would you even imagine that I'd be willing to do anything less for _you_? My girlfriend, my partner, and my best friend ever."

Kassidy's eyes widened, and she only barely stammered out, "I –"

"I _understand_ that people want to hurt you. I _understand_ that they'll probably try to get at me. Look into my eyes. _I don't care_. You are one of the most important people in my life, and I would be beyond happy to face all that and more to protect you, to be by your side, and to keep you happy and healthy and smiling. Yes, like that," Yang added with a wink.

Kassidy stammered, unable to decide on which expression to wear or which emotion to feel… before rushing Yang, wrapping her up in a hug, and shoving her head into her shoulder. Her shoulders shook, though Yang legitimately couldn't tell if it was from crying or laughing. Eventually, Yang heard, "Those were the hardest words I've ever had to so much as think about, let alone say, and you wave it all away like it wasn't anything. You are one incredible woman, Yang Xiao Long. Not to mention incredibly annoying at times." Kassidy brought her head up whenever Yang retorted with a 'hey', but her small grin quickly faded. "Why me? Why am I worth so much to you? Why are you willing to deal with… with… all of this?"

 _Because I think I love you!_ Yang all but screamed out in her mind. Only a tremendous amount of both self-control and uncertainty kept her from actually blurting the words to her girlfriend. Instead, she took a few steadying breaths, and explained, "Because you're the strongest person I know – and no, I'm not talking about the bench press record. You're the funniest person I know that isn't my dad. You're the smartest person I know that isn't Weiss."

"Not really helping your case, partner," Kassidy snarked. "Also, I'm _way_ smarter than Weiss."

Yang giggled. "That's exactly it. You make everything so much better. You care so much about us that you were willing to do anything to keep me safe, no matter how painful. You can always bring in some new perspective, showing how anything that could be bad or wrong isn't as bad as we think it is… or even if it is, that we can beat it. You're smart and funny and strong and so much of what I try to be. You're my partner. You're my girlfriend. You are _more_ than worth anything I can give you."

Kassidy's face was unreadable for a moment, before her expression morphed to look almost… annoyed? "Are you sure you're not reading my mind? I was just about to say literally all of that about you."

Yang couldn't help it; she giggled again. She put a lid on it quickly, however, put her hands on Kassidy's shoulder, and stared straight into the depths of her nearly non-existent soul. "As long as you will have me, I promise I will always stand by your side. As your combat partner, as your girlfriend… maybe even as more, if and when we get there. I will not leave you behind. In whatever you do, I will support you."

Kassidy put her own arms on Yang's shoulders. "You sure about this? If you say 'yes' again, I'm going to have to declare it officially too late to back out of that deal."

"Hmm… well, when you put it that way…" Yang teased. Booping K on the nose, she smiled and simply said, "Yes."

"Then know you have that same promise from me. And a Smith is always good for their word." They hugged again, fiercely, each conveying every emotion they've felt over the past twenty minutes in the embrace. Finally, Kassidy spoke up on Yang's shoulder. "Well, that was freaking exhausting, and I'm starved. Why don't you say we find something to eat?"

"Actually," Yang stalled, thinking of something that'd been bothering her for the past few days. "I understand if you don't want to talk about it… but I never knew you had a sister."

Kassidy shuddered again, before answering, "Yeah, I don't like talking about it." Before Yang was able to apologize, however, Kassidy continued, "Ezra was stillborn."

"Oh," Yang said dumbly. Really, what were you supposed to say to that? Finding K's hand, she forced out a weak smile before adding, "Yeah, food sounds wonderful right now."

As the two blondes wandered down the hallway and across the campus, there was definitely a new air between them that more than one person noticed as they walked. For Yang and Kassidy, however, it only meant one thing at the moment: they were back, baby.

Honestly, for how that whole mess started (and continued, now that she thought about that), Yang couldn't have been happier about how that turned out.

* * *

 **AN 2: Alright, let me check the time… Wait, still not finished downloading? Did I seriously just write this thing in four stinking hours? I guess it kind of helped that, similar to last chapter as well as the next couple chapters, I had basically plotted out the whole darn thing in advance, and all that was required was typing it out.**

 **Also, Kassidy's final, truly last secret has been revealed. Well... okay, I have a couple personal ideas, but considering that they have exactly zero bearing on the story at this point (and yes, Ezra will still have bearing on this story), I have no purpose nor desire to mention any. I know I made the offer once already, and now I'm remaking it. Consider this open season on any questions you have regarding Kassidy's character. I'll do my best to answer in Reviewer Responses.**

 **So ends this particularly traumatizing arc. Time for my usual drill: proofreading, Reviewer Responses, upload, and… not bed, since it's not 1 AM here yet. Probably studying. Oh, who am I kidding? It's almost definitely going to be Skyrim.**

 **Coming up next: …not the dance arc! Sorry, but there's one last thing I want to set up before we get to see how** _ **that**_ **particular trainwreck shapes up. Just know that a particular shotgun boot-wielding totally-not-villain is going to feature prominently**

 **Akshka: Yes, things have definitely gotten real… and now I feel a sudden and intense urge to go hide in my basement. Shortly after changing addresses. And possibly names.**

 **AgentDraakis: Well… not sure if this counts as fluff, but here you go. And don't worry, we still have the dance coming up. Nothing could** _ **possibly**_ **go wrong there, right? …right?**

 **Mama Wolf Pack: Believe me, I spent a lot of time agonizing over that chapter. Given just how much conflict I'd created between the powers that be and Kassidy, however, I honestly couldn't justify it not coming to a head somehow. Uh… thanks for thinking I wrote the torture scenes well? Not sure if that counts as a compliment. Glad to hear you've been enjoying the story so far, here's to hoping I can continue to entertain.**

 **Guest: Glad to hear you like it so much. Whether I'll continue through vol4? Spoilers. Also, yes.**

 **Tykene: Again… not sure if being complemented on how well I wrote the torture chapter is a compliment or a less flattering reflection of me. Glad you enjoyed it, I guess?**


	74. V2C16: Quicksilver

**Volume 2 Chapter 16: Quicksilver**

 **AN: No, not the ship.**

 **So, uh… short chapter. I also want to apologize, as I was hoping that we'd be on the dance itself today. Why was I wanting to be that far ahead?**

 **Well, it turns out it's my birthday today. Considering that I prefer giving to getting, I figured I could only reasonably add 'get a good chapter of RWKY' out to the celebrations. Besides, entertaining you lot is gift enough.**

 **So again, my most sincere apologies for not being further ahead in the story than this. I really,** _ **really**_ **wanted to be on the Dance for today. If there was ever a need for a reason as to why daily uploads are a terrible, terrible idea… this was it.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Kassidy could do naught but let out a low whistle at Pyrrha's continued domination of the entirety of team CRDL. _I mean, honestly, I thought me trashing Russel a couple weeks ago was noteworthy? She's wiping the floor with the guy – literally, I think – while tearing his other three teammates a new rear. I think we can all agree her Semblance is bullshit, but still… I'm supposed to fight against people like her, if I go into the Vytal Tournament? Geez, between that skill, that weapon, that Semblance –_

 _Okay, what the fuck?! Did she just backflip_ while in midair _? Since when did the laws of physics not apply to her?!_ Almost as if to confirm that yes, she was watching the same thing as everyone else, she leaned over to whisper to Weiss, "Uh, we're watching the same thing, right? Wow, and I thought me beating only the one was impressive."

"Well," Weiss reasoned, "she's not the Invincible Girl for nothing."

Kassidy frowned. "Nobody's invincible." However, as she watched the current 1v4 slaughter going on in the combat arena, there was one nagging feeling she couldn't quite escape from. "Still, didn't I hold my own – for a little bit, anyway – against her during the first couple weeks we were here? I thought I've improved a lot… but I sure as hell wouldn't take my chances against her now."

"Don't forget your handicaps," Weiss reminded. "She'd be holding back quite a bit if she had to fight you. Let's also not ignore that you'd be holding back as well – no pistol, for instance, not to mention, well… when you get _really_ mad."

"I wouldn't want to use the Colossus stuff against her anyway," Kassidy defended. "Still, I guess you're right. Maybe I have more of a chance than I thought?"

Obviously, Weiss had to shoot down her improving mood. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Kassidy," she replied, giving a small smirk. "You wouldn't stand a chance either way. I'm merely suggesting that you wouldn't lose so badly in a practice setting."

"Traitor," Kassidy accused, definitely _not_ pouting in the process. It didn't change the fact that she was losing this argument, though, and there was only one way to make sure she won. Turning to her right, Kassidy entreated, "Ruby, Weiss is being mean to me!"

"And that's the match," Glynda called, conveniently ending the argument right as it had swung back into Kassidy's favor. "Well done, Miss Nikos. You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament."

While the professor got to work praising and critiquing the match – and oh boy, were there some pretty harsh critiques of team CRDL – Kassidy got to reflecting on the situation regarding the combat classes as of late. With the Vytal Festival so close, the Combat Training class had been relegated to more or less nonstop spars. With anywhere from seven to ten fights per day, everyone who showed up, including the foreign students, was sure to get plenty of experience in a very short timeframe. Well, anyone other than her, obviously. Kassidy hadn't fought ever since her last bout with Russel, using 'recovery' as her excuse thus far. Everyone who knew what had happened understood, and anyone who didn't know what had happened didn't ask any questions. It's been a long week and a half since the time that Councilman Winchester tried to make her disappear, and even if not all of it was nice, Kassidy's pretty sure that she's finally at the point to get back into the swing of things.

"Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match," Glynda announced. "Any volunteers?" Everyone's attention was drawn back to the stage, and Kassidy couldn't help but notice how the professor almost instantly went seeking her out. Her fears were confirmed when Glynda called out, "Miss Smith? You've been rather docile for the past few classes."

 _Okay, maybe I'm not_ that _ready to get back in the swing of things. Was hoping I could spar out of class for a little –_

"I'll do it," a voice called from over her shoulder, unintentionally saving her from having to fight already. Kassidy turned around to find one of her team's new acquaintances putting up a raised hand.

Glynda adjusted her glasses to get a better look. "Mercury, is it? Very well, let's find you an opponent."

Kassidy would have been thankful for the distraction, but then he stood up. She wasn't even sure what him standing up had to do with things, but all of a sudden her instincts started blaring warnings in her mind. _Alright, is he too smooth? All this show of trying to pick who he wants to fight… why is this such an issue? Do something, Smith. Don't find out what he wants. Do something do something do it now do it right fu-_

"Actually," Mercury had managed to get out, "I want to fight –"

"I'll take him," Kassidy interrupted. Standing up and stretching, she didn't miss how Mercury's eyes widened before he managed to clamp down on his reaction. _So he did have something planned. But why make it look like a spur of a moment thing, then?_ Popping her back, Kassidy added, "You're right, professor, it's been too long. Don't want to get rusty."

"Very well," Glynda said after a pause. "If you two will make your way down here, I can review our… special rules when it comes to Miss Smith's spars."

Before Kassidy could make it out of the row, however, Yang caught the sleeve of her jacket. Poor girl hadn't gotten a break ever since that fateful day, but she's still obviously remained as sharp as ever somehow, and Yang must've figured something was up. "What gives?" she hissed.

"Call it a hunch," Kassidy whispered back. When Yang cocked an eyebrow, Kassidy merely nodded, nonverbally letting her know that yes, it was one of _those_ hunches, the hunches borne from her everlasting battle with her paranoia. Of course, the interaction ended there, as Kassidy had to make it to the dueling stage.

She was about to pick out a training sword, if it weren't for her habit of watching her opponents as they got ready. In this case, it was Mercury taking shotgun rounds out of his boots. _Martial artist, huh? Focuses on kicks. Actually, I've been meaning to work on my unarmed some anyway… eh, why the hell not? Should be fun._ Deciding against picking up a weapon, she instead strode to her starting spot. Glynda raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't question her decision to go into this unarmed.

"Gotta admit," Mercury commented as he got to his starting spot. "I'm kinda curious what made you jump up like that."

Kassidy shrugged her shoulders. "I remember a saying along the lines of, 'the best way to get to know someone is to fight them'. And to be honest, even with the amount of time our teams have been spending together, I still don't know you all that well."

With this answer, she earned a shrug of Mercury's own. "Fair enough, I guess. Though… who was it that said that, again?"

"I have no flipping clue," Kassidy admitted.

Mercury actually snorted at that. "Well, I like him anyway." Glynda stepped between them, halting their pre-match banter. After checking to ensure that Mercury was indeed familiar with the rules, she made sure both were ready. Then, she called the match.

Mercury sprinted forward instantly, jumping into a high kick intent on putting a new, boot-shaped imprint on her face. Probably just testing her, from how slow and telegraphed it was; hell, she'd watched him go way, _way_ faster than that when he was sparring with other students. Proving that yes, she could indeed keep up, Kassidy batted it aside with a forearm before ducking and sweeping his leg out from under him. Mercury rebounded quickly, back flipping himself to a safer distance, and they both resized each other up.

When it was clear that he wasn't going to make the first move, Kassidy obliged, initiating the charge herself. Mercury's left leg – _definitely favors that left leg of his_ – came spinning around to pound her stomach in, but she pulled back at the last moment. The followup right roundhouse was caught on her arm, and then Mercury threw a punch at her, obviously still simply toying with her. _Alright, you little smug prick. If you don't want to take me seriously, let me give you something to take seriously._ Working on the counter she'd developed with Yang, her right arm snapped out to catch his wrist before dragging it further in, pulling him off balance. Her left hand straightened to a knife edge, and she thrust it at his neck, making him lose a fair bit of his breath. Pivoting around, Kassidy put her back to the boy before grabbing his wrist with her other hand and slamming it onto her shoulder as hard as she could in a maneuver that would've snapped the guys' elbow effortlessly were it not for his Aura. Finishing the maneuver off, she pivoted back around, folded his arm over his shoulder, and drug him to the ground, capping things off by driving her knee into his solar plexus.

By the time she backed off, though, he was already back on one knee, coughing his lungs out but otherwise looking more annoyed than anything. However, as if the universe was trying to prove to her that her ability to read emotions wasn't infallible, Mercury shrugged and gave an impressed hum before commenting, "Not bad. Got military in the family?"

"Something like that," Kassidy grunted in return.

"Figured," he replied. "How about I kick this up a notch, then?" Not waiting for her reply, he quickly leapt up into the air and followed through with a drop kick that Kassidy happily danced away from. Despite her ability to dodge that, however, she was woefully unprepared for, upon diving back in to take advantage of his opening, him instantly leaping back up in a veritable cyclone of kicks. She was pushed back a good few feet, rubbing her arm tenderly and being thankful that she didn't catch that boot with her ribs. Mercury was relentless in his pursuit, however, and Kassidy quickly found herself backpedaling from more hurricane kicks. He followed up by leaping into the air and sending a few quick kicks more at her head, which she rolled under. Whenever she'd gotten back on her knees, however, the sight she was greeted to was about the worst she could've gotten. Mercury, having just landed, had shoved his boot right in her face, obviously just about to cock it back for a strike all but guaranteed to knock her out. However, that was literally the least concerning thing about her current situation.

 _I thought that boot was a bit hard and heavy… forget the boot, though, his whole damn leg is metal! Prosthetics? And why does that –_

Kassidy's though process was ended abruptly as her fears were confirmed. Yes, that was indeed a shotgun shell she had spied, and yes, it was indeed currently being chambered into the firing mechanism in his artificial leg. Guessing that it would be fired whenever his kick shot forth, Kassidy took the hilariously short amount of time she had when his leg coiled back to throw herself backwards on the ground. The result was Mercury's leg sailing harmlessly not an inch over her face. Of course, the other result was a very loud bang, and a shotgun shell of what seemed to be wind Dust screamed across the stage before putting a hole in the pillar across the room.

The room was silent for but the briefest of instants, before the match abruptly ended. Kassidy continued to backpedal away from the guy, but was quickly scooped up in a shimmering purple telekinetic grasp. Getting over her surprise quickly and glancing across the way, she could see Mercury, wide-eyed and with his leg remaining extended, with a still smoking boot, held in a similar grasp. The woman behind such a thing stormed in between the two of them, immediately hushing the cries that had rapidly grown in the room.

"Mr. Black," Glynda seethed. "Did I not make it _explicitly_ clear that you were to not to bring loaded firearms of any kind into the arena?"

"I didn't mean nothing, honest!" Mercury defended, hands held up and his voice almost pleading. "You watched me take everything out! There must've been one that had gotten left behind – maybe in the chamber or something. You know I didn't do that intentionally!"

Kassidy made a few quick mental calculations, then decided to take a gamble. "He's right," she said, interrupting Glynda before she could verbally (and probably physically) tear into the boy. "I got a look before it went off. He left one in the chamber by mistake. He didn't do it on purpose." She didn't miss how his eyes locked on hers instantly, which narrowed slightly in the process. _There, consider yourself bailed out. You know you owe me one, now. Hopefully a bit of an explanation on that very intentional shot is part of the debt._

Glynda's eyes were searching her in the meantime. After evidently having found what she was looking for, the professor let them both down. Considering them both for a few moments longer, Glynda reluctantly let out, "… I see. However, considering the _very_ reckless, inappropriate, and dangerous breach of the rules, I have no choice but to disqualify Mercury Black from the match. In that case, Kassidy Smith is the victor."

While the professor went over the fight the two had, Kassidy took the opportunity to step next to Mercury's shoulder, who was just a couple steps short of glaring at her. When they were standing side-by-side, she whispered, "If you want, I know a thing or two about improving efficiencies. I could smooth out your microprocessors' code, if you give me the opportunity to work on your legs some."

Unexpectedly, Mercury actually laughed softly at that, and it took him speaking up to realize why. "You do realize what you'd just said, right? About working on my legs?" While she blushed, he hummed in thought for but a moment. "Sounds like a plan. How about after classes are through for the day? My dorm?"

With their agreement made and class having been called for the day, Kassidy elected to wait on her team to come down. Yang found her way to her instantly, and once again they found themselves immediately joined at the hip. With not a small tinge of anger in her voice, her girlfriend asked, "So what the hell was all of that about, K?"

"My hunch bearing fruit," Kassidy answered. "Something's up with Mercury. Not sure what, but I think I've got leverage over the kid, and got myself a way to get more." Deciding to risk broaching the topic, she added, "By the way, Mercury and I are going to be meeting up this afternoon."

"… because?" Yang prompted, almost dangerously.

Kassidy defended, "Nothing like you're thinking." Ensuring that absolutely nobody was close enough to hear them, she whispered in Yang's ear, "His legs are prosthetics. I'm going in on the excuse that I can make them more efficient."

"Why would he hide…?" Shaking her head, Yang turned to face Kassidy fully. "I don't like this, K. I'm coming with you to make sure everything's alright."

Kassidy thought about it for a moment. She couldn't lie; that offer was _really_ tempting. If he was willing to try and take her head off in front of the class, even as an 'accident', what was saying he wouldn't try again when it was just the two of them? But would she be able to grill him as effectively, or even at all, if she brought someone with? In the end, she settled on a compromise. "I think it might need to be just us two if I want to get him to say anything. If… if you don't mind me asking you to stay available, though? Like, wait outside his room or something? If you have stuff to do with the dance –"

Yang cut her off by way of shaking her head. "Consider it done. I have work I can do over Scroll, anyway. But I'm serious, K, this has something rotten written all over it."

"Agreed," Kassidy sighed. "Which is why something needs to be done. At least this way, I'll have you watching my back. I feel safer already."

* * *

(Perspective: Cinder)

Cinder watched as that frustrating blonde, the computer genius that was seriously too stubborn to know when to quit while she was ahead, left the room, arm in arm with that other blonde girl. _Kassidy,_ she decided, _is quickly turning out to be more effort than she's worth_. Deciding to vocalize her feelings, she tersely remarked, "Your little pet project is starting to consume more time and resources than she could offer us, Emerald."

The girl looked appropriately chastised. Keeping her head bowed, she answered, "My apologies, ma'am, I thought she'd be more similar to the Rosettes than she's proving to be."

"If you recall," Cinder interrupted, "We only got the one at the end. We had to kill the other three."

"No thanks to Mercury," Emerald defended.

"Hey, the big guy was gonna sell us out and you know it," Mercury shot back.

" _Children_ ," Cinder interjected, causing them both to duck back down. Having quite effectively established that she was not in the mood, she continued, "We're beginning to run low on time and opportunities to change the plan in order to bring her in. I'll give you _one_ more chance to win her over. If you fail to do so, then we will plan for her demise along with everyone else's."

"Yes, ma'am," Emerald responded.

"Meanwhile," Cinder continued, gaze lingering on Mercury. The boy winced automatically, already knowing what was coming. "I would _very_ much like to know what you were possibly thinking with that stunt. You nearly blew the whole operation, you know. How many meetings I needed to have to convince the professors to not have you kicked out. And now, she knows about your legs." Pausing for dramatic effect, she added, "Please, do enlighten me as to your grand scheme."

"W-Well," Mercury stammered. "I knew that she'd be interested in my legs. Either I could take her out then, claim it to be an accident, and have a… somewhat reasonable chance of getting away with it?" He winced again when she simply glared at him. "A-And even if that didn't work, I knew she'd want to find things out. She'd have an excuse to work on my legs. She'd know how to get into them wirelessly, so she'd probably leave herself a backdoor back in. Y'know, to hold over me or something. I… I thought that if we had an example of her code… maybe we could use it ourselves? Or even figure out how to beat her computer?"

Cinder gazed at the wall, content to let Mercury squirm in his chair as she thought. Certainly, the boy's plan had more merit than she had initially thought. Not that it was anything other than the basest and most monumental of foolishness, mind you, but enough to actually be viable. She was actually impressed that he managed to think of that. Still, it had to be impressed upon him the magnitude of his error; they could not afford to take such risks, even for this.

Having made her decision, Cinder returned her attention to the boy. "And this is why we do not let you make the plans. Still, I suppose something can be salvaged from this. Copy the code onto my Scroll, then leave me. I have much to work on, in order to clean up after your mess."

He followed her orders quickly, then both he and Emerald scurried out of the room as quickly as they dared. Her eyes roved over the lines of text briefly, before quickly deciding upon a course of action. Mercury was more right than he let on, after all: that computer of hers – _Bob, was it?_ _What an asinine name._ – was by far the biggest threat to their continued presence within Beacon, and any advantage they could leverage over it had to be seized upon. Not that it was anything other than almost impossible, as past attempts had shown… the first couple times, their breaches were defeated so quickly that Cinder had wondered if the computer had even noticed, or even if the attacks had occurred in the first place. In fact, loathe as she was to make use of him, Cinder knew of only one person that could even hope to break its security. She absentmindedly wondered how much she would regret this, even as her Scroll made its call.

"Ah, Cinder, come to grovel again?"

"Doctor Watts," she bit out. "I'd have hoped that you would be more mindful of addressing me, especially considering what I have to offer you."

"Have you found something more of that _exquisite_ computer of yours that keeps giving you problems?"

Cinder rolled her eyes. Ever since she had first explained the problem to her colleague, the man had been positively enraptured by the mere idea of such an advanced AI, and had been all but begging her to find out more about it. "As a matter of fact, I have," she purred, working on her Scroll in the process. "What I'm sending to you is a sample of some of its code I managed to… acquire. Now, I'm pretty sure it –"

"Yes, yes, you don't know how computers work, we've already established this, Cinder," Watts interrupted. Cinder had to force down a growl. As satisfying as it would be, she did _not_ want to be on the receiving end of Salem's ire should the good doctor have an accident. After a short moment of thought, he breathed out, "… fascinating. I assume you want me to break its security, still?"

"Naturally," she replied.

"Hmm… this sample you've shown me both should make it easier, and give some hint as to the magnitude of that task," he mused. "I make no promises, but if I can, I shall. I might even be able to modify the Program using just this alone. Thank you, dearest Cinder, for this. I promise it shall be put to good use, no matter what comes of the security issue."

"Of course," she said. Immediately hanging up before the man could irritate her further, she sat forward further, returning to weaving the dress she was working on before the three of them were interrupted. Of course, since she wasn't allowed to simply have a single quiet moment to work in peace, her Scroll gave another notification. She was no longer annoyed, however, when she saw that it was a status update from the Program, informing her of a new point of access.

 _An android, huh? Well, this just became even easier…_

* * *

 **AN 2: Also, Skyrim is fun.**

 **Also also, we have the one-year anniversary of Team Rookie coming up in two months almost to the day. I estimate... about nine more chapters in Volume 2? And... oh boy. Oh boy do I have plans for that. Let's see if I can make things happen now that I've given myself a bit more time to make said things happen.**

 **Coming up next: Preparing for the Dance**

 **Right after these Reviewer Responses.**

 **AgentDraakis: Glad to hear you approve of the chapter. Do not worry, with the material I have planned, while Team Rookie is past the halfway point by now I am** _ **nowhere**_ **near the end of the RWKYverse. As of right now, I currently have planned: a sort-of prequel, volume 4, sequel, and… a surprise for post-sequel material.**

 **EWR115: Well, as of right now, the Dance is what's in store for the future.**

 **FloriteFlower: Actually… yeah, I can see the need for an M rating for that. Consider it put up. Do not worry, my friend, the Dance is coming up over the course of the next two chapters!**


	75. V2C17: Head Over Heels

**Volume 2 Chapter 17: Head Over Heels**

 **AN: Have you ever had an idea that you knew exactly what you wanted the general gist of it to be, but couldn't for the life of you decide on the petty and insignificant details? Yeah, that was this chapter for me. Up to and including the title. Wonder what I pick by the time this gets posted.**

 **Well, here we are. It's time for the Beacon Dance. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Right? Right?**

* * *

(Perspective: Yang)

This was it. Today was the day. Two weeks of planning – and oh dear Oum did those two weeks turn out to be so much more than she bargained for – and an indeterminate number of arguments with their very own Ice Queen culminated tonight. The Beacon Dance was only eight hours away from kicking off, and Yang had done her absolute best to make sure it was nothing less than perfect. Every detail had been accounted for: the theme, the colors, the music, the refreshments… how many doilies Weiss was allowed to have. She'd worked her ass off to ensure that nothing would be lacking, and that every person who attended it would have the times of their lives.

Of course, as far as Yang was concerned, she'd only ever done it for one person. Kassidy Smith. In many ways, Yang liked to compare her with some exotic, forbidden fruit: looked beautiful, was absolutely dangerous, maybe you needed to dig through a few thorns… but oh, so worth it. The woman that her days revolved around for what seemed like a few weeks now had never been to a formal dance before, or anything like that for that matter. As both her girlfriend and one of the two people in charge of organizing the whole dance, Yang felt it was her duty to make it absolutely unforgettable for K. Especially considering what Yang was hoping she'd get the chance to drop on her tonight.

She, Yang Xiao Long, was in love with her partner. Actual, honest love. There wasn't any other way to put or think about it, not anymore. Not after her weekly call to home Friday, and her _dad_ of all people cut off her gushing long enough to challenge her on it. By Dust was _that_ embarrassing. But embarrassment didn't change facts. It didn't change that Yang had no fucking idea how or even if she would've handled _half_ of what Kassidy went through when she was basically kidnapped. It didn't change that, for one reason or another, they've been all but inseparable for the past couple weeks, even far past the point of reason.

Hell, she was reminded of that fact when she stood up to grab something off her bed. She hadn't actually slept in her own bunk ever since shortly before that ill-fated date. No, she spent her nights with Kassidy, each keeping the other company (and the room's other two occupants keeping things PG, much to the displeasure of her hormones). These days, her bunk was little more than a glorified bench or shelf, and right now it was holding several of her many, many hair-care products while she busied herself with looking her absolute best.

Her head snapped up and she froze whenever the lock unlatched on the dorm room's door. She was… not exactly modest, at the moment, and really didn't want anyone to figure that out. Sure, Weiss had promised to keep Kassidy away for the weekend to do her part to get the team's second blonde ready for the dance. Still, were they back _already?_ Nervously, before the door managed to open, she called out, "Who is it? I'm kinda… not ready to come out!"

A put-upon sigh was her response, before the voice responsible for it called out, "It's just me, Yang."

Yang sighed in relief. It was just her sister. That was okay…ish. It'd have to do. "Okay, I guess if you don't mind, it's fine," she answered. True to her credit, Ruby opened the door only as far as it took to slip in, before nearly slamming it behind her. The way her eyebrows were drooping, however, made Yang pause. "Is something wrong, Rubes?"

Ruby stiffened a bit, nearly giving Yang a heart attack. "Ugh, yeah. I was hanging out with Weiss and Kass earlier." Yang rolled her hand, prompting her sister to go on considering that what she'd heard so far did nothing to ease her anxiety. "I figured… as much as Kass doesn't like heels, and how much Weiss was sure to insist that she wore some, that'd be one heck of an argument. Thought that if I'd hung around, I might find something that could even convince you to let me go in flats."

She couldn't help it; Yang busted a gut right there. Bending double to the point that she had to sit on the bed she was now sharing with K, she had to fight to get out, "Y-yeah, not happening sis, sorry." She managed to catch Ruby growl cutely and pout, which only made it that much harder to get her giggling under control. She had to take a few minutes to get it out of her system. Afterwards, still failing to bite back a chuckle or two, she managed to ask, "So, did they actually…?"

"I wasn't disappointed," Ruby confirmed. Then, however, she tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Or maybe I was? I dunno. But they definitely argued. Oh. My. _Oum_. Did they argue. I managed to figure out both how stubborn Weiss can actually be, and how much Kass doesn't want to wear heels."

"How bad was it?"

"Well, uh…" Ruby scrunched her brow, before having found what she was looking for in her brain. "By the time they were half an hour into the argument, Kass had Bob bring up a mortality rate table for people who wore high heels, and then started giving Weiss numbers on not only exactly how likely it was she would die, but she even organized it by cause of death."

Yang's jaw dropped, before she once again descended into a fit of giggles, this time actually falling off the bed and crumpling on the floor. She could hear, through her own laughter, Ruby chuckling at the memory also. Eventually, she choked out, "S-so, w-who won?"

She watched Ruby shrug. "Far as I know, they're _still_ arguing. I kinda gave up after that point."

Yang managed to sit up and prop herself up against the side of the bed. "So, basically what I'm hearing it, if K isn't wearing heels tonight, then I'm literally never going to get her to wear them."

"Pretty much," Ruby answered, shrugging again. Suddenly, her little sister's face twisted into another pout. "Do I _really_ have to wear these stupid lady stilts, though? I mean… I _do_ have a 0.000063% chance of falling and snapping my neck tonight if I wear them… assuming my Aura doesn't protect me."

Yang would've laughed more if she could've, honest. However, at this point she was all laughed out, and could only offer a few chuckles at Ruby's statement. Proving that yes, she was still immune to The Pout (after all, she was the one who taught her how to do that), Yang said, "Sorry, sis. No flats tonight. C'mon, Rubes, this is a formal event. Yeah, I know you don't like it, but there's a certain dress code you need to abide by, and heels are one of them."

"I know! But, but… ugh!" Ruby whined. Her sister huffed and crossed her arms, before mumbling, "Feels like something I can exert leader privilege over." Suddenly perking up, however, Ruby asked, "So, speaking about dress code, you still have that white dress from Signal, right?"

"I do, but…" With Ruby's prompting, Yang went digging into the closet to pull out what she'd been hiding for the past week. While she was out shopping for other prom materials, she happened to spy it in a window, and knew immediately that it was absolutely perfect. A gorgeous yellow dress, a strap running up to secure it around her neck to support the complete lack of sleeves, and slits running along the calf-length skirt up to about her mid-thigh. The matching long gloves and heels were just icing on the cake.

"Wow…" Ruby breathed out. "It's beautiful. Oh, sis, you're gonna look amazing!" Yang turned to put the dress back, which left her completely unguarded for an uncharacteristic remark of, "You'll definitely be turning heads tonight," from her kid sister.

After a quick bout of surprised coughing, Yang managed to smirk at her. "Well look at you, little sis, getting all sly with me." Putting the dress back in the closet for the time being, she looked at it again with a small smile. "Though, there's only one head I'm aiming to turn tonight."

"I know what you mean…" Ruby said quietly.

"Oh, do you now?" Yang teased. She was content to leave the joke there, however, but the way that Ruby stiffened up and sucked in a sharp breath piqued her curiosity. "Sis, how do you know what I mean?"

"W-well, I, uh…" Ruby stammered. When Yang's expected gaze started turning into a glower, her resolve broke. "I maybe… kinda… uh… Sun might have asked me to the dance?"

You could actually _hear_ Yang's eyes turn red as she stood there, fully processing what she'd just heard. After a terrifying moment, she spat, "Monkey boy went after my partner first, and now my little sis?! Oh, boy, am I gonna –"

"No! Yang!" Ruby whined. She shot up and tried to push her sister back down on the bed (having exactly as much success as you'd expect), all the while reasoning, "Ugh, this is why I didn't want to tell you! We haven't even gone out or anything yet, we've just been spending a bunch of time together in the evenings and talking about team stuff!" Having finally gotten her sister to calm down slightly, Ruby wagged her finger in Yang's face. "Bad sister! No preemptively murdering potential boyfriends before we've even dated! Besides," Ruby said, "you still have your own night to worry about."

Yang closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and counted to ten. She opened her eyes, nodded, and tried to calm her nerves some. "Yeah, I guess you have a point, sis. But still," she added, standing to her full height and laying her hands on her sister's shoulders, "if he does _anything_ you're not comfortable with, come find me, and I'll make it clear you're not available for the night. Not only am I sure K will understand, I'm pretty sure she'd help me."

"That's what I'm worried about," Ruby grumbled. Yang watched her sister stomp back across the room before sitting on the opposite bed in a huff. However, she'd barely sat down before the report of a high-caliber round – Ruby's message tone – got both their attentions. Ruby happily snatched up her Scroll, read through the message, then split into a grin. "Oh, thank you, Weiss! A real lifesaver."

"What is it?" Yang asked.

Ruby cleared her throat, then read out, " _Finally_ won my argument with that insipid barbarian. Currently at a salon working on her nails. If the gods favor me, I might even be able to get her hair acceptable in time for the dance."

"Oh boy, this is gonna be good," Yang chuckled. Taking the opportunity to stand up, she started making her way across to the dorm's bathroom. "Speaking of hair, we need to get to ours, Rubes."

"Oh…" Ruby whined. "I hate all this fancy-pantsy… dancy… stuff. Why can't I just go in my hood?"

Yang laughed again, before rubbing her sister's head. "Oh, c'mon, Rubes, it's only for one night. Gotta impress Monkey boy, right? Come on, we need to get our hair done now if we want it to dry in time."

* * *

 _Oh, I hope everything turned out alright with K. Knowing those two, she and Weiss might have actually gotten into a fight to the death over what she'd be wearing tonight._ Yang's brows furrowed as she leaned further back in her chair. _While I'm busy worrying, I hope everything turns out alright with Ruby. Ugh, sure, I_ guess _Sun is an okay guy… but this is my baby sis we're talking about here. Seriously, how did that even happen? They had to have been getting together while I've been busy with K, no other way I wouldn't have noticed._

Still, Yang had to admit, even if having more people in her life meant more worries, it was worth it. Before Beacon, Ruby had been damn near her entire world. Sure, she loved her dad and her uncle, and she had friends at Signal as well, but _nothing_ could even compare to her sister. But now… now, Ruby wasn't her whole world anymore. Don't misunderstand, her sister still is and will always be a huge part of it. But now, there were other people who were incredibly important to her. From Jaune and Pyrrha, to Ren and Nora, to even Weissicle; Yang had truly made friends here that she would carry for the rest of her life. And, of course, that wasn't even considering the girl she was waiting on now…

A few frustrated grunts came from down the hallway, making Yang snap her head around and stand up. Sure enough, just rounding the corner, was her very own kid sister. Alright, maybe it wasn't Kassidy… but the scene was just too adorable, as it tended to be whenever Ruby was around. Assuming, of course, the poor girl doesn't sprain an ankle. Wobbling up to her and leaning on the wall for support, Ruby groaned, "Ugh, can we have a serious talk about how Weiss fights in these?"

"Oh, you look beautiful!" Yang squealed, rushing up to both hug her and provide some additional support before Ruby toppled over. Seriously, her sister did not know how to wear heels. It didn't help that Ruby was currently flailing around to try and get out of her grip. If she kept that up, her hair would get ruined before she even got to the dance. Yang couldn't have that, so she simply tightened her hold long enough to drag her sister over to the couch. "So," she prompted, "you ready for the dance?"

"Yeah," Ruby sighed, finally able to escape the blonde terror that was her sister, "I think so. Kinda just waiting on –"

"A smokin'-hot blonde?" a voice called from the hallway. Sure enough, the very object of Yang's desires (of strangulation) rounded the corner, and Yang… _well, I mean, at least he's wearing a collared shirt. Has to count for something, I guess?_ Sun walked into the room, stopped long enough to silently ask permission from Yang, then strode up to Ruby to give her the flower he'd been holding. "A rose for a Rose," he joked. Ruby giggled. Yang wasn't amused. They were _awfully_ close to each other for people who had purportedly never done anything together, even if they'd been hanging out a whole bunch recently. She was interrupted from her ruminations, however, whenever Sun walked up to her.

"Hey," he started, "Ruby said she'd told you about us… y'know, hanging out a lot. Figured that since you didn't blow up the school trying to kill me, you… maybe don't disapprove?"

 _Well, the guy's utterly terrified of what I might do to him. As he should be._ Yang nodded her head, then explained, "Look, I'm kinda pissed that you didn't talk to me about this. However," she interrupted, quelling Sun's paled stammering, "I trust Rubes and, much as I hate to admit it, you've shown to not be a terrible guy so far. So, yeah, I'll go ahead and let my sister give you a chance tonight." Leaning in and letting her eyes flash red, Yang growled, "Do I even need to talk about what I'll do to you if you hurt her in any way?"

"U-u-uh, no ma'am, I'm all clear on that front!" Sun reassured.

"Yang!" Ruby whined. "How can I enjoy tonight if you've already scared my date half to death?"

"I guess I'll just have to try my best," Sun reassured. He offered his arm to Ruby, led her out one of the side doors, and immediately got wrapped up telling a story about Scarlet.

Yang could do naught but stare out after them, before finally collapsing back into the chair in a huff. So, _so_ much has happened over the past few weeks, and despite intentions tonight wasn't promising to be a walk in the park either for her, even if you didn't include the guy taking her little sis to the dance. She needed a distraction, and she needed one now, before she got so terribly upset from worrying about Ruby and K and the dance and –

She was once again interrupted by a few frustrated grunts, followed by a soft thump. Yang shot up once more, wondering if this was who she was hoping it was. Her hopes were confirmed when the voice she'd been waiting to hear from all weekend long started groaning. "Ugh, stupid… heels. Stupid… tights. Stupid dress. Stupid… everything! Damnit, why did I let Weiss talk me into this stuff again?"

"I'm pretty sure," a robotic voice reasoned, "you'd get your answer if you simply rounded the corner." Sure enough, the uneven, irregular clacking of heels resumed slowly.

Yang forgot how to breathe. Kassidy's hair all but glowed, flowing down her shoulders in a cascade of voluminous, curly golden locks that she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy towards. Weiss had obviously managed to convince Kassidy that makeup was a good idea again, but unlike last time the object wasn't to hide her scars. Instead, the jagged trophies of battles past were actually incorporated, accentuated. Even with the blush, and eyeliner, and everything else, her scars seemed not just to belong, but to tie the whole thing together. Kassidy's face positively radiated, every little detail all but screaming, 'Do not worry, for I have seen it all. It will be okay.'

For all the fact that her partner was terrified of water, Kassidy looked like she was wearing the ocean. The one strap encircling her neck flowed seamlessly into a deluge of blues, perfectly hugging a figure that one could drown in as easily as the actual seas. Sure, Yang teased her about it constantly ever since Kassidy had finished, ahem, _growing_ , but her partner's figure was nothing to sneeze at. She had fully grown into her own, and while she wasn't as well-endowed as several of their more ridiculous classmates, it again just seemed to belong, like it was perfectly her. And… really, wasn't it?

From under the two-thirds thigh length skirt shot out a pair of legs clad in what seemed to be the sheerest blue Yang had ever seen, that just seemed to go on and on _and on_ and –

Yang had to catch herself here, forcing herself to take deep breaths to try and beat both her blush and her hormones into submission. Her girlfriend might not have been the belle of the ball most days, but Yang was happy with and for her regardless; she was Kassidy, and that was more than enough for her. Right now, though? The makeup and fashion gods themselves must've helped her get ready for the night. And yet, even with how stunning her partner way, Kassidy _still_ managed to carry with her an air of danger, adventure, and excitement. Even more so than usual, her partner's presence massively dwarfed the woman it came from.

Kassidy looked up at her, and their eyes locked. The woman that Yang loved stepped forward… and then promptly toppled to the ground, a bouquet in her hands flying as she tried and failed to right herself before crashing onto the floor. Yang gasped, would've laughed if it didn't involve her partner maybe twisting an ankle and ending the night right here, and dashed over to help her up. Kassidy thanked her, before muttering something about cursed shoes. When they both stood right back up, Yang couldn't help but notice they were the exact same height. Equals.

"I love you…r dress!" Yang's eyes flew wide open. Did she nearly slip up already? She needed to get back in control of herself, and right now. Grasping on what she could, Yang continued, "Holy crap, you look amazing, K!"

"Pfft, forget me," Kassidy said, "How did… where did you even get that? Oh my god Yang, I can't even…" Kassidy looked back up from having looked up and down her dress, then whispered, "You're fucking amazing. How did I ever get so lucky?"

"You dropped out of a tree and broke your foot on the right Ursa," Yang teased.

Kassidy slapped her arm lightly and blushed even through her makeup, then noticed something, bent down to reach something on the ground, nearly fell over _again_ in the process, then came back up with a bouquet of exquisite wildflowers. Handing it to Yang, she sheepishly said, "I… wasn't really sure what you liked. So I kinda got all the ones I could get my hands on." Yang gasped and took the colorful bundle, and nearly missed Kassidy mutter, "Shame I couldn't pick more or better ones."

"Wait," Yang said. "You picked these yourself?"

"Well, yeah. A florist would've been too impersonal. I like getting people things that require effort. Shows that I'm personally invested in it, and that I didn't just mail order something off a catalogue." Yang was about to squeal and throw her arms around her when Kassidy sighed explosively and vented, "It's just… the first flower field I come across all day, and it _has_ to be infested with Grimm. Took me forever to clear them all out and find enough flowers that hadn't gotten trampled."

Yang gaped at her. Kassidy had gone tramping through Grimm-controlled wilderness just to give her a gift that meant something to her, just to show how much she cared? She wanted to call tonight off. She wanted to throw herself on Kassidy, drag her back to their dorm, make out with her… and then probably do whatever K would let her get away with after that. But she couldn't. She didn't want to scare her partner off. This had to be done slowly, delicately, in the right way. So, Yang settled instead for a rib-cracking hug that was reciprocated with hardly a moment's pause. Smoothly transitioning to leave her arm linked with K's after a little bit, Yang slowly guided the two of them out of the lounge and towards the dance. "So…" she lamely began, instantly berating herself for starting off on such a weak foot. "I know that the past few weeks have been, err, hectic, to put it mildly. Fortunately for you, Weiss and I have done everything we can to make tonight unforgettable!" And, as far as she was aware, that was true. Weiss had promised to personally take over the administration of the dance itself, to allow Yang the time and space she needed with Kassidy.

"Well, I'll do my best to not ruin things," Kassidy reasoned. Looking over, her partner suddenly asked, "Was it just me, or did I see Sun come over here earlier?" She must have noticed how Yang had tensed, since she pulled them to a stop and spun her around to look into those hazel eyes. "Yang, what was Sun here for?"

"…little prick's asked Ruby to be his date," Yang reluctantly admitted.

Kassidy blinked. Then her gaze hardened. "Just let me know when you need me to hide the body. Assuming I don't get to the bastard first."

"Hey, hey, hey," Yang giggled, trying to draw Kassidy's attention. "Much as I might not be thrilled with the idea, we gotta trust Ruby. She obviously likes the guy enough to say yes, right? Besides, if something bad does happen, we'll handle it. Right?"

Kassidy took a deep breath, then nodded. "I guess you're right."

"Then c'mon," Yang insisted, bringing them down the street straight towards the dance. "Let's not worry about dumb boys tonight. We've got a wonderful evening ahead of us."

As Yang continued to lead Kassidy onwards, she could only hope that she had the guts and the composure to follow through on everything flawlessly. If she played her cards right, 'wonderful' would be a tame expression of tonight.

* * *

 **AN 2: Well, that was fun to try and do. Let's hope that next chapter isn't the same way. Also, I thought about it some, and for some reason I decided I wanted a RubyxSun pairing in this fic. No idea why. Hope it doesn't become one of those terrible ideas that should've been aborted at conception.**

 **Coming up next: The Dance, from Kassidy's perspective.**

 **AgentDraakis: Rule of Cool, man. Rule of Cool. Doesn't exactly stop me from calling them out on it, though.**

 **FloriteFlower: Hence, why I started off the author's note last chapter with "not the ship". Wait, Mario Kart doesn't have accurate physics? The heck you say!**


	76. V2C18: Four-Letter Words

**Volume 2 Chapter 18: Four-Letter Words**

 **AN: Consider this a tentative announcement that we are (hopefully) back on once-a-week uploads, every Friday. Though I guess I missed the 7PM CST time.**

 **Also, I'm on the verge of being finished with V1C2's rework. I'll give you all three guesses as to where the easter egg regarding that rework is in this chapter.**

 **Anyway, I think you all know what's coming up next. You wanted it, I wanted it; hell, Chilltexan's been bugging me for this since V1C31. You know what's coming.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Kassidy liked to think she had a high tolerance for the unexpected, and that no matter what life threw at her, she could roll with the punches. But this? She was completely and utterly lost.

She didn't know how to handle the White Fang. It was a fact that she'd known from the beginning, but hadn't truly appreciated until her stint with Councilman Winchester. So far, she'd monitored what communications she could, and whenever news of activity came up, she made sure to be there to disrupt whatever they happened to be planning. But that was reactionary. It didn't address what the White Fang had already done. And she still didn't know their endgame. For all she knew, they could be ramping up to attack Beacon itself this very night, and she'd have no idea until the bullets and bombs started flying.

She also didn't know why she was here, at Beacon, with the greatest examples of the next generation (and Team CRDL) training to basically be super-soldiers. Sure, Ozpin _said_ that he wanted her unique skills and experience on his side, but what even were those? She wasn't the only person in his school with a less than perfect childhood. He said that he feared that a war was coming, but what did that have to do with her? She was a survivor, not a soldier. And what the hell was _his_ side, anyway? No matter the answer, Ozpin had plenty at his beck and call, from childhood prodigies, to actual warriors, to people who have trained almost literally their whole lives at this. She was just a girl too stupid to know how to die. Kassidy couldn't find how she belonged here any more than a Beowolf belonged in a pet store.

For that matter, she didn't know why they were having this dance. Terrorists were growing more bold by the hour, and a mind-numbingly vast horde of monsters (Bob's more conservative estimates put the Grimm's numbers in the tens of billions) scrabbled at the walls to the Kingdoms and were all but poised to render humanity and Faunuskind extinct. Surely there were better uses for the Lien and resources that went into tonight than such an arrogant display of opulence and excess? Of course, it didn't help on that front that barely eight months ago Kassidy was on the run, alone, and was quite literally one of the most hated people alive.

But it didn't matter if Kassidy didn't know. It would be okay, she told herself, even if she didn't understand. She wasn't on the run anymore. She wasn't the most hated person alive anymore. She wasn't _alone_ anymore. She'd found friends, and a place to call home. She'd found a new calling, a way to put her few talents and unique biology to good use, to help and protect others. And most of all, she'd found Her. Yang Xiao Long, her golden dragon. The girl that had chased away her night, had been there no matter what, and had given her the sun.

It was perfectly alright if she didn't understand the way things were going. With her friends – and especially with Yang – at her side, Kassidy knew that she could stand firm against anything that came their way.

However, unless things went catastrophically wrong, the biggest problem that Kassidy would need to solve tonight falls along the line of 'how am I going to dance without breaking an ankle?' Truth be told, that was a decently large problem, all things considered. The support of Yang's arm as they took the final bit of the walk to Beacon's ballroom was the only reason she hadn't taken a minimum of three dives. Her shoes made her wobble with each step, the tights made her legs itch something fierce, the dress was awkward as all hell and exposed what felt like her entire back (though Kassidy wasn't convinced that was a bad thing, since Yang's arm would occasionally reach up to rub it in the most amazing way that only Yang could), and her hair kept bouncing around awkwardly behind her. Still, from the way Yang had stared at her whenever they'd met up at the lounge, she obviously liked it. Maybe it was worth it after a-

"Welcome to the dance. Glad to see you two could – Kassidy, did you manage to mess up your hair _already?!_ " Weiss' screeching brought Kassidy out of her thoughts, while simultaneously alerting her to the fact that they'd made it to the ballroom and _damn_ if Weiss and Yang hadn't gone all-out to liven the place up. Getting back to the matter at hand, however, Kassidy sighed, resigned to the fact that she was absolutely powerless to stop Weiss from doing anything as long as she was teetering on these stilted shoes. Fortunately, after a few seconds the tugging on her hair's new curls ceased, and Weiss returned to behind her podium looking slightly more composed. "Well," their Ice Queen said, "run along, you two. Have fun."

"Ugh," Kassidy sighed as she allowed Yang to guide her through the room. "So… what do we do now?"

"Why, have fun, silly!" Yang laughed, booping her on the nose and making Kassidy turn away with a blush and a small smirk. "You feel comfortable dancing yet, or do you want to wait for a bit?"

Kassidy thought about it for a bit. On the one hand, between Weiss and Bob… she never wanted to hear the word 'dance' again from all the studying they'd forced on her. On the other, she learned how to dance formally for a reason. Besides, maybe the time would let her get her thoughts in some semblance of order. Of course, as it turned out, nearly stumbling over Yang more times than she could count – _and believe me, I can count pretty dang high_ – combined with the fact that Yang's simple radiance captured the entirety of her attention meant that Kassidy made no headway on the front of all the feelings in her head. Before she knew it, a good fifteen minutes had passed and Yang had agreed to lead her over to the punch bowl. She spied Ruby giggling over something Sun just said, and was about to mention something when Weiss wandered over to them.

"Well, Weiss, looks like we did it," Yang said, enthusiasm and relief making themselves equally evident.

Weiss apparently agreed with Yang's sentiment. "Mission accomplished."

"Great job on the planning, guys," Kassidy said. "Everything looks great so far."

"And hopefully only getting better," Yang muttered. Kassidy didn't miss how she tensed up suddenly, but wasn't given a chance to comment on it before Yang made some excuse about needing fresh air before taking off. Weiss similarly ghosted away from her, and Kassidy was left hovering by the punch bowl, not having the slightest idea of what to do.

"Not enjoying yourself?" a voice asked to the side of her. Kassidy turned to find Headmaster Ozpin striding up to meet her, Glynda close behind him, and she couldn't help but notice that neither of their attire had changed in the slightest. Then again, none of the professors seemed like they could be bothered to get into more formal wear. Oh how jealous she was.

"It's not that," Kassidy countered. Almost as soon as she said it, though, doubt began to creep back in. "Or maybe? I don't know. I'm just… completely lost, I guess. Not exactly a connoisseur of formal dances." Having said her piece, Kassidy looked back out among everyone so obviously enjoying themselves, and having no idea how to join them without her friends helping her along. She couldn't help from muttering, "Doesn't help I'm feeling pretty lost with everything else, too."

"Well, you can't spend your entire life on the battlefield," Ozpin argued. "Even if you may want to."

"I don't _want_ to spend my entire life on the battlefield," Kassidy defended. "I guess I'm not so sure on how to do… well, anything else, really."

"If you think about it," Ozpin offered, "fighting and dancing aren't so different. Two partners, interlocked. Although, one wrong move on the ballroom merely leads to a swollen foot."

"Or a twisted ankle," Kassidy seethed. "Still not sure how I've managed to avoid that so far."

It was at this moment that Ozpin decided to give her one of his rare nuggets of wisdom that left everyone arguing over exactly how wise it was. "It's not every day that friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds, but it's nights like these that can help keep them stronger than ever. Nights like these are ones we'll never forget."

"I might not be an expert on these types of things," Kassidy hedged, "but somehow, I've got this feeling that it's more the people than the places."

"That would not be incorrect," Ozpin replied. At this point, Glynda had something she wanted to say, but they had to pause their conversation when General Ironwood came up and offered his hand to Glynda for a dance. With a roll of her eyes that didn't seem entirely vehement, she took to the dance floor, leaving Kassidy and Ozpin alone. Picking up where he left off, Ozpin continued, "It's a precious and valuable thing that you have found with your partner, Miss Smith. Something to be cherished, nurtured, and protected."

"Well, what can I say?" Kassidy asked, blushing and turning away from Ozpin. Seriously, what else were you supposed to do or say when the headmaster of your school asks you about your budding relationship with your combat partner? "I try my best."

"And that is all anyone can ask," Ozpin finished. Glancing around the room and apparently finding something that caught his attention, he stiffened up. "I'm afraid that this is where we must part ways for the moment. Have a good evening, Kassidy."

"Headmaster," she responded. After deciding that she couldn't hide out around the punch bowl all night, no matter how much the idea appealed to her, she aimed to wander around the room for a short while and try and find what kind of trouble she could get herself into. And so, over the next hour, she found herself sharing a dance each with Ruby, Sun, and even Jaune of all people (and who would've guessed the goof was such a good dancer?). She took breaks along the way, sometimes conversing with classmates about this or that, sometimes hiding out at a table or corner, but the whole hour was spent thinking about the woman who had only been appearing intermittently throughout the night.

Yang seemed to have a supernatural ability to tell whenever Kassidy was in danger of truly being out of her element, as she just so happened to show up to dance, or sit with a cup of punch, or just stand around and talk about nonsense for a few minutes, whenever Kassidy began to be overwhelmed with the night. But the team's other blonde was clearly worried about something. Three separate times, Yang had started to say something, get her tongue twisted a word or two in, then excuse herself to get some fresh air.

Kassidy was completely unsure of what was going on, or even what she was feeling. Yang's mere presence was enough to make her stomach feel ten pounds lighter. Kassidy could feel her pulse pick up, her breath hasten, and even a bead of cold sweat or two form just being near her girlfriend. Of course, the physical sensations were nothing compared to the emotional ones. Kassidy honestly, truly felt at peace by her Yang's side. Yang would never become judgmental, never grow impatient. If Kassidy had a problem, Yang would be there to calmly listen. Almost paradoxically, it was Yang that had to be the cooler head and keep Kassidy from rushing off and doing something rash and foolish if the problem was aggravating her so (Kassidy returned the favor whenever she could, of course, such as keeping Yang from strangling Sun halfway through tonight).

To her, Yang was the bastion to hold against any problem that would come their way. She was the strength to survive any harm that would befall them. She was the reason to push herself as hard as she possibly could. Qrow had told Kassidy, over the course of summer break, to find a reason to fight. Here, in her team, Kassidy had found her reason. In Ruby, in Weiss, and especially in Yang. Here, she was safe. She was accepted. She was welcome. As far as Kassidy was concerned, she was _home_.

And Kassidy let no threat, no problem, however minor, threaten her home. Which is why, the next time Yang feigned an excuse for fresh air, Kassidy made her decision to follow her up and help her. Yang had been oh, so willing to help her no matter what the problem was, no matter what the help entailed. How could Kassidy do any less for her? So she took the stairs up as well, only returning a nod to first Neptune, then Jaune on her way up, before coming up to the balcony and stopping short, her breath suddenly catching. Yang's near-luminescence hadn't faded in the slightest, in her eyes, over the course of the night. Now? Standing in front of a cloudless night sky, with the moon and the CCT tower in the background? Kassidy couldn't find the words to describe how beautiful she looked, nor could she find the ability to breathe for a few moments.

It took a second or two, but Yang turned around at the sound of someone coming up to the balcony, before her eyes widened slightly at the sight of Kassidy. "You alright, K? Something wrong?"

The question was all the extra push she needed. Her lungs finally deciding to cooperate again, Kassidy took a quick breath before nodding. "A couple things, actually."

Yang instantly strode up and took Kassidy's hands in her own. "How can I help?"

Kassidy all but gushed on the inside at Yang's words, at her complete lack of hesitation. But the tension that remained in her girlfriend's posture was the reminder that she didn't need that she was here to help her. Leading Yang back to the edge of the balcony – only to stumble once more, catching herself on the railing – she decided that an indirect approach might work best. "Firstly," Kassidy began, "We have a startling lack of pictures of just the two of us."

"Speak for yourself," Yang giggled. Kassidy lifted an eyebrow, prompting Yang to open up her Scroll to show that Ruby had sent her a couple dozen pictures of the two of them over the course of the past semester.

Kassidy rolled her eyes, "That doesn't fix _my_ startling lack of pictures of just the two of us. Not to mention that we have as about a perfect background as we're going to get. So get to snapping." Handing her Scroll over to her girlfriend, Kassidy sidled right up to Yang's side and wrapped an arm around her back. Yang was more than happy to giggle the whole time she was taking selfies of the two of them.

Eventually, however, even alternating between both Scrolls wasn't enough to keep Yang distracted for long. After both devices had about a dozen new pictures each – Kassidy wasn't sure how Yang managed to take twelve pictures from hitting the button seven times – they turned around, leaned against the balcony, and looked out over the campus. Kassidy could feel Yang tense up beside her, but was beaten to the punch of asking about it. "You said there were a couple problems?" Yang asked. "What else?"

The way that Yang's voice sounded low and terse, combined with the continued care and selflessness her girlfriend exuded, was enough to make Kassidy's feelings return full force. Kassidy turned to face her, determined to act on her protective instincts. "You are," Kassidy began. Before Yang could get a word in, she continued, "Well, not _you_. It's just… you've been really tense and nervous all night long. I thought you'd be really enjoying yourself tonight, after how long you and Weiss have been planning it. Everything's gone great, you've done a good job. Is it – is there some other part that you're worried about? Is there something else about school? Ruby and Sun?" Tossing her hair over shoulder, an act that was far too foreign to the point that Kassidy was convinced that she did more harm than good, Kassidy lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Yang. She rubbed small circles on Yang's shoulder blade, and asked, "Don't ask me; let me ask you. What's the problem, and how can I help? Doesn't matter who, doesn't matter what. If I can help, I will.

"K…" Yang breathed out, her breath hitching.

Worry bubbling up, Kassidy asked, "It's not me, is it? Have I done something wrong? Come on, Firecracker, talk to me. You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Kassidy felt pressure on her shoulders, and she let herself be pushed out a bit to stare into Yang's face. Yang's quivering, lightly tear-stained face. Kassidy could feel her heart break for a few moments, before Yang spoke. "It's not you, K. Trust me, you've done nothing wrong. It's just… Dust, I don't know how to say it. You're just so, so…" Yang tried and failed to start explaining herself a couple times, before eventually cursing and shaking her head. "Y'know what? Screw it, I'm just gonna say it."

"What is it?" Kassidy asked. At this point, her brain was nearly frying itself. Between hormones, instincts, feelings, and emotions, the poor girl was getting quickly overwhelmed herself. There were so many things buzzing through her head. It would be so much simpler if there was a way to condense it all. Just a word or two to explain how –

"Kassidy," Yang said, thankfully interrupting her from her rapidly accelerating internal monologue. Closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, and opening back up wide and shining lilac orbs, Yang steeled herself before announcing softly, "I love you."

Kassidy's brains – both of them – screeched to a halt, even as all her feelings and points condensed to those three words. How Kassidy was feeling, why she acted around Yang the way she did, the explanation for her actions; it was all put far more succinctly punctuated with three words. Eight letters. Not being able to even attempt to come up with any other answer, Kassidy whispered the only words her lips were capable of forming at the moment: "You… love me?"

Yang nodded fervently, as if the mere idea that she didn't was a grave offense. "Absolutely."

Kassidy was about to give her an actual response, truly, but her legs chose that moment to give out on her, and Kassidy went crashing into Yang's arms. Her girlfriend struggled a bit, but somehow managed to support both their weights. Kassidy leaned into the impromptu embrace, then looked up. Just as Yang's face began to fall, Kassidy answered, "I'm… pretty sure I love you too. I mean, it's been a while since I've heard those words with me in, you know, any kind of context. But… yeah. Yes. I love you too, Yang Xiao Long."

She must have lost track of the last few moments, for next she knew, her eyes were sliding closed and her and Yang's faces were getting _very_ close to each other. Not really able to control herself, but simultaneously not really sure that she cared all that much, Kassidy felt her eyes close completely and a soft, tender hand guide her face until something soft and wet met with her lips. She could practically feel her hormones exploding, and her emotions go off for a road trip, and her heart beat at was probably a quite dangerous pace, but Kassidy let everything happen. She trusted Yang completely, utterly, and let her guide how things went. Kassidy felt a hand on the back of her waist and head tug her slightly closer, and was aware of her own arms tightening on Yang's shoulders. Kassidy had nearly completely lost herself in the moment when…

"Awwwww!" a voice cooed from her left. Kassidy was halfway convinced both herself and Yang broke the sound barrier as the pulled apart, both girls blushing from the roots of their hair all the way down. They both turned to glare at whomever dared interrupt them, before their eyes fell upon one Ruby Rose, complete with a Scroll taking pictures and a hand over her mouth. "Uh, oops?" the girl said, before nervously giggling, scratching the back of her head, and muttering, "Never mind me. Carry on."

Yang rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath. Kassidy huffed and crossed her arms. She felt Yang's arms around her tighten and pull her closer, and she made exactly zero attempts to fight it. Almost as if they hadn't just been caught by her baby sister and team leader, Yang broke out her near-trademark grin and asked, "So, what's up, sis?"

"Um," Rubby stammered, "Weiss was getting a little worried as to where you two were. But if you were busy or anything…"

"Actually," Kassidy interrupted before Yang could get a word in edge-wise, "I was hoping to head back in. Getting a bit cool out, and… maybe I wanted another dance?"

Yang let loose a soft chuckle. "Well, who am I to deny such a beautiful woman? To the inside, it is!" The three girls giggled, and headed inside. Despite the unspoken promise of another dance, the three of them instead decided to hang around the second floor, leaning against a balcony that overlooked the ballroom. Whenever they got comfortable, Yang blurted out, "You know, I think we really needed this."

Kassidy looked out across the hall, happening to spy not only Nora dragging poor Ren across the dance floor, but also Penny doing… _alright, is that the mother-fucking robot?! Goddamnit. Can't tell whether to blame Bob or Atlas for that kind of humor._ She was interrupted from her observations, however, whenever Ruby answered, "Yeah! And you did a great job planning, it, too!"

"Capital work there, partner," Kassidy affirmed.

"Aww, thanks, guys!" Yang took this opportunity to engage in a sneak attack, grabbing both Ruby and Kassidy in a headlock. The two younger girls flailed around, doing their best not to lose their balance and send them all tumbling over the railing, while Yang expounded, "It wasn't all me, though. Weiss did a lot, too."

Kassidy halted her flailing, having regained her balance. Ruby, too, decided to cease her windmill impersonation, and pointed out a finger that the two blondes followed over to a view of Neptune and Weiss hitting it off.

Yang sighed, before adding, "Well, tomorrow, it's back to work."

"Well," Ruby replied, "I'm sure we can handle whatever gets thrown at us."

The increasing sound of laughter caught Kassidy's attention. Leaning over to try and find the source… she couldn't help but ask, "Uh, how about that?" The three girls watched Jaune wander up to Pyrrha, and as they began to talk Kassidy couldn't help but mutter, "Is it just me, or does he wear a dress better than I do?"

"Not a chance," Yang denied. Kassidy couldn't help but feel suspicious at Yang's hum, however, and her suspicions were confirmed when her girlfriend added, "He _does_ have nice arms, though."

"Does he, now?" Kassidy couldn't help but giggle at how Yang stammered and tried to backtrack, before waving off the whole deal. She was going to say something else, but she was interrupted by the entirety of Team Juniper taking the dance floor for a synchronized dance.

"What," Ruby said.

"The," Yang continued.

"Hell," Kassidy finished. Getting an idea, she turned to her girlfriend with a glint in her eye. Yang smirked as soon as she saw her face, and Kassidy confirmed her thoughts when she said, "Between you helping organize this whole thing, and what we just had up at the balcony outside… I can't help but feel that this is supposed to be our night. I'm not being selfish, am I?"

"Shellfish?" Yang asked, and Kassidy could only roll her eyes at the added 'h'. "The only crabs around here are in the sea. At least, I hope," Yang added quickly.

Kassidy raised an eyebrow but didn't question that. Instead, she pressed on. "What do you say to me having Bob take over the DJ? I don't know about you, but I, for one, refuse to get upstaged. I need to prove to Jaune that I'm the superior goofy, dress-wearing blonde."

Both Yang and Ruby giggled, then laughed, then gave up and had to lean against the railing to support their weights. Kassidy let a chuckle or two out also, and busied herself with watching Juniper's dance. She wasn't sure how she was going to beat it… but she was determined, damnit. No way she was gonna be upstaged by Jaune Arc, of all people.

Still, the time came where the synchronized dance had finished, Juniper had cleared the floor, Bob had received his instructions, and the two blondes descended the stairs, confident and sure in what they would do. The hall stilled from its applause as Kassidy and Yang strode confidently to the middle of the room. They took their places, Yang gave her shoulder a small squeeze and shot off a wink of encouragement, and Kassidy gave Bob his signal to start the music.

The song Kassidy picked was chosen with intent and forethought. She wanted it to be something special. Something that Yang had offered her, and that she was more than willing to offer Yang, if somehow the circumstance came up. It was a song of home. They stepped; they danced; they twirled; they dipped and bowed and glided across the floor with grace that Kassidy wasn't entirely sure was hers. As opposed to the uproarious applause that Juniper had received, the ballroom now was all but silent. Nobody dared interrupt or distract, and the only sounds were the music over the speakers, and the clacking of Kassidy and Yang's heels. Kassidy was quite proud of herself: over the course of five minutes, she hadn't once stumbled or tripped.

Of course, she wasn't happy yet. As the song moved on to the bridge (as Bob had so helpfully informed her of earlier), Kassidy couldn't help but ask Yang, "How about leaving a real impression? Something that'll leave them talking?"

The glint in Yang's eye was mischievous, but the smile was genuine and breathtaking. "Getting raunchy, eh? What've you got?"

"Well," Kassidy muttered. "I can't help but notice that I've got the hottest girl in the school as my girlfriend. Forgive me for wanting to show off a bit. And let her know exactly how much I care about her."

Yang's smile widened even as her eyes glinted again. After a beat, she said, "I'll follow your lead."

It was at this point that the song picked up in its final lines. Kassidy was no singer, but she was dead serious about wanted to show Yang how much she cared for her. So as the song slowed, and the voice picked up, Kassidy slowed them as well, and poured herself into her voice. Looking deep into Yang's eyes, she sang, "Yes, I know that when I'm with you, I'm at home." She could see Yang's breath hitch, could see her opportunity, and jumped on it. Letting up the pressure she had on her back, she beckoned Yang into one last dip. And then she followed her down.

The applause, and the whistles, and everything else burst to life as Kassidy found her second kiss. She nearly missed the look on Yang's face, and was more than glad that she didn't. She was also more than glad that she managed to regain her balance and avoid the two of them tumbling to the floor as she slipped. When they both came back up, they took their bows, and found their way off the dance floor for the moment.

There wasn't a face there that didn't seek to talk to them in some form. JNPR, SSSN… even Penny and the two soldiers with her. Kassidy couldn't help but beam when their professors came up and congratulated them (though she was happier when Glynda managed to stop Professor Port from telling a story before he began). And so, Yang and Kassidy enjoyed the rest of their night. They talked, they danced, and they cared not. Neither of them noticed a person dash across the roof of the dormitories, or how Ruby chased off after it.

* * *

 **AN 2: Holy crap, that took a while to get just right. And to be fair, I'm absolutely not convinced that this is just right. Wouldn't be surprised if this gets another pass tomorrow or something as I reread it after sleeping.**

 **Well, how about it, guys? Everything you hoped for?**

 **Coming up next: Mountain Glenn time!**

 **AgentDraakis: Don't worry, plot is most definitely coming next chapter. This chapter, though? This chapter is definitely about the fluff. However, let me stress this point right here:** _ **there will be no lemons in RWKY.**_ **Sorry, but as I've said before, homie don't play that, and not just because I more than likely wouldn't be able to write good lemon.**

 **Captain marvel 36: Judging from the RWBY ship chart, looks like the "official" ship names for Ruby x Sun are Sunset, Red Sun, Suns and Roses, or Strawbana. No, I didn't know that either before looking it up. I guess consider it Sunset for the purposes of this fic. (Also, Sunflower is Ren x Yang).**

 **FloriteFlower: Yes, you have said it before. It took a week and a half to get here, so hopefully it's everything you hoped for.**


	77. V2C19: Gearing Up

**Volume 2 Chapter 19: Gearing Up**

 **AN: This is going to be another one of those Author's notes that I come up with some filler just to have something here, then completely forget to edit later to have actually useful information, isn't it?**

* * *

(Perspective: Glynda)

"So there we have it," James pressed, the moment Miss Rose had left the room. "We send as many troops as we can to the southeast, find out exactly what is going on, and eradicate any forces that stand in our way."

Glynda gaped at him. Yes, they had taken classes together. Yes, they were still good friends. But that still didn't change the fact that what he'd just said was pure lunacy. After taking only the slightest of moments to wonder if yes, this was indeed the man placed in charge of Atlas' military, Glynda wondered aloud, "Why must your answer to everything be a triumphant display of military bravado? You treat _every_ situation like it's a contest of measuring d- "

"Glynda," Ozpin soothed, cutting off the argument there.

"Well, he does," Glynda added petulantly.

Ozpin continued, "She's right. As much as I, too, would love to end this situation once and for all, we must remember that this may go beyond Vale, beyond Beacon. And if this truly is part of some master plan for which we know not the final move, we mustn't be so bold. Nor can we risk the spread of panic."

Ironwood sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I have served you faithfully for years. But if you mean to tell me that your plan is merely to _hold_ the defense and wait –"

"It is not!" Ozpin fired back, suddenly shooting out of his chair. Glynda took a step back involuntarily; it was rare, these days, to see Ozpin's nerves touched so. With more vehemence than the man had displayed any time recently, Ozpin continued, "You're a general, James, so tell me: when you prepare to go to war, which do you send in first? The flag-bearer, or the scout?"

Ironwood took a deep breath, pinched the bridge of his nose again, and then nodded. "Very well, then," he agreed. "I'll see to it that appropriate arrangements are made –"

"As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm," Ozpin interrupted, "I do believe my own scouts will volunteer for this mission themselves."

"Your own scouts?" Ironwood asked. "Qrow hasn't returned, so what other… no." His eyes narrowing even as he started shaking his head, Ironwood denied, "Ozpin, you can't be serious!"

"I am very serious," he countered. "Team Rookie is more than qualified for this mission. Their capability and experience exceed their years, and they each have a vested, personal interest in seeing this done."

"They're dangerous!" Ironwood roared.

Glynda could not hold herself back from the discussion any longer. "Dangerous?! Those are _my_ students you're talking about, James! The only danger they pose is to the Grimm, and to the White Fang. Even when given every reason, and every opportunity to retaliate against the people who seem determined to can them before they even finish their first year, those four girls have shown exemplary restraint and foresight!"

"James…" Ozpin sighed, "Why are you so set against my students?"

"Why am I?" Ironwood asked, jaw dropping even as his eyebrows retreated into his hairline. "Why is nobody addressing them?! Kassidy Smith is a _self-admitted_ ex-terrorist and mass murderer. Yang Xiao Long is the _definition_ of a loose cannon… and don't even get me started on those aggravated assault charges in Junior's Bar that you conveniently swept under the rug before she got here! Weiss Schnee's familial relations and status as heiress to the Schnee Dust Company leave her compromised. Ruby Rose is the only one of them that can even be thought of as normal in any way, and she's young, impressionable, and naïve! If Team Rookie were in my academy, they'd either be thrown out or thrown behind bars!"

"Be… behind bars?!" Glynda spat out. After such callous remarks towards her own students, she was all but seeing red at this point. "They have proved their dedication over and over again to the very principle of being Huntresses! I haven't had students show more promise than those four since I taught their _parents_ , and considering that Pyrrha Nikos is one of their classmates, that is saying something."

"And is that promise one of protection, or of destruction?" Ironwood asked, suddenly speaking far more quietly and calmly. He continued, "Glynda, there's no question as to how much you care about your students. But at some point, we need to ask whether the good of the people outweighs the good to our pupils. Yes: for the time being, they've _deigned_ to focus on the same targets as we have. What happens when they inevitably set their sights on the people of Vale? I can't allow that, and I don't think you can either."

"Inevitably?! Why I –"

"That's enough!" Ozpin shouted, instantly ending the argument. Collapsing suddenly into his seat wearily, he turned to Ironwood. "James, you know I've always valued your input. Team Rookie is _not_ compromised, and they are _not_ dangerous to that which we hold dear. Yes, some of them may have… delicate situations surrounding them, but that is all the more reason to treat it with care and respect. I know that you're concerned about them. Believe me when I say that they are at exactly the points I want them, and that we need them."

Ironwood couldn't help but sigh as he turned around to look out the picture window overlooking Beacon's campus. "I have a bad feeling about those girls, Oz. Mark my words, they are going to be the cause of something terrible."

"If that is the case," Ozpin said, "then we will deal with it _when_ it happens, not before. Presumption of innocence is a key value of our society, after all, and what kind of message would we be sending if we were to prosecute them for crimes that they've yet to commit and might never commit?"

Taking that as her cue to leave, Glynda gave her farewells before retreating to the elevator. Yes, she had been against allowing most of them into Beacon before the year had started, but it didn't change the fact that Team Rookie was her personal favorite among the first-year teams. They were skilled and dedicated. Even if their methods were occasionally dubious at times, they had never shown anything other than proof that they understood what being a Huntress was about. Especially that Smith girl… well, Glynda had offered to sacrifice her evenings to give the poor girl a beginner's crash course into swordplay, after all. And so, she returned to her office to make final preparations for the assembly. She might have agreed with James in that she hoped that they weren't making a grave mistake, but for different reasons.

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

"She's taking too long," Kassidy insisted. Fully geared up for combat, she'd been beyond incensed to learn that Ruby had been all but ordered to appear at Ozpin's office for certain actions last night. She couldn't stop kicking herself: not for how she completely failed to notice the raid on the CCT tower last night during the dance, not for how she hasn't been able to determine what exactly happened, and most certainly not for stopping Ruby, or going with her, or _something_. To her, this just oozed too much of the same slime that had tortured her whenever _she'd_ gone and tried to stop an attack. Finally halting her pacing, Kassidy stared down their dorm room's door. "That's it, I'm getting her back."

"Easy, K, easy," Yang said, grabbing her arm before she could storm out and shoot her way to Ruby. Finally able to pull her back enough to get her to sit on her (their?) bed, Yang reasoned, "Look, I ain't happy about this either. But I trust her, I trust Ozpin, and didn't Bob say that she's doing just fine? She'll be here any minute now –"

Yang was interrupted by the door opening to admit the team leader in question. Immediately, all three of them dashed over to the door. Kassidy was particularly hasty in getting Ruby, and as soon as she was at the door, she started going over Ruby to check for bugs or tracking devices or some such fantasy devices whose existence was fueled solely by her paranoia. The whole time, she was asking, "What took you so long? What did they want? Did they do anything to you? Who all was with them? Why did –"

"That's enough, K," Yang giggled, dragging her away from Ruby. "You're smothering the poor girl. C'mon, that's my job!" Turning to Ruby and letting her smile fall somewhat, Yang added, "Though I'm kinda with K, I'm also a bit curious as to what all happened."

"Well, uh, heh," Ruby stammered. "It was just Ozpin, Goodwitch, and Ironwood. They were kinda stern at first, but they were only asking if I knew anything else about the woman I fought in the CCT. Then they were wondering about who all it was, and if she was with the White Fang, and I maybe kinda took the opportunity to tell them about what we found out from our night in the town?"

Weiss had managed to make her way back to her bunk at this point. "That was a risky move," she commented.

"I don't know," Kassidy argued. "On the one hand, it's good that we got the Headmaster and Professor Goodwitch in the loop. On the other, I don't trust that Ironwood cat any further than I can throw him. Maybe not even. I'm still not convinced he didn't have _something_ to do with making me disappear; those were _his_ robots, after all. Not to mention…"

"Not to mention what?" Yang asked, after a brief bout of silence had shown that Kassidy wasn't going to finish that thought on her own.

Kassidy sighed and buried her head in her hands. "When I went and tried to bust up a terrorist attack, I got arrested, made to disappear, locked in a hole in the wall, and tortured. When Ruby went and tried to bust up a terrorist attack, she gets a pat on the head and a 'good job'? Something's not right, here. Are you sure they didn't do anything to you, Ru- "

She was suddenly interrupted by Yang springing up and, in a move that nobody could have predicted, pried her hands away long enough to kiss her real quick. While Kassidy took a moment to get over the shock, Yang argued, "Relax, partner. They obviously didn't do anything to her."

Kassidy wasn't convinced. "But what if they bugged –"

Yang kissed her again. "Nope."

"Can we really trust –"

Another kiss. "Yup."

Kassidy's brows furrowed as she tried to glare at her girlfriend. "They had to have –"

Another kiss. "Nope."

"But what about –"

Yang kissed her yet again. "Nope."

"Yang! Cut it –"

"Nope!"

With that final kiss, Kassidy felt her will to continue the argument completely evaporate, even as Ruby giggled helplessly at the scene. Burying her head into Yang's shoulder, she balled her fists into the back of Yang's jacket and grumbled, "Cheater."

"Yup!" Yang flashed a wink whenever Kassidy brought her head up enough to glare at her again in a manner that was most definitely _not_ cute, partner! Suddenly springing up and walking over to a desk, Yang announced, "Oh, I know what'll cheer us up!"

"What's that?" Ruby asked.

Yang went and grabbed the mail tube that they'd received earlier this morning. "I don't know yet. Dad sent it to us; I figured we'd open it together."

"Ah! Something from home!" In a flash of rose petals, Ruby had disappeared to hang off Yang, waving frantically at the tube that her older sister was holding just out of reach.

Yang shook the package just once, and a black cylinder fell out of it. Kassidy was a bit perplexed as to what it was, and that feeling only intensified when it _bounced_. Then it bounced again. Before her mind could sprain itself trying to figure out what was going on, it jumped up into the air, and unrolled into a very familiar shape. Knowing what she was seeing, but unable to justify the fact that the dog in question managed to fit into a tube smaller than it, Kassidy couldn't help but lean closer with the rest of her teammates to stare at it, even as the mutt in question barked at them.

All four of them leapt up at once, with all the girls named 'not Weiss' yelling, "ZWEI!" Ruby, in particular, did a quick little dance that ended with the corgi jumping into her arms.

Weiss, as usual however, was the one to try and ruin any happy moments in the dorm room. "He sent a dog? In the mail?!"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Yang reassured. "He does stuff like this all the time."

"Your father or your dog?" Kassidy asked, sending a smirk Yang's way. Trying to defuse any tension in the room, she put a hand on Weiss' shoulder and tried to reason, "Believe me, Weiss, that's a very nice and well-trained dog they have there. He won't be a problem at all."

Weiss was having none of it, tugging her shoulder out from under Kassidy's touch and storming up to the dog, which decided to turn around so as to stare at her upside down. Weiss began, "You're telling me that this mangy,"

Zwei rolled over in Ruby's arms so as to get a better look at Weiss, and let his tongue hang out in an adorable pant.

"Drooling," Weiss continued.

Zwei continued to stare at her.

"Mutt."

Zwei stopped panting long enough to give a playful bark.

"Is gonna wive with us for eva and eva?! Oh yes he is, yes he is!" Quickly descending into baby babble, Weiss devolved from her tirade into an outpouring of affection and approval for the dog.

"Well, that's a thing," Kassidy commented.

Yang's eyes narrowed, and she shot back, "Hey, get your own line!"

Kassidy was about to snark back at her, but was prevented by doing so by the intercom system in their dorm emitting static. Glynda spoke, "Would all first year students please report to the auditorium?"

 _That's right, the mission. Can't forget about that._ While Weiss and Yang argued the merits of Zwei staying in their dorm while they were out and about, Kassidy threw her backpack over her shoulder and slipped into it. Before she could do more, however, Zwei started licking at her leg. She reached down with a smile to scratch his ears, but Zwei did one better by hopping up into her arm, then scrambling up and perching over her shoulder, balancing on the top of her bag. Kassidy chuckled even as she reached up and pet the ball of fur, looking all the part like a pirate with a furry, four-legged parrot on its shoulder. Noticing that Yang and Weiss must have come to the end of their argument… which somehow involved a small hill of dog food, Kassidy took the moment to hand Ruby her dog and followed them out.

For some reason, Ruby was taking her sweet time to get to them, and by the time she caught up they were nearly late for the assembly. Glynda was calling for quiet whenever they slipped in. Kassidy couldn't help but notice that the room was packed, with what looked like students from all four academies gathered to get ready for missions. She shared a quick greeting with JNPR behind them, then turned back to the front.

Ozpin stepped up to the microphone at the front of the stage. "Today, we stand together, united: Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo, Vale; the four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell, or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression, and as you are well aware that is something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither would the generations to come. It is a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity."

Kassidy frowned as she thought. History, as they always say, is written by the victors, and the tone of the headmaster's speech implied that Vale was on the victor's side for this conflict. While she didn't do as much studying on the Great War as she probably should have, and promptly forgot most of it once she'd taken the test and Oobleck's class moved on to cover different material, she sincerely doubted that the losers were in it to destroy self-expression of all kinds. There was no such thing as a truly evil person, and comic book villains didn't exist. Everyone has their reasons for doing what they do, and outside of the clinically insane, they all think that it's a good reason. Now, her curiosity was piqued as to the perspectives of the defeated.

Ozpin continued, "As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort, which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."

The assembly gave way to applause, then split up to find missions for their teams. Kassidy was brought out of her train of thought when Ruby exclaimed, "This is perfect! All we have to do is shadow a Huntsman working in the Southeast!"

"Yeah!" Yang affirmed. "We'll follow them around by day and give them the slip at night." Kassidy rolled her eyes at their not-even-a-plan. _Even ignoring that 'the Southeast' is a rather large geographic area, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one out of the four of us that can handle extended periods of no sleep. Willing to put money that this whole 'slip away at night' deal would only last for one day, tops._

"Let's check Search and Destroy," Weiss offered.

The four of them wandered across the room, and Ruby spied a particular mission that caught her fancy instantly. "Here we go!" she declared. "Quadrant Five needs Grimm cleared out!"

Kassidy decided to check with her ever-faithful companion. "What's the word, Bob?"

"One moment," her computer replied. "Sector Five, in the southeast, covers the failed expansion area known as Mountain Glenn almost exclusively. The area tends to get rather thick with Grimm, and incursions are routinely carried out by Huntsmen to clear out the rabble before they can evolve into something more dangerous."

"I can work with that. Sound like a plan, guys?" When they all nodded, Kassidy got to work planning. "Failed expansion… we talking about urban ruins, Bob?"

"Indeed."

"Perfect. If there's one area I know even better than forests, it's urban ruins." Going over a quick tally in her head, she turned to Ruby. "We've got supplies the student body can draw from. Go ahead and get us signed up, Rubes, I'll make sure we have everything we need. If you guys need anything, give me a call."

"Will do!" Ruby assured.

* * *

Kassidy had just finished packing the last of the bags whenever Bob got a call from Ruby. Sighing, she had her earpiece pick up the call and asked, "What's up, Fearless Leader? Just managed to finish getting everything packed, so we should be good to go over here."

"Yeah, um, that's nice and all. But… our Huntsman, yeah, said that we won't need to be bringing any bags with us, so he kinda wants you to leave them behind and hurry up and join us."

Kassidy could feel her eye twitching, as she struggled to comprehend what she just heard. "Um, just to make sure I didn't hear you wrong or anything: you just said that our Huntsman wants me to leave _all_ the supplies I've packed behind, ensuring that we travel to a bombed-out and Grimm-infested ruin without anything in the form of rations, ammunition, or medical supplies. Okay… _what the fuck?!_ Seriously, who is this guy?"

"That would be me, Miss Smith," a _very_ familiar voice sounded over the Scroll.

"Professor Oobleck?" Kassidy asked, once again failing to keep up with what exactly was happening.

"Yes, as I've already said, I'm afraid you preparations won't be necessary, seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you we won't be establishing a single base of operations; rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland, and making camp in any available locations we may stumble upon. I've packed all our essentials myself, plotted the air course, and readied our air ship." Just when Kassidy was convinced that the over-the-phone lecture had ended, Oobleck added, "And that's _Doctor_ Oobleck! I did not earn the Ph.D. for fun, thank you very much! Now, if you could get here as soon as you are able, we are now exactly three minutes behind schedule!"

Kassidy couldn't help but pinch the bridge of her nose and release a long, drawn-out sigh. After counting to ten, she replied, "Okay, I can work with this. I think it's probably safe to assume that Doctor Oobleck knows what he's doing, so he's probably got just about everything taken care of. Still bringing my first aid and other specialized equipment. And the extra ammo. Alright, okay, yeah, I'm good then. Meet you guys there in a few."

Fortunately, the airpads were hardly a minute's walk from the supply depot. After passing by Team CFVY as they passed (which included an 'attagirl' by Coco, presumably because of her and Yang stealing the show last night), Kassidy managed to meet up with the rest of her team just in time to see Sun and Ruby share a fistbump, of all things. Honestly, now that the shock had worn off and she'd had time to think it over, Kassidy wasn't opposed to the idea of Sun and Ruby. But, Yang would probably have something to say about it… so who was she to say no to scaring the daylights out of Sun every now and then? And speaking of Yang, Kassidy decided to clap her on the shoulder while her back was turned. "So! What did I miss?"

"Miss Smith!" Prof – _Doctor_ Oobleck shouted. "Did I not say you could leave your bags behind? What could you possibly have to make you burden your load so?"

"Bob's equipment, specialty gear, and extra ammunition," Kassidy recited. "With all due respect, stuff like this is _all I did_ for a good five years or so. I'd like to think I know what I'm doing."

"Hmm, yes, I see," Oobleck answered. "Very well, then. Come on then, children! We're already five minutes behind schedule!"

As the five of them walked up to the waiting Bullhead, Yang mentioned, "You didn't miss much. Just Nora being jealous that they couldn't go with us, and me holding back from breaking Sun's stupid face."

"Yang!" Ruby whined.

Kassidy smiled at the byplay, but unfortunately had to pick this moment to cease participating in the conversation. The Bullhead had taken off, and now she needed to fight her eternal battle with her stomach for the rights to determine what happened to her breakfast. When she finally won that battle, it was to find that they were already most of the way to Mountain Glenn. Yang was evidently asking Oobleck about his combat experience, considering his answer of, "I admit, I fancy myself more of an intellectual, but I can assure you that, as a Huntsman, I have been in my fair share of tussels."

"Like the mushroom?" Ruby asked.

Kassidy had to bite down a snicker as she answered, "Those are truffles."

"Like the sprout?"

Kassidy failed to stifle her giggles this time, and it was up to Yang to inform her, "Those are brussels."

"Besides," Oobleck interrupted, "given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabblings in the archaeological surveys, our dear headmaster has seen fit to assign me to this particular… assignment!"

"What does history have to do with this?" Weiss asked. Kassidy couldn't help but agree with her on that front, but dared not voice that opinion in front of their history professor.

"Why, what a preposterous question, you silly girl! Why, history is the backbone of our very society! And the liver! And probably the kidneys, if I were to wager!"

"And that means," Weiss prompted.

Suddenly leaning in, Oobleck explained, "The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves. But, it is also home to the location of one of the kingdom's greatest failures!"

"Mountain Glenn," Ruby said.

"That's right," Yang input. "It was an expansion of Vale! But in the end… it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city."

"Correct!" Oobleck announced. "And now it stands abandoned, as a dark reminder."

"Huh," Kassidy wondered aloud. "Abandoned expansion site that nobody's willing to touch with a fifty-foot pole, and overrun with Grimm. Assuming you have the means to not get eaten… I can't think of too many places that'd be a better place for a hideout."

She was interrupted from her musings by Oobleck chuckling. Doctor Oobleck. Chuckling. Kassidy was about to ask what was so funny, but he lowered his glasses enough to give her a quick wink. "Precisely," he said.

Understanding dawned immediately. This mission was a setup, and not the bad kind. Ozpin had very specifically set up this mission as a cover to hunt down the White Fang, and had basically given them free reign to do so. _Rogue_ suddenly felt a lot heavier against her belt – Kassidy got the feeling that her gun would be seeing a _lot_ of use in the near future.

* * *

 **AN 2: Alright,** _ **huge**_ **question time.**

 **I have the ending for Volume 2 lined up and written to a 'T'… except I'm leery of releasing it as is. It's kinda… weird. I have good reasons for it, and I have good plans for it, but that doesn't change the fact that between Bob and Project Colossus and our new villain, this story already has a decent helping of weird. I can make it less weird if you guys can't stomach it, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to write it as well.**

 **So, question: Do you guys not mind more weirdness if it means more plot, and fluff (oh god the fluff I can do with this)? Or should I go with a tamer version of what I have established so far?**

 **Coming up next: Do you have a moment to talk about death?**

 **AgentDraakis: Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much. I can definitely say I'm happy with how the dance chapter came out, and from the looks of things everyone else enjoyed it too.**

 **SixPerfections: Welcome to the madhouse! Glad that you're giving this fic a try, and here's to hoping that I can continue to entertain. If you're that happy with the Introduction of all things, I'd like to think you'll** _ **really**_ **enjoy this trippy ride of ours.**

 **Honestly? Yeah, I can completely see where you're coming from with the V1C30 critique. I didn't set that up very well, and TBH it was kinda-sorta-maybe a "spur of the moment" deal so I didn't have a half-length chapter.**

 **Also, yeah, I probably was conservative on the rating. However, in my defense, there are a couple things I really don't want to mess around with. Arguing with other people as to who owns what is one of them, and content ratings another.**

 **FloriteFlower: Sucks about your day, but glad I was able to cheer you up a bit. What's Kassidy doing in Volume 4? Spoilers, and classified. While Neo was initially aiming for Salem's castle, the trade winds blew her off-course. Most recent rumors have her last sighted around Vacuo.**

 **Tykene: Well, here you are. These canon chapters are always a bit of a pain, because I'm literally ripping one of the four main characters out and their entire contribution, and shove in a new character that has a different personality, different motives, and different goals, and yet somehow have basically the same thing happen (for now…).**


	78. V2C20: Unearthing the Past

**Volume 2 Chapter 20: Unearthing the Past**

 **AN: So, welcome to the first part where I** _ **truly**_ **start diverging some from canon. I'll let you guess as to what exactly I change.**

 **At any rate, I've got a bit on my plate at the moment, so in lieu of a more informative Author's Note, have the second-longest chapter to date.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Kassidy dropped to a roll as she jumped out of the Bullhead, _Rogue_ instantly flying out of its holster and into her hands as she scanned their landing area. For as much as they've been able to practice, none of the girls even needed to think about things. Yang and Weiss were on the ground a heartbeat later, shells being chambered into _Ember Celica,_ while the telltale crisp notes that typically came with ice Dust being channeled into _Myrtenaster_ 's blade could be heard. Ruby remained in the Bullhead for several seconds longer, searching through _Crescent Rose_ 's scope to serve as a more precise pair of eyes to Kassidy's own. After she confirmed the all-clear, their leader leapt down to join them.

Amidst all their careful preparations and routine, Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck simply dropped to the ground right next to them, out in the open, without a care in the world. The man took a sip from his thermos, raised an eyebrow at them, and took a scan of the area so brief that it couldn't possibly have been thorough. "Excellent work, girls, your coordination has certainly improved since we've last had the opportunity to work together." Opting to take a more hushed and serious tone, he continued, "Now, you still may be students, but as of this moment your first mission as Hunters has begun. From this point forward, you must do exactly as I say. Do you understand?" They all shared glances with each other, but were interrupted from an actual response when Oobleck called out, "Ruby, Kassidy! I thought I told you to leave all your bags back at school!"

After a bit of stammering, Ruby answered, "Eh, but, uh, you _hadn't_ told us to listen to you yet! So… I didn't."

Kassidy barely resisted facepalming; out of the corners of her vision, she saw both Weiss and Yang on the verge of doing the same. What didn't help matters was Oobleck muttering, "Well, she's not wrong." Apparently having come to a decision, he announced, "Very well. Girls, leave your bags here; we can pick them up upon our return."

Ruby evidently didn't like this idea. "But, I, uh –"

"Young lady!" Oobleck demanded, "What in the world could possibly be in that bag that could be so important to bring with –"

The history professor was interrupted when her bag _moved._ An instant later, a familiar fur-covered black and white head poked out of said bag. Kassidy could feel her jaw drop, and it only dropped further when Ruby whispered, "Get back in the bag." Almost as if they _hadn't_ just seen Zwei poke his head out.

"We are here," Oobleck began slowly, "to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought… a dog?"

"I, uh…"

"Genius!" Suddenly, Oobleck raced past all of them to grab Zwei out of Ruby's bag. "Canines are historically known for their perceptive noses and heightened sense of hearing, making them excellent companions for hunts such as ours!"

Kassidy could feel her left eye begin to twitch, and she made no move to stop it. Just when things couldn't get any stranger, Ruby suddenly exclaimed, "I'm a genius!" If the team leader said anything more, it was drowned out by three distinct slapping sounds that originated from a flawlessly executed triple facepalm.

"Miss Smith, I don't suppose you brought a dog as well in your bag?"

 _What the hell even is this mission anymore, if_ that _was a question that was asked without a shred of sarcasm?_ Still, seeking to reinstate some modicum of reality back into this situation, Kassidy explained, "No, doctor. Just Bob's sensors, communications, and other auxiliary modules, his spare battery, night vision goggles, field surgery and first aid kit, Dust, extra ammunition… and maybe one or two pieces of high explosives."

"Hmm, I see. Very well, I suppose it can stay as well." Suddenly dropping the dog (which made all the girls panic briefly before Zwei got back up with nary a complaint), Oobleck said, "Now, as you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hotspot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several plausible for this phenomenon, one of which being – Grimm."

Kassidy was about to join the others in openly questioning him, but just barely managed to pick up a rock being knocked over. She softly called out, "Six o'clock!" and spun around while dropping to a knee, bringing _Rogue_ up to bear on a Beowolf. She heard the other members of the team bring their weapons to bear on the threat as well.

"Stop!" Oobleck whisper-shouted. By way of explanation, he offered, "There are a number of reasons why a Grimm would congregate in this particular area, the most likely of which being their attraction to negativity. Sadness, envy, loneliness… hatred. All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent."

Unable to keep the impatience out of her voice, Ruby asked, "So, what now?"

"We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey."

Kassidy could all but hear Yang sigh next to her. Her girlfriend followed up with, "How long do we wait?"

Oobleck hummed in thought. "It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks." Kassidy could feel her spirits sink ever lower with each new time period, each significantly longer than the last. The doctor continued, "Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from their pack for months – and there's the whole pack."

Kassidy had seen them before Oobleck, naturally. Though… it was a rather small pack, all things considered. This should be easy if they didn't let the Grimm on to their presence until it was too late. A plan that was quickly ruined by Weiss exclaiming, "What?"

"And now they've seen us," Oobleck said.

"What?!" Weiss asked again.

" _And now they've seen us!_ " Oobleck practically shouted at her.

"What's the plan, doc?" Yang asked.

Oobleck took his lovely freaking time sipping from his thermos, before muttering, "Show me what you're capable of."

The four girls felt adrenaline course through them, finally having something they can fight. Letting routine come back into play immediately, Ruby started issuing orders. "Kassidy, get down that side street, see if you can't split them up. Yang, you and I will be up front to meet them. Weiss, pick off any stragglers and make sure Kassidy doesn't get overrun."

They all ran off to take care of their part of the plan. Kassidy considered sending bullets downrange to draw attention and thin their numbers, and was about to pull their trigger when she thought otherwise. Honestly, these were just Beowolves, and not even old ones by the looks of it. Sure, they were seven foot tall, several hundred pound murder machines that would've made the news for weeks, if not months, back on Earth. But it was amazing, the kinds of things you got used to at Beacon. So, rather than waste the bullets, Kassidy holstered _Rogue_ and brought her left hand to over her shoulder, resting on _Baton's_ hilt in its sheath. She shot a grin over to Yang beside her, and offered, "Whoever kills less Grimm today has to buy dinner next time we go out?"

"You're on," Yang said, returning with just as big a grin.

Kassidy smirked, then split off down the side street while Yang met the majority of the pack in battle. She only had a moment to appreciate the sight that was Yang Xiao Long beating the stuffing out of a Beowolf before she needed to divert her attention to a trio of Beowolves that had chased after her. Her grip tightened on _Baton_ as she waited for the perfect moment. When the first Grimm leapt at her, she effortlessly slid to the side and drew her sword, getting a clean decapitation for her trouble. A rising slash caught the second Beowolf across the chest, spilling what passed for guts and making it fall to the ground beside her. She sidestepped it, ducked under the third Grimm's claws, and neatly slid her sword between its ribs. Even though the Grimm didn't have anything analogous to a heart, stabbing them where they should have had one seemed to do the job well enough. By the time she'd finished wiping the black ichor-like substance off her blade on some nearby weeds, _Crescent Rose_ had fallen silent and they had all gathered again in front of Oobleck. They all seemed excited, but Kassidy didn't allow herself to share in it. Today, and every day they were out here, would not be a sprint. They were all in a marathon.

* * *

Kassidy swore and threw herself backwards as the door burst open, a small swarm of baby Nevermore flying through and trying to make a break for it. Before it was too late, she'd replaced her existing magazine of inert rounds for one of fire Dust ammunition, aimed up, and fired once – just once. A cloud of flame shot up, cooking the whole swarm in one go and causing charred and dissolving corpses to come raining down around her. The smell was terrible, confirming that cooked Grimm probably didn't taste very good, but Kassidy ignored it in favor of stepping into the ruined house. She'd found something a few houses back, something that made her want to check this one out over its neighbors.

Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Oobleck had all been left behind to find somewhere to set up camp. As the minutes turned into hours, and hours turned into the whole day long, Kassidy found herself shouldering more and more of the workload as her teammates' staminas were pushed too far. Even Kassidy was starting to feel the effects of a day spent on her feet, killing Grimm left and right and searching the ruins for signs of terrorist activity.

As she stepped further into the building, she couldn't help but marvel at how well-preserved it was. Sure, the walls crumbled, the paint peeled, and in general it showed the signs of not having been maintained for the past several decades at least, but it was little more than the passage of time. There was no fire damage, no shattered walls from the Grimm rampaging through – even some of the furniture was still intact, if encased in a layer of dirt and grime several inches thick. Poking around what she guessed was the living room showed that all signs pointed towards this being what she thought it was. She spied what had to be a picture album of some kind, and took a step towards it.

"Ah, there you are, Miss Smith!" a voice called behind her, and Kassidy couldn't fully bite down the growl. Forget _Crescent Rose_ – Oobleck's shouting would alert the White Fang that they'd been had far sooner. She was about to turn around to him when he suddenly asked, "What about you?"

Nearly stunned by the sudden change in tone, she asked, "What about me?"

"You seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose," Oobleck explained. "So, what are your reasons for being a Huntress?"

Kassidy thought about how best to explain it for a few minutes, before deciding that a direct approach would not yield the results she was looking for. Instead, she asked, "Take a look at this building, this little cul-de-sac. What do you see?"

Oobleck hummed and nodded, probably already guessing where this was going. "I see a tragedy that could have been prevented, had things gone differently. I see lives that could have been saved."

The way his voice dropped piqued Kassidy's curiosity, but she shelved it for the time being. "I see numbers," she admitted. "Rounds expended, Grimm slain, Lien in damages… lives lost. Of course, that's only on the surface; if you look closer, a new story emerges." Stepping towards one of the other doorways, she started piecing together the scene before her. "A family that was caught in their home when the city fell. A father who had some form of protection, and dashed out to the city to try and buy his loved ones some time."

Doctor Oobleck's gaze followed the faint gouges in the drywall and floorboards she pointed to, which led out the front door. He took just a step outside, still close enough to be heard, and solemnly said, "He didn't make it long. Though he might have had a weapon of some kind, he was not a Huntsman, and the Grimm did not take long to strike him down."

"Meanwhile, inside the house," Kassidy continued, bringing the doctor's attention back to her, "a mother went to collect her infant child. A daughter, to be precise. While her soon-to-be-late husband bought her what time he could, the woman made her way to the picture window. She opened… no, it looks like it jammed. She broke the window herself. From there, she sadly did not make it much longer than her husband. An… Ursa, it looks like, caught up to her and carved her up, leaving her on the ground, with her daughter in her arms, and bleeding out." She was curious as to the remainder of the scene that she saw, but her answers were confirmed by seeing the gouged up concrete a short ways away. "Then someone came to her rescue, though. They fought the Ursa, appeared to have won, and… ah, that's how the daughter escaped. The mother handed her off, and our Good Samaritan took her away from here."

"Your eyes are very good indeed, Miss Smith; I'm surprised you noticed all that," Oobleck praised.

Kassidy snorted. "You don't survive what I have by not paying attention to things."

"There were, however, a few facts that you got wrong," Oobleck then condemned.

"Such as?" Kassidy prompted, head tilted.

Doctor Oobleck walked up to her with a small, sad smile on his face. He didn't even take a look at the scene before he said, "It was an Alpha Beowolf, not an Ursa; a fairly large Alpha at that." After a moment's pause, he added, "And the two were not married. Not yet, anyway; they were actually due to be wed in a week's time."

Kassidy raised an eyebrow to complement her tilted head. "How did you figure that out?"

Oobleck removed his glasses, pinched his nose, and heaved a great sigh. When his head raised, a fallen face was what greeted her. "Because I was the young Huntsman that the woman handed her child off to." When Kassidy's jaw dropped, Oobleck smiled sadly before explaining, "It has been many, many years since that fateful day. It was my third year at Beacon; our mission entailed beefing up the patrols on Mountain Glenn's walls, considering that the Grimm had become more active lately. We were in the evening of our fourth day in a weeklong mission; our assigned patrol time had ended, and so we were unwinding for the day. This building's residents, you see, had offered to house us for the duration of our mission.

"The four of us were on our way back from making a grocery run for the new family when the alarms sounded. Naturally, we dropped everything and began making our way to our position on the walls, which happened to be in the opposite direction to this house. We had made it several blocks before we realized how badly the situation had turned. Nobody knows how, even to this day, but before we knew it the Grimm were inside the walls and had made significant headway into the city itself. My three teammates rushed to engage the beasts and buy the civilians as much time as they could, but I was sent back to rescue the family that had taken us in so kindly.

"I ran as quickly as I could, but I was still too late: the Alpha Beowolf had attacked the poor woman, and was at the moment of finishing her off. It took a burst of speed I didn't know I had at the time, but I managed to slay the beast before it could reach her – and her child. I returned to the house to try and find her boyfriend, but he had already passed by the time I arrived. She begged me to take her child and leave her behind. With no other option… I did."

Kassidy could hardly find the words to comment on it. Something like this… other than the destruction of Chicago and _maybe_ New York, even the collapse of American society didn't have such a tragic story occur in an eight-hour time period. She eventually stammered out, "H-how did it end?"

"Returning the child to safety was the move that saved my life," Oobleck said. "By the time I had taken her to the safe zone, Vale's forces had already made the decision to abandon the Mountain Glenn territory. I manned the safe zone, trying to buy the evacuations as much time as I could, but in the span of only a few hours our defenses had been overrun. Exhausted from the fighting, the soldiers didn't even give me a choice as they hauled me on one of the last craft out of the city. After that… all flights, whether to evacuate civilians or deliver reinforcements, stopped. They blew the tunnels leading back to the kingdom proper, sealed off the territory, and condemned the people remaining to die in an effort to keep the Grimm from becoming a danger to Vale itself. I was… I was the only member of my team to leave this place alive."

While Kassidy mulled over his words, Oobleck led her back to the inside of the house. Suddenly, he asked, "Have you figured out, yet, who the inhabitants of this house were?"

"I have an idea," Kassidy answered. Without waiting for more words, she returned to where she'd spied the picture album. The old, leather-bound tome was heavy with dust, but wiping away the front cover told her what she'd already figured out. "Marcus, Ebony, and Summer Rose," she read. "A Family in the Making."

"You can probably imagine my surprise," Oobleck mentioned, "when, seventeen years later, I would teach history to the then-orphan that I had initially carried out of this disaster."

Kassidy opened the scrapbook to the first page, to see a weary yet happy Ebony Rose holding her newborn child. Looking at the picture, she reflected, "When my home fell… it wasn't to Grimm. It was to a multitude of groups, not unlike the White Fang. It was slow, over several years. People argued and fought over who was right, while the people who just wanted to survive slowly ran out of safe places to run to. And I didn't do anything to help them. Even, at the end, when I _finally_ tried to help, I couldn't. I wasn't strong enough to stop it… and what should have been our salvation, instead only heralded our annihilation." Softly closing the book, she looked up to Doctor Oobleck, and at that moment felt the burden of everyone that had gotten left behind. "You ask me for the reasons I have for being a Huntress? I can give you eleven billion of them, and I left them all behind on a lifeless, radioactive rock once called Earth."

"Did you manage to bring a history of some kind with you, when you left?" Oobleck asked. When Kassidy nodded, Oobleck smiled bleakly. "Whenever we get back, I would very much like to examine it, if you don't mind. Such stories should not be forgotten. We owe them that much."

"We do," Kassidy agreed.

Life suddenly coming back to him, Oobleck pointed towards the book she held. "In the meantime, what do you plan to do with that?"

"Return it to its rightful owners, of course," Kassidy stated bluntly. "Summer has next-of-kin, and it will be delivered accordingly."

"And what of our mission?"

"What about it?" Kassidy shot back, more harshly than she intended. "I can operate just fine without sleep – for a couple days, anyway. I have equipment and experience necessary to operate in the nighttime. I can continue the search while the rest of you recuperate over the course of the night, and come morning I should have at minimum figured out a few places we shouldn't bother looking."

"Be careful that you do not let your vengeance consume you, Miss Smith," Oobleck warned. When Kassidy whirled around and made to argue, he cut her off. "I have seen how you've thrown yourself at this mission, and I know about your… extracurricular activities, let's call them. I know you feel guilty about what happened to your home. I know that you take your aggression out on the White Fang, since you can do so no longer to the gangs that infested where you came from. You must keep in mind that our goal here is _not_ to punish the White Fang, but to protect people from whatever harm may befall them."

The man left before Kassidy could get a word in, leaving her standing with a leather scrapbook in her hands and a scowl on her face. She shook her head and made her way out of the house. She _wasn't_ in this for vengeance. Oobleck didn't understand… she _had_ to do this. She _would not_ let the White Fang bring Vale to ruin. She _would not_ make the same mistakes she'd made so many times in the past. She _would not_ sit back and let countless innocent people die just to make her own existence easier.

But, that would be for later tonight. For right now, she had a delivery to make.

* * *

Hazel eyes blinked open suddenly, and the rest of Kassidy was right behind them in awakening. Immediately assuming the worst, she tried to jump up and deal with an imminent threat. Tried being the keyword, as Yang's arm remained firmly locked around her waist, and _Rogue_ fell out of her hands in her haste. Once the brief moment of panic had subsided and she confirmed that she wasn't in the middle of being horribly murdered, Kassidy calmed her breathing and focused on her hearing. There were Grimm out, yes, but none anywhere near them, and none that had seemed to be aware of them. Weiss remained at watch, evidently unaware of the minor fit she'd just had. Despite her insistence in working through the night, her teammates were just as adamant that Kassidy rest as well, and in the end she lost that particular argument, thus leading to her current position in Yang's arms.

Of course, the far most obvious source of noise was the corgi whining near her face, poking her with his snout. Kassidy opened her eyes in time for Zwei to poke her in the forehead with his nose, letting loose another soft, keening whine as he then buried his snout under his front paws. She took a quick look around, still long enough to see Weiss still leaning against the edge of the crumbled wall, Ruby still sound asleep while clutching her grandmother's scrapbook like her life depended on it, and Oobleck still snoring on a platform above them. Upon Zwei poking her yet again, Kassidy groaned, "What is it, boy? It's way too early for this stuff, even for _me_."

Zwei yipped at her quietly, before trotting over to what served as a door. Kassidy groaned, "Seriously? You can't move all of five feet to go to the bathroom on your own? Ugh, fine, give me a second." She tried to twist out of Yang's grip, but gasped as her girlfriend's arm tightened on her stomach, inadvertently forcing the air from her lungs. Kassidy took a few shallow breaths, grumbled to herself, and decided to employ her new trick that thus far has never failed to let her extricate herself from Yang's clutches. Twisting her arm back, she aimed for that one spot right between Yang's fourth and fifth ribs, and dug her fingers in lightly. Yang gave a half-giggle, half-snort, before shifting her grip off of Kassidy to protect from the slight tickle attack and promptly resuming her own snoring.

By the time Kassidy had returned her gun to its holster and slung her sword's sheath on her back, Zwei had already made his way across the street to relieve himself on one of the nearby pillars. She followed the dog out, only for him to finish quickly and come trotting across the street towards her. Kassidy rolled her eyes and was about to make a sarcastic and rather rude remark about Zwei not being able to do that on his own, but a sudden bark prompted an unknown and dangerously close voice to question, "What was that?"

In one fluid motion, Kassidy rolled forward behind a pillar, collected Zwei under one arm, and drew a knife with her free hand. The dog was quivering violently at the sudden change in the situation, and Kassidy had to keep her own nerves calm as a second voice asked, "What was what?"

Kassidy dared to lean her head out, and found a pair of White Fang grunts wandering through the street, and paying surprisingly little attention to their surroundings given their current position in a Grimm-infested ruin. The first guy answered, "I dunno, I thought I heard a Beowolf or something."

She estimated how far away they were, and scowled, before another thought hit her and her scowl deepened. About thirty feet away; they were probably too far away for her to take them both down without alerting anyone else. Not to mention that, if they had Aura, a quick and silent kill was all but impossible for her. The two grunts turned around and mentioned something about finishing their patrol, but everyone, Kassidy included, froze when a certain blonde brawler whisper-shouted, "K! What are you doing?"

Kassidy whipped her head around long enough to determine the situation: Yang, who for some reason was completely unarmed, had wandered out and was looking right at her. Of course, both of the girls' attentions were quickly drawn to the two White Fang guys swearing and getting ready to shoot at her. Grumbling under her breath, Kassidy took a gamble and leapt out.

Her knife had gone flying out of her hands towards the furthest grunt. It miraculously landed blade-first, and the fact that it buried itself in his breast confirmed that neither had Aura. The other guy, nearest her, was so shocked by the appearance of a second assailant that he fumbled his rifle; this bought enough time for Kassidy to draw her sword close the gap. A quick decapitation ended his life, and a coup de grace on the prone and bleeding out form of the downed grunt ended any possibility of the remainder of the White Fang being alerted.

"Oh Oum…" a voice breathed from behind her. Kassidy turned from wiping off the blood of her sword on the corpses to see Yang wide-eyed and paling. Yang looked from the bodies to her, and stammered, "I'm so sorry, K, I didn't see… you killed them."

Kassidy nodded. "They would've alerted the others if I didn't."

"Yeah, I know," Yang muttered. "I just… _fuck_. This is it, isn't it? This is really real."

"Yup," Kassidy answered lamely. Sheathing her blade, she fetched her knife and asked, "Did I wake you?"

Yang nodded, but waved the problem away whenever Kassidy started apologizing. Instead, she walked up to Kassidy and offered, "So, what now?"

Kassidy thought for a moment before walking back to camp; if she was to investigate anything right now, she'd need her night-vision goggles. "I'm gonna grab –"

She froze when the ground under her started to crack. Kassidy spun around to meet Yang's wide eyes with her own, before the concrete fell out from under both of them. She was in freefall for but a moment, before her girlfriend managed to grab her wrist. Kassidy looked up to find Yang gripping onto the rapidly crumbling road for all she was worth. Yang kept switching her gaze between the ground above them, and the woman that was preventing her from falling to certain doom. When Yang met her eyes again, there was a certain hardness that Kassidy knew she didn't like; this conclusion was all but confirmed when Yang said, "I'm sorry, K."

Kassidy didn't get to verbalize her confusion when Yang hauled for what she was worth, sending Kassidy flying over the ledge and onto solid ground. Kassidy hadn't even hit the ground when the slab that Yang was holding onto crumbled and fell, as well. Her heart dropped, and she scrambled as close to the edge as she dared. The sight she got nearly made her cry out, as Yang landed with a heavy thud and didn't get up. Kassidy whipped out her pistol, trying to find _something_ that would help, before more voices could be heard. She strained herself to just barely hear, "Where the hell did she come from?"

"Dunno," another voice, female, answered. "Think she's dead?"

Kassidy had to bite down a growl when one of the White Fang soldiers kicked Yang over, but nearly gasped in relief when he said, "Nah, still breathing." Her relief faded, however, when he then asked, "Should we do something about it?"

"Torchwick's gonna want to know about this, and I do _not_ want to get on that guy's bad side. If you want to, be my guest."

"Alright, alright, I hear ya. Let's go get this bimbo over to him and get this done."

Kassidy slid away from the lip of the hole and stood up, forcing herself to consider facts. Yang was alive, but in enemy hands. The White Fang knew something was up, but didn't know what exactly, so they still had some element of surprise. That wouldn't last long, though, if she didn't act _now_. No matter what, at this moment in the present, time was against them.

She stormed back to base camp. She needed to act now, but she couldn't do this alone; she wasn't quite that arrogant. She needed supplies, weaponry, and backup. And once she had those… the White Fang was here, Torchwick was here, and Yang was being held captive. This was her duty. This was what she needed to do. But more than that, they would _not_ take her love from her. She would _not_ allow that which was hers to be taken from her. Not again.

 _Never again._

* * *

 **AN 2: So, everyone who said something voted for the "weird" option. Alright… don't say I didn't warn you. Still, I'm excited regardless for the directions I can take this fic with that. Also, this chapter was** _ **not**_ **the weirdness I was talking about.**

 **Coming up next: the Breach, part 1: Battle of Mountain Glenn.** _ **Nobody**_ **puts Yang in the corner without Kassidy getting a say about it.**

 **march4fun: Consider the weirdness brought on. Glad you enjoyed the chapter; here's to hoping that this one is at least as good.**

 **AgentDraakis: You shall have your weird fluff, good sir!**

 **RagingKey: Well, I guess if it's worked thus far… let's hope the weird keeps on working.**

 **Tykene: Yeah, rewriting canon while still getting canon results is definitely awkward at times. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), we're finally getting to the point where I can start diverging from canon somewhat.**

 **EWR115: Always have time, my friend. Come, let us bask in the glory that is eternity. /cultmode**

 **Captain marvel 36: More weird it is, then. As for Kassidy spotting out Merc? A combination of slight tells that RT didn't animate in, a healthy helping of creative license, and a large dose of out-and-out paranoia. Fortunately for Kassidy, it's not actually paranoia if they actually** _ **are**_ **out to get you.**

 **Also… CONGRATS ON BEING THE FOUR HUNDREDTH REVIEW!**

 **autumskiess: Unintentional puns, best puns. Err, I mean… of course it was intentional! Why wouldn't it be? More weirdness incoming. Also more fluff, but mostly more weirdness.**

 **FloriteFlower: Sorry, bud, you've gotta wait just like everyone else. If it makes you feel any better, I can promise one hell of a ride on the way there. Weiss' short was pretty good, even if I cringe every time she straight up chops a Beowolf's arm off with a goddamn** _ **rapier**_ **. At least she finally used it for stabbing things… but, eh, Rule of Cool, I guess. And to be frank, I wouldn't be surprised if Neo is just swept under the rug (or down the trade winds, as my personal theory goes). She didn't have much of a presence in the show that didn't involve Roman.**

 **serioushugsies: Ugh, tax accounting. Haven't gone through it myself, but I'm pretty familiar with the math behind it, so please let me express my condolences. As for Bob, he would have… if it weren't for getting kidnapped by Vale (or was it Atlas?) and having to fend off nonstop attempts to breach his security. More weirdness it is!**

 **FiveShadows: I'm glad you think so, and TBH I'm starting to think it's high time she start using it.**


	79. V2C21: Battle of Mountain Glenn

**Volume 2 Chapter 21: Battle of Mountain Glenn**

 **AN: Ugh, okay, this chapter was a pain in the ass to write. Well, okay, not the chapter itself. But after exam SNAFU's, a** _ **really**_ **bad case of diarrhea that nearly saw me making a hospital trip, and my final exam on top of that, I really didn't have all that much time for this. Here's hoping I still get it up this Friday.**

 **Anyways, Yang's been captured, Zwei has a weak bladder, and Kassidy's royally PO'd. What could possibly go wrong with all that?**

* * *

(Perspective: Ruby)

"Do you not understand, dear girl?!" Oobleck shouted, dashing right into Weiss' face. "We aren't looking for an underground crime network; we're looking for an _underground crime network!_ "

The history professor was giving a lecture about the deep caves and the fate of Mountain Glenn to shed light on their situation. However, whereas Weiss just blinked at the suddenness of the lecture as well as the content of it, and Kassidy looked like she was outright ignoring it, Ruby took it all in. This was it. They'd found the White Fang, and now it was time to foil their schemes, once and for all. They had no choice otherwise; after all, Yang had been taken. Her sister was down there, somewhere in the same town that, as she now knew, her grandparents had died in. She could hardly stand to think of it; her own mother growing up an orphan, without someone to love her. Such a kind woman didn't deserve such a fate. And with her ultimate fate being one of such an anonymous death…

Ruby had already lost so much family. Mom, Auntie Raven. Dad was bad for a few years after Mom died, hitting the bottle even harder than Uncle Qrow ever did, but at least he eventually came back. And now Yang? No. She would not let her family be taken from her like that. Not again. She'd make sure of it.

She took a quick look up from her current task to take a look around. Everyone else was going through their own preparations, as well, to make sure this fairy tale had a happy ending. Oobleck was continuing to give them all the information he could, and at a frantic pace. Weiss was topping off _Myrtenaster's_ Dust canisters, and shoving more vials of Nature's Wrath in her skirt pockets. Kassidy was busy wrestling her cuirass back into place, while simultaneously trying to stuff as much ammo into her pockets as they could physically hold. Bob was currently busy trying to get a signal of some kind to Beacon. Ruby was not idle, as she too partook of the preparations.

Removing her tools from the firing mechanisms, she appraised her quick work of field maintenance before nodding in approval. Taking up the bracelet, she dashed over to Kassidy to help her get it on. "Alright, I've managed to tune _Ember Celica's_ mechanisms. They shouldn't have enough force to bust your arms this time around, but it might be best to get a bit closer to use them? The range won't be the greatest any more."

"That's fine, Rubes, honest," Kassidy seethed, snapping the weapon on her right wrist and expanding it long enough to slam home a strip of high-explosive shells. "You won't catch me complaining about having a bracelet that functions as a grenade launcher. Especially over something like this."

Ruby felt a soft whine take root in the back of her throat at yet another reminder. A reminder that she wasn't the only one Yang was important to, not anymore. Sure, Dad and Uncle Qrow loved her, but neither of them depending on Yang like she did. And now, Kass depended on Yang too. They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and Ruby could tell how much Yang's situation was hurting Kass just by looking into her eyes. All that pain, all those terrible, terrible memories hiding just under the surface… all that anger, just waiting to be turned upon whatever unfortunate soul got between her and Yang. Ruby was mildly surprised that Kass' emotions alone hadn't brought the Grimm on top of them already.

"By the way, I've got something for you," Kass suddenly said, interrupting Ruby's musings. The blonde took an odd-looking box out of her bag, before handing it to her. "You might be best with it. It's basically a bomb: stick it on something that needs to go away, push the trigger button, you've got two seconds to run like hell." Ruby nodded and was about to stow the box next to _Crescent Rose_ , when Kass suddenly shot her arm out to grab a hold of hers. "Uh, just be careful with that," Kassidy added. "That trigger's a bit iffy. I taped it on as best I could, but…"

Ruby scoffed and was about to reassure Kass that it would be fine, but paused when she took a closer look, before nearly facepalming: Kassidy did, in fact, duct tape the triggering mechanism to the rest of the device. Instead, in a perfect match to her incredulity at the box, Ruby asked, "What even is this?"

"Um," Kass hesitated. "Pretty much as much fire Dust as I could cram in there. Whatever thermite I could spare, too, to up the yield a bit."

Ruby somehow resisted the urge to facepalm again, before stowing the device away safely and grumbling. _Seriously, this is_ not _how you build a bomb, Kass! I should know! I kinda made a couple on accident while building Crescent Rose. And maybe one or two Dust Studies projects._

"We all ready?" Kass suddenly called out, grabbing everyone's attention. "The longer we wait, the more likely that Yang gets hurt. Not to mention the more likely that the White Fang decide to go ahead with whatever they were here for in the first place."

"Calm, Miss Smith," Oobleck urged. When it looked like Kass was about to tear his head off, he reasoned, "Haste will not do your partners any favors. We mustn't panic in a situation like this – and as much as you don't want to hear it, our mission still remains to be done."

"He's right," Ruby urged, finally getting Kassidy to calm down somewhat. "But you're right too. We can't rush this, but wasting time won't do us any favors. Are we actually ready, guys?" When all three people nodded at her, with Oobleck turning a grin in her direction, Ruby led them all out to the outside.

Kassidy quickly brought them to the sinkhole that she and Yang had found. Where her big sis had fallen, and needed her help. While the remaining blonde in their group handed her line to Oobleck in order to safely lower herself down the hole, Ruby couldn't help but ruminate on the situation. Yeah, they've fought the White Fang a couple times already – most notably, at the docks and that Paladin fight. But still, those were going to be simple affairs compared to this. Ruby might even need to kill someone tonight. Her emotions must've been showing on her face, because Weiss startled her by putting a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right, Ruby?"

"This is it, isn't it?" she asked. "We're going to fight them. Stop them. Probably… probably kill a few of them, too."

"Is that what you're worried about?" Weiss asked.

Ruby, however, shook her head. "Not anymore. I… I guess I always knew this day would come. Kass… Kass kinda made that more tangible. I'd hoped I'd never have to do it, but we can't all have what we want. But that's fine, I think. They're gonna hurt a lot of people, Weiss. They have my sister, and they're gonna hurt her, and they're gonna hurt a lot of people, too. Unless we stop them. If it's to save people, if it's to save my sister… I think I can do this."

"Well said," Oobleck praised, having finished lowering Kassidy. "Miss Rose, taking a life is never easy, nor should it be. If you ever need someone to talk to when this is done, you know my office hours. If not me, all the professors on staff is trained for something like this."

"Thanks, Doctor Oobleck," Ruby said. Shaking her head, she continued with, "But I don't want to think about that now. Need to keep my head clear. Let's go, team!" And with that, she jumped down the hole.

"Keep down," Kass hissed as they all landed. "Fang's on full alert now, probably because of Yang. The further in we can make it without them noticing, the better our chances are."

Ruby got on her belly and crawled next to Kassidy, bringing out _Crescent Rose_ and peering through her scope. "Alright, I see… five Paladins, three of which are currently loading cargo onto a train of some kind. Ten, twenty, thirty… forty-three people, though only twenty are armed right now. I also see –"

"Wait, what about a train?" Kassidy interrupted. Shaking her head, she expanded, "Vale blew the tunnels leading back to the main city, there's nowhere for them to go."

"Except the destination," Oobleck warned. When they all turned to him, he explained, "Depending on how long they've been here, they may have had the time to clear out much of the debris between Mountain Glenn and Vale. With nothing preventing the train from reaching full speed…"

"That's the plan," Ruby said. Peering through her scope again, she could feel her heart sink as she paid closer attention to the cargo. "They've got more Paladins on the train, and they're loading Dust onto it now. They're gonna load the train for maximum weight, and use it as a battering ram to breach Vale's defenses. We've gotta – Yang!"

"What?!" Kass and Weiss all but screeched.

"Torchwick just put Yang on the train. He's got her all chained up and stuff – we have to move, now." Ruby stood up, fully deploying _Crescent Rose_ behind her. Turning to the three people behind her, she started issuing orders. "Kass, get to ground level. Stay in cover, and when things start off, hit them hard. Do what you do best. Weiss, Oobleck, I'm going to need you two in front drawing attention when I kick things off. Make sure Kass can do her job messing things up, but don't let her have all the fun; if there was ever a time to go wild with Dust, Weiss, now's it. I'll be up top to pick them apart and call out positions; if need be, I can probably use Kass' bomb to take out a Paladin or two."

"Let me know if anyone gets into trouble," Kassidy said. "Thanks to some of my friends in low places, and the work I did salvaging after fighting the Fang in Vale, I've managed to grab a thing or two for a rainy day."

Ruby nodded at her. "Like I told Weiss: if there was ever a time to go wild, this is it. I'll be the one to kick this party off. Alright, people, the objective is the train. We do not let that train leave this station! Let's go, Team RWKY! And Doctor Oobleck!"

And like that, they were all gone. Kassidy dove through the stairs, getting to ground level to do what she did. Weiss and Oobleck, having both Aura and a landing strategy, simply leapt over the edge of the roof. Ruby tapped into her Semblance and dashed from building to ruined building, covering dozens, then hundreds, of feet in seconds. She stopped long enough to get a good look around; Weiss and Oobleck were already set up and waiting on her. Kass, in a complete defiance of what most might consider a biologically-imposed speed limit, had already reached the ground by the time Ruby had covered several hundred feet. Ruby watched her drag a lone White Fang guy over a concrete barrier and bury a knife in his neck, before setting up behind the main body of guards. Ruby brought her baby back up, loaded a magazine of 40mm fire Dust shells, then started sweeping for targets that would make a suitable first strike. A few intrigued her, but her silver eyes quickly fell upon the grand prize: a Paladin in the middle of loading a pallet of fire Dust containers onto the train. Ruby closed her eyes, sighed, and said a quick prayer to the gods; her opening strike would surely kill the guy inside the suit. She could only hope she could be forgiven for this. Ruby opened her eyes, took one moment to aim, and fired.

The titanic explosion that resulted from her shot only prompted all hell to break loose. Oobleck and Weiss instantly leapt into action, Dust flying freely as a combination of fire and ice tore at the two Paladins guarding what passed as a front gate. Their history professor, in particular, had immediately fallen upon the two armored suits and actually seemed to be winning for the moment. Any retaliation by the infantry never happened, as Kassidy pulled a fully automatic rifle out of… somewhere, and opened up. Between the new bit of hardware, and the left half of _Ember Celica_ , there were over a dozen dead and at least as many wounded before the blonde cut off her assault mere seconds after it began, disappearing into the buildings to presumably strike again.

"None of the Fangers here have Aura. Repeat: no White Fang I've seen has Aura," Kassidy said over their earpieces.

Ruby wasn't sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, their job here just got that much easier – and oh dear Oum if something that coldly tactical wasn't a measure of Kass' influence on her over the months. On the other, a lot of people were going to die here. Shaking her head and gritting her teeth, Ruby swapped out her fire Dust magazine for one of slightly-less-lethal electric Dust, resolving to not add to the death count if she could help it. She found a group and started taking potshots, bringing several down but fortunately leaving them alive, if unable to fight. She was about to move on to the next group before she noticed a fourth Paladin come around a corner, and right where Kassidy was about to pop up too, no less. The girl hadn't even been able to let them know about it over their earpieces before Ruby had taken off in a storm of rose petals, explosive box in hand.

Ruby was always fast, and in this situation she pushed herself as fast as she could. And after months of training at Beacon, not to mention the combat experience she's received, 'as fast as she could' was pretty darn fast, if she did say so herself. Ruby blinked to the side of the Paladin in less than a second, breaking the sound barrier as an afterthought and sending the White Fang grunts flying from the displaced air. After quickly making sure the box was secured and the duct-taped detonator pressed, Ruby casually broke the sound barrier a second time dashing to the other side of the street, this time purposefully sweeping the White Fang with her in an attempt to shepherd them away from the blast that tore off both the Paladin's legs and left the guy crawling out of the tank.

The unfortunate pilot didn't get far, as Kass stalked out of the building she had taken cover in and put a bullet in his head while hardly looking at the guy. Ruby didn't see that, however. She was currently busy taking the blunt end of her baby to the grunts she'd brought with her, quickly rendering them unconscious. By the time she had finished, Kassidy walked up to her and genuinely seemed divided on whether to shoot them where they lay, or simply leave them there. Ruby was sure she wasn't going to like which answer she chose, but before they could argue a voice rang over some sort of speaker system. "Get to your places, we are leaving now!"

"Girls!" Doctor Oobleck shouted behind them. He and Weiss sprinted up to them, and he said, "Good to see you both still in one piece. I assume you have a plan for this as well, Miss Rose?"

"If we hurry, we have a straight shot to the train," Weiss said. "We can try and stop it once we're aboard."

"What she said," Ruby replied. She was about to follow them to the train, but stopped when she remembered that Kassidy wasn't exactly as fast as they were. A quick look back and forth, a terrible idea that was just terrible enough to work, and Ruby smirked. Kassidy must've caught wind of it, because she paled a bit before closing her eyes and breathing deeply. After the hazel eyes opened again, she nodded at Ruby.

Before promptly yelping as she was brought to instantaneous supersonic speeds as Ruby carried her to the train with a Semblance-enhanced dash. Even though Oobleck and Weiss had a head start, they'd gotten so far ahead that Kassidy even had time to vacate her stomach before the two of them caught up.

"Alright, children!" Doctor Oobleck shouted. "We must get to the front if we want to stop this train!"

"Bigger problems!" Kassidy groaned from her kneeling posture. "Kinda just threw up on a bomb – which, by the way, did nothing to stop it from counting down." They were about to argue over what to do, but they all heard beeping come from the very compartment Kass was hunched over. The girl yelped once again before slamming the lid down and taking off. "Time to go!" she yelled behind her.

"Get going!" Ruby yelled. "I'll get this separated from the rest of the train!" Putting words to action, she quickly dashed down to the link connecting the two train cars. _Crescent Rose_ twirled into her full form behind her, but before she could swing her baby down, the cars automatically decoupled. Ruby could do naught but stare dumbly at it as the train exploded… which tore a hole in the tunnel… and let in all manner of Grimm. Ruby's stomach grew cold and heavy as she realized what was going on, and she quickly joined the others on the top of the car before saying, "They're leading Grimm into the city!"

"More bombs!" Kassidy yelled, having already thrown open the compartment on their current car. Oobleck dashed ahead to the next car, and the car after that, before relaying back that they both had bombs. The three girls barely even needed to share a look – though Zwei finally decided to poke his head out from Kassidy's backpack where he'd been hiding the whole time, in order to get his word in as well. Ruby took her dog's wise counsel into consideration before all three of them ran as quickly as they could to a car that _finally_ didn't have a bomb compartment.

Of course, because the White Fang couldn't make saving the day easy, as soon as they were clear of the bombs a large group of grunts climbed to the roof to join them. Ruby could even see a couple Paladins leap to the top as well. Her heart sank – they couldn't fight through all of that. Not if they wanted to stop the train in time. Kassidy so helpfully put in, "Uh, anyone have any ideas? Considering I'm noticeably less bulletproof than you guys are?"

"Ruby!" Doctor Oobleck shouted, "Take your team inside the train! You can make faster progress inside. I'll fight these guys!" The three girls nodded, and their history professor was about to take off when he suddenly remembered something and turned back. "Actually, Kassidy, my dear girl, may I have your bag, by chance? I have a feeling I may need its contents before the day is won." The girl in question nodded, before shrugging off the huge backpack and tossing it his way. With one final exchange of good lucks, the four parted ways.

"Alright, guys," Ruby said, trying to keep their spirits up. "This is what we trained for. Let's do this."

They were all about to begin making their way further into a train, but a figure suddenly stepped out from behind a stack of boxes. A dark brown cloak not unlike their own, black and brown padded leather armor, and a blood red steel faceplate strode out to halt their advance. A shotgun with an axe blade built into the stock was balanced on his shoulder. Ruby couldn't help but notice that it seemed rather crude. "I am sorry," the figure said. "But you go no further."

Kassidy, unpredictably, stormed in front of them and drew her sword on the guy. "Get the fuck out of my way, Munsell. I am _not_ in the mood right now, and you can't fight all three of us at once."

The newly-identified Munsell tilted his head to the side. After a slight pause, he admitted, "Probably not." Instead of getting out of their way, however, he added, "Something tells me that I will only be fighting one of you."

"You two go on ahead," Ruby said, having already made up her mind without regard for what he'd said. "You two have the best chance of stopping this train. I'll make sure this guy doesn't bother you."

Kassidy hesitated, before arguing, "But –"

"No buts," Ruby insisted. "Go. I've got this."

Kassidy growled, but Weiss tugging on her elbow eventually made her relent. "Be careful," she hissed. "Just because he's no good doesn't mean he's harmless."

Incredulously, Munsell stepped aside when Weiss and Kassidy stepped forward, allowing the two of them to pass. "More wait behind me," he warned. "If you make it to Torchwick, I will not complain if he left the confrontation with more holes than he started with."

Weiss stared at the man. Kassidy glared at him and seemed awfully tempted to put a bullet in his back regardless. She probably only stayed her hand because of the amount of Dust in this room. However, the two of them made it out of the room, and the door hissed closed behind them. Trying to buy herself – and her teammates – some time, Ruby asked, "Why are you doing this?"

"Are you referring to the White Fang, or to me?" Munsell asked in reply. "The White Fang are here because they are a pack of inconceivable morons. I am here because my employer has an interest in seeing the White Fang succeed."

Ruby had more questions, but she didn't get the chance to ask them – Munsell dashed right up to her, forcing her to expand _Crescent Rose_ to block the strike. The man immediately transitioned into a brutal and relentless offensive, one that made Ruby question Kassidy's remarks about his hilarious lack of skill with a melee weapon. Between the man's aggressions and her weapon's own mismatch – there was almost literally no room for her scythe to maneuver, and in truth _Crescent Rose_ was hitting the walls and ceiling almost as much as the guy's weapon – Ruby quickly found herself on the bad side of a losing fight.

A losing fight that only got worse when she ate a shotgun shell to the face; the guy took an opportunity while the gun was twirling to put a shot on her when it was pointed in the right direction. The next thing Ruby knew, she was staring at the ceiling the full room length away, with her baby no longer in her hands. She tried to get away with a burst of her Semblance, but Munsell ground his boot into her shoulder painfully. She cried out, and he only cocked his shotgun in reply. "Goodbye, Miss Rose."

Ruby couldn't believe it. She was widely considered a prodigy, and in the top five in her year's Combat Training class – and she'd been thoroughly trounced in under ninety seconds. Her Aura probably wouldn't stand up against a second blast, and even if it did there was nothing stopping him from continuing to pump rounds into her. She closed her eyes. _I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry, Yang. I'm so, so sorry. I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't be the hero._

Her silver eyes snapped back open when Munsell cursed and the pain on her shoulder disappeared, before said silver eyes bugged nearly out of their sockets. A _third_ person had somehow entered the room: black boots and skirt, red shirt, white mask, and a sword sheathed, but might as well have been pointed at the boy that had so nearly killed her. She looked familiar, and Ruby could tell why after a few precious moments of thought. She'd seen her picture before. She almost looked like… "Auntie Raven?"

The woman ignored her, but Munsell didn't. He clutched his left shoulder, having dropped his shotgun in the middle of his retreat, and even without his face being visible it was plainly obvious he was glaring at the newcomer. "Raven Branwen," he hissed. "What are you doing here?"

"When a family member makes a mistake, when their strength fails them… tradition allows one opportunity for their elders to move to their aid. I am exercising that one opportunity." Suddenly drawing her sword, a blade of the deepest red pointed at the boy. "I will give you _one_ chance. Leave. Do not return."

Munsell continued glaring at her, before finally sighing and shaking his head. He shambled only forward enough to grab his weapon, then brought his injured arm to tap against where his ear would be. "Neo, I am outmatched. Get me out of here." Almost immediately, glass shattered, and suddenly the same girl that bailed Torchwick out was standing next to the boy. They shared a nod, before glass broke again and their forms shattered.

Ruby couldn't help but outwardly gawk at what just happened. Raven sheathed her sword, but didn't make any effort to help her up. Ruby sat up, a million questions buzzing through her head, but settled on the one: why did she leave. "Why did –"

"That was a foolish and imbecilic decision you made," Raven chided, interrupting her question completely. "You would be wise to exercise more caution in the future. You should see to your strength as well: tradition forbids me from saving you a second time." Her sword flashed out of her sheath, near the front of the room, and all of a sudden a reddish-black portal opened. Raven stepped into it fearlessly, and left as quickly as she arrived. Not once bothering to look her stepdaughter in the eye.

Ruby continued to sit dumbly for a solid minute, head swimming from what just happened. Finally, she clambered to her feet and grabbed her scythe.

 _I sure hope everyone's doing better than I am._

* * *

 **AN 2: So, a couple things here. First off, congrats to Artoria Pendragon for being our one hundred fiftieth favorite. For such an auspicious occasion, I bequeath… a boot to the head. And another for Jenny and the wimp.**

 **Secondly… hoo, boy. There were a couple ways I could've made the play out. In the end, I settled on swapping Neo for our own villain, and having Raven show up after all.**

 **Alright, here we go guys, the home stretch. Three more chapters left in Volume Two, and all signs currently point to my plans of having the final chapter of this chapter be released on Team Rookie's one-year… anniversary? Birthday? Anniver-day.**

 **Coming up next: Kassidy Smith vs. Roman Torchwick, ROUND FOUR FIGHT! Also, Weiss vs. Mystery Contestant #2.**

 **AgentDraakis: Sorry, but you don't get to find out until next chapter! Though, I don't think Kassidy is gonna let Roman get away with this if she gets a say in the matter…**

 **The Crimson Commando: Another sorry, but there's too much going on for me to give that the justice it deserves. I'll be sure to give it some love in the second interlude, but as of right now it's been given to Ruby and she slept with it. Well, not slept with it, slept with it. That would be weird. And probably cheating on Sun.**

 **intata: Glad to hear you're liking things so far! Yeah, I'm still working on the reworks for the first dozen or so chapters, and that's gonna be looked at.**

 **EWR115: Believe me, you don't want to see what she did to the White Fang grunts this time around. Kassidy didn't leave enough of a lot of them to be buried.**

 **serioushugsies: I can totally understand where you're coming from with Bob. As I've said before, at the moment I currently think Bob is the weakest part of the story. Yeah, as he is right now, we all know him and love him and I wouldn't do anything to him. If we were in late July/early August of last year when I was planning this out? Yeah, I'd probably not include Bob this time around if I got a second chance at this.**

 **FloriteFlower: Oh, believe me. If Kassidy gets a say in things, she's definitely not letting Roman walk off this train alive. I guess it's only time to see if she gets a say in things.**


	80. V2C22: Deathmatch

**Volume 2 Chapter 22: Deathmatch**

 **AN: So, a couple things. Busy week, busy weekend, busy week coming up, so sorry this chapter came out late. We have this chapter today, I'm going to put another chapter out on Friday, and then the chapter after that will come out not on that Friday – but on that Monday, both to commemorate this fic's one-year anniversary, and also to begin a shift to Monday uploads.**

 **Also, super fast, happy birthday FloriteFlower!**

 **Okay, one fight down, two to go. Let's get this party started!**

* * *

(Perspective: Weiss)

The door on the opposite side of the room hissed closed, and Weiss found herself without a teammate. She was worried about being alone for this, but despite her ego's wishes, Kassidy truly was their best bet to stopping this train: between her technical expertise, combat experience, biological augmentations, and Bob himself, she was the best suited out of the three of them to dealing with whatever else the White Fang had in store for them, and putting a halt to the locomotive's progress.

But just because Kassidy had left the room, it didn't mean that Weiss was alone in this train car. She kept _Myrtenaster_ up and at the ready, pointed at the raven-haired cat Faunus in a similarly ready pose across the room from her. Still, neither was making any aggressive move just yet, so Weiss took the opportunity to go over what she knew of the vagabond: _Blake Belladonna, higher-up in the Vale branch of the White Fang. Fights with a bastardized katana with a pistol built into the grip, and can dual-wield using the sheath as a cleaver. Semblance allows her to produce shadow clones to reposition quickly and take hits for her. Ridiculously agile, about as fast as I am, but pretty low strength and even lower durability. Kassidy's able to fight her for reasonable lengths of time without horrifically dying, so she's probably not that much better than any of us, if at all._

"Weiss Schnee," Blake said. _Cleaver low, main blade high. Will feint to the left before coming in fast to try and bully through my guard._ Blake interrupted her inner monologue by adding, "I must admit, I've dreamt of this moment for a long time."

 _Focuses on overwhelming aggression and staying in control of the tempo. Counter by hopping back from bully, then strike right shoulder and follow up with a glyph to create space._ "You've dreamt of losing to a Schnee? I'm flattered," Weiss replied.

Blake scowled so hard that Weiss could see it even behind the mask. "Typical Schnee arrogance, I suppose."

 _Hinder with ice Dust, buy time to use a time dilation Glyph._ Weiss shook her head. "Forgive me. My teammates have been a rather bad influence on me, I'm afraid."

"So I've noticed," Blake replied. "Kassidy always has been too annoying and stubborn for her own good."

"After her home was destroyed by organizations just like the White Fang, is it really a surprise that she doesn't take kindly to what you're doing?" Weiss asked. Shaking her head, she asked, "Why are you doing this? How does leading Grimm to the city get you closer to Faunus equality? All this will do is kill countless innocent people."

"They're not innocent," Blake curtly shot back. "By doing nothing and remaining silent, they endorse the innumerable abuses that the Faunus people endure."

"They're not to blame any more than Dust is to blame for energy shortages," Weiss returned. "Have you considered they do nothing because they can do nothing? Or perhaps, that they don't even know? Take it from someone who knows: powerful people do many things to keep their public image intact."

"People like you?" Blake accused.

Weiss shook her head. "People like my father. Like my brother. People who are cold and heartless enough to put profit before people, and who are stuck in centuries-old ideologies that do nothing but hold us back."

Blake stared at her, and if Weiss didn't know any better she'd say that Blake looked at her with an air of curiosity. "Interesting thing to say, coming from the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."

"Heiress," Weiss stressed. "Not CEO." Taking a gamble, she lowered _Myrtenaster_ and sheathed it at her side. Blake tensed, and cocked her head when Weiss took a step forward while unarmed. "Blake, I know why you're doing this – or, at least, I think I know why you're doing this. You feel like you have no other recourse; that nobody's going to help you, so you have to help yourselves, no matter the cost.

"But listen to me: running this train into Vale will not help your cause. It will not help the Faunus. Please, I am not your enemy. I am not my father. I am not my brother. Let us stop this train. Let us keep countless innocent people from dying. We can make a difference here."

Blake thought for a second or two, but then snorted in derision. "How arrogant do you have to be? You know nothing about me, or what happened to me, or why I do what I do. How could you even pretend to?"

"Kassidy," Weiss answered. "She's spent her entire life from before Beacon at an even worse place than you are now: alone, on the run, with everyone left hating her and trying to kill her." Shuddering a breath, Weiss resumed, "I'm not perfect; I still have a long way to go. But I'm not my father. You're tired of being hated because of what you are? I'm tired of being hated because I share a last name with the man who gave me half my DNA. Let me stop this train. Let me go. I'll let you go. We'll both go our separate ways, we'll both do what we can to make things better, and this meeting will never have happened." She blinked, allowing a single tear to flow down her cheek for the effect. "Please, Blake. Help me do the right thing. Equality between humans and Faunus – we can start, right here."

Blake continued to leave her head cocked, and Weiss could tell that her eyes were narrowed as she tried to think. "You actually mean all of that, don't you?"

"Of course," Weiss urged, hoping against hope that she could make Blake see reason, the same way she'd been made to see a different point of view.

"You… are different. You're not what I expected," Blake allowed. She lowered her head and took a breath, and Weiss held hers. Any hopes Weiss had for a peaceful resolution, however, were dashed when Blake raised her head again. "I want to believe you. I really, really do. But I've been lied to too many times. You might not be your father, but you're still just another human in a long, long line of humans to promise us equality, only to not mean it."

Weiss sighed in resignation. "We have to do this, then, don't we?"

Blake nodded. "For what it's worth, you've succeeded in earning… not my respect. Something." The Faunus shook her head at the failed attempt to make sense, before continuing, "I guess we'll just need to continue where we left off. You'll do what you think is right, and I'll do what I think is right. Hopefully, with some combination of the two, something good can result."

Incredulously, but in a manner that Weiss guessed befitted their new… working relationship, if she had to guess, Blake motioned to her side, and allowed Weiss the opportunity to draw her blade again. _Myrtenaster_ sung in her grip. The Dust in their cartridges called out to her, begging her Aura to focus and unleash their power. Weiss took a breath, and as she opened her eyes, frost started creeping out along the floor near her feet. "You do know you've already lost anyway, right? Kassidy will stop this train. You've got nothing that can stop her, and between halting a terrorist attack and getting her girlfriend back… she's got an immense personal interest in this. She'll kill whoever's between her and the caboose, she'll kill Torchwick, and she'll stop this train. You've already lost."

Blake shook her head. "She can't stop this train; we've made sure of it. Killing Torchwick, though…?" Blake trailed off for a few moments, before a terrifyingly feral grin split her face. "I hope she does. Honestly, killing that racist moron is something that I wish they'd let me do long ago. He's been nothing but bad news for the White Fang, doubly so after she broke up our mission at the docks. There's a reason I let her past, and it was to give that asshole what's coming to him."

Weiss let a smirk grace her own face. "Well then, I suppose neither of us should be disappointed with that outcome. I can't say he's done my family any favors, either."

Blake nodded, before suddenly tensing. "Enough words. Defend yourself, Schnee."

Just as she predicted, Blake dashed forward, covering the length of the room in a fraction of a second. The cleaver came through in a weak swing that was more to get it in a more advantageous position. Weiss began enough of a thrust to convince Blake that she'd fallen for the bait, then suddenly utilized a Glyph to pull herself back from the two-bladed slice that tore through where her waist had been mere instants before. _Myrtenaster_ struck true, and it rang as it drilled into the Faunus' shoulder. Blake hissed, but had to duck under her blade a second time. This, however, advantaged her not, as Weiss planted a kick through an acceleration Glyph that sent her opponent flying into the opposite wall.

Blake tried to leap back into the battle, but instead crashed into a sudden wall of ice that sprang up, bisecting the room and keeping the cat girl at bay. Weiss only barely suppressed a smirk – with no paths to aggression, no paths to disrupt what she was working on, Blake could do nothing productive, while Weiss was free to setup the battlefield to her heart's content. A few projections of power from her Aura implanted the beginnings of what will be Glyphs for future use on the walls of the train car, but most of her power funneled into a time dilation Glyph rotating rapidly at her feet. As far as any of them could tell, Weiss was every bit Blake's equal in speed and agility; it would only ever be a question of spontaneity and aggression vs. preparation and strategy. Once the Glyph got enough energy and took effect, Weiss would hold all the car-

She didn't even get to notice as Blake's sword flew at her until it was too late, the blade cutting into her face and nearly giving her another scar to match her existing one in the process. Startled and with her focus brutally ripped from her Aura, Weiss' time dilation Glyph outright failed, the energy dissipating into the air with only some returning to her. A black ribbon that Weiss failed to notice earlier – and that Kassidy completely failed to mention – returned the hurled sword back to its owner, while the cleaver finally cleared Blake a path to her.

Weiss snarled. She would not be beaten, not when the city of Vale depended on her. Refocusing her Semblance, she slid under the Faunus' attack, then used a Glyph to abruptly reverse her momentum and catch Blake in the thigh with her blade. Her opponent cried out in pain, before abruptly vanishing in a puff of smoke, and it was Weiss' turn to exclaim her pain as she got slammed into the wall.

"And I here I thought you were supposed to be good," Blake taunted. "Didn't you say you have some grand, noble purpose here? You're sure not fighting like it. But then, I guess we both already knew that only one of us cared what hap-"

Weiss cut her off with an arc of blazing fire that swept the breadth of the room, making the Faunus dive into an acrobatic series of flips. _This_ was why she never subscribed to bragging in battle – all that time that Blake had spent talking, she'd spent pouring her power into her blade and into the room. And by the time that Blake realized that she landed with her back to a repulsion Glyph, it was too late.

Blake was launched towards her, and Weiss sprung up on her own repulsion Glyph and launched herself towards her opponent. She could see Blake attempt to use her Semblance again, but a third repulsion Glyph in the floor launched her into the ceiling before she could focus. _Myrtenaster_ struck true, and a searing slash across Blake's abdomen was Weiss' reward. But she wasn't about to let off the pressure. The dome of repulsion Glyphs Weiss had previously set the foundations of sprung to life, surrounding Blake. Weiss bounded from one to another, faster than Blake could track, striking her foe again and again. _I can do this. I've practically won already. Blake doesn't take the pain well; if Kassidy can fight her to a standstill, then surely she can't stand up to this._ Weiss landed on the last Glyph, and flew towards Blake's exposed back.

Instead of spearing through her opponent, Weiss found her blade lodged inside a perfect replica of Blake constructed out of stone. The Faunus came out of a flip and landed at the end of room, wearing a cocky smirk and loading a new magazine into her sword; her mask had broken and fallen away, leaving amber eyes glittering with amusement. "What? You thought you were the only one who knew how to use Dust?" And with that, Blake fired… something from her cleaver. Looked like an Aura beam of some kind, if Weiss could guess.

Of course, she couldn't guess. The purplish-white beam plowed through the stone statue and crashed into Weiss, sending her flying into – and then through – the door into the next room.

* * *

(Perspective: Yang)

"Wow, you have got to be the most girly man I've ever met. I mean, exactly how much mascara are you wearing right now?"

"… you do realize you've used that line already? Twice, I might add?"

Yang rolled her eyes. "I'd be able to get more material if you unlocked me from this wall."

Roman groaned. "If you do not shut up, I swear to Oum I will find or make a gag for you."

"Ooh, kinky. Too bad you'll be the one wearing it."

Roman growled again, and Yang had to bite back a sigh behind her smug grin. Torchwick had her locked up real damn good to the front wall of the train… even her Aura couldn't help her break free, no matter how much thrashing she did. Her Semblance, however, would be another story, if it weren't for the fact that she's so far completely failed at goading Roman into hitting her. And she'd be lying if she weren't getting a little worried, what with her current position of being shackled to the wall that would be slamming into Vale's bedrock, while Roman had a half-cane, half-grenade launcher metaphorically (and occasionally literally) pressed to her head. She tried again, pooling her Aura into her arms and wrenching her hands against their restraints with all her might, but after a few seconds she had to give up. Her arms might as well have been welded spread above her.

Something banged into the door directly across from her. Roman sighed, before yelling out, "What do you animals want now?"

Yang had to bite back the biggest shit-eating grin she'd ever worn when a _very_ recognizable, albeit heavily accented voice (Russian, it was called?) answered back, "Have prisoner. You want?"

"Ooh, this is gonna be good," Roman muttered, before shooting a smirk at Yang. "Well, Yellow, looks like your friends weren't so tough after all. How does a cellmate sound?"

"Aww, you _do_ want me!" Yang crowed. Roman rolled his eyes, completely failing to pay attention as he unlocked and opened the door.

That was a decision he instantly came to regret as he got punched in the face by a familiar fist wearing a more familiar shotgun gauntlet. The guy tumbled back into the wall, just a few feet from her. Yang could've turned the guy into paste, maybe even have just tripped him up, if her legs weren't shackled to the floor, also. Instead, she had to remain content with her Kassidy storming into the room, chambering another round into _Ember Celica_ as she stopped long enough to recognize the situation. "Yang!" she cried.

"K!" Yang replied. "Kick his ass!"

"Oh, you again," Roman growled. "You are _really_ more trouble than you're worth. You know that, right?"

"Don't I know it," K shot back. Yang's eyes widened at the sight: K was positively _murderous_. As in, she looked about two seconds away from committing homicide. _Baton_ in her left hand, _Rogue_ as well as one of _Ember Celica's_ bracelets on her right, her girlfriend was definitely equipped to fight someone to the death right now.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Roman chided, suddenly sticking his cane against Yang's head. "We wouldn't want anything to happen to her, would we?"

K rolled her eyes. "Her Aura's still up. All your little boomstick will do is bust her restraints – and charge her Semblance, I might add."

Roman growled yet again, and Yang had to wonder whether he was part dog. Suddenly, he asked, "Oh, and what do we do now, I wonder? Do you intend to fight me? To save your pitiful, pathetic partner from my evil clutches?"

"No," Kassidy whispered, and despite the low volume it seemed to fill the room. "I don't intend to fight you. A fight implies that you stand a chance." Murderous hazel eyes flashed across the room, and K glared at Torchwick. "I don't intend to fight you. I intend to kill you."

Roman clicked his tongue and shot a grin at her. "Not if I kill you first."

K actually laughed at that. Not a fake chuckle, either. She laughed like Yang had just said one of her world-famous and totally awesome puns. She eventually got out, "Oh, that was a good one, Torchdick, I'll give you that one." Cutting off her abrupt laughter as quickly as it started, K asked, "Tell me, Roman: do you even know how to kill me?"

"I've got a few ideas," Roman said, grin disappearing.

K shook her head. "I don't intend to fight you. I intend to kill you. I intend to make you suffer. I will beat you into the ground, gut you like a fish… well, I probably won't have time to skin you alive." Hazel eyes flashed with promises of untold pain before meeting Roman's gaze. "Your pain will be _legendary_ , and I will make sure you live long enough to regret every. Little. Thing."

"Ooh, scary," Roman said, no doubt used to her threats by now. "Let me know when we – woah!" K began the fight while he was in the middle of talking, using _Ember Celica_ to launch herself across the room and bring her sword around to take his head off his shoulders, if Roman hadn't brought his cane up to block it. Yang thought she was going to enjoy have a front-row seat to her girlfriend kicking this guy up the curb and down the street… but this wasn't a fight. It wasn't even a brawl. It was murder, pure and simple. She'd fought a few guys; they all had. Those fights had a certain decorum, certain niceties and rules that you just didn't break. Even if you were trying to kill the other person, there were some lows you simply didn't sink to.

There was none of that, here. They were both doing their damndest to kill the other; at one moment, Roman would claw her face, trying to gouge an eye out, while his cane would try to break anything and everything it could. The next moment, Kassidy was spitting in his face, biting and tearing and trying to hack him limb from limb. These weren't two people fighting. These were a pair of caged animals, in a desperate bid not even to make sure they walked away, but to make sure the other person didn't walk away. Like they didn't even care if they lived, so long as the other died.

It was a battle that Kassidy seemed to be winning. Despite that Roman had an Aura, despite that he had decades of experience on either of them, despite that he had actual muscles, he was finding himself quickly outmatched. Kassidy was fast, she was smart, and she knew exactly how to win a fight like this. Of course, this only prompted Roman to become even more desperate in his frenzied assault. But even then, it was less an attack to beat K, and more an attempt to not lose body parts.

By any reasonable definition, the battle should have ended roughly thirty seconds after it started. Kassidy had relentlessly hounded Roman, never letting him get enough range to use the firearm feature of his cane, while both of her firearms were relentless in their assaults. She found her mark when both _Rogue_ and _Ember Celica_ were simultaneously fired into his face before he could twist out of the way, and while the man was falling she caught him at the same time with a second blast from _Ember Celica_ , _Baton_ , a knee, and even her forehead, causing red Aura to crackle and fail as he crashed into an unceremonious lump on the floor. It should have ended there.

It didn't. Roman dove for his cane, and finally got an opportunity to get a shot at K. Yang screamed her warning, but she shouldn't have bothered – K simply brought up _Ember Celica_ , letting it tank the shot itself and walking through the explosion without a care in the world. Roman tried to scramble to his feet, but her next blows removed that option entirely. A sickening crack sounded as she stamped down as hard as she could, making Roman's left knee bend completely backwards, and Yang had to fight to not look away. Then she broke his other knee. Then she broke both his elbows.

"Heh," Roman managed to get out, a bit of blood bubbling up from his throat. "So this is how the great Roman Torchwick eats it, huh? I… I always knew you had it in you, Kassidy, was it? I… I always knew you were… different."

"Don't be so dramatic. You're not dying," K butted in with a roll of her eyes. Yang breathed a sigh of relief, but it died a premature death when K venomously added, "Not yet, anyway. Let me fix that." She brought her sword up, and almost as quickly brought it down.

"K!" Yang yelled, making her girlfriend stop. Dust, she couldn't watch it. She couldn't let K do this. Not to Roman, not to her, and most certainly not to herself. "This isn't you, K. You're better than this. You're better than what you used to be. Let him go. He's beaten."

"Are you better, though?" Roman taunted. "Admit it: we're monsters, the… the both of us. Don't hide from it. Embrace it."

"Please…" Yang begged, and she had to blink tears out to maintain eye contact with K.

The scene was interrupted with Weiss flying into the room and crumpling on the ground, clearly dazed and making no concerted effort to get to her feet. Her assailant wasn't far behind her in getting into the room, and who Yang now recognized as Blake positively flew to the heiress.

K was faster, though. Almost seeming to teleport from between nearly killing Roman to standing in between Blake and Weiss, she parried the strike before sending the cat Faunus into retreat with a barrage of gunfire. K leveled her arsenal on their newest arrival, before growling, "Leave. Now. I will not ask a second time."

The two seemed to stare each other down for a few seconds, but eventually the cat-girl huffed and nodded before throwing some ribbon out of a hole that must've appeared in the train when she was fighting Weiss, and letting herself get dragged away.

"Ugh," Weiss groaned. "Where's – where's Blake?"

"K chased her off," Yang said. Hurriedly, she added, "Uh, look, not like this isn't probably some fantasy of yours, K, but I'd kinda like to not be locked to this wall when it slams into Vale at however many kilometers an hour we're going right now."

"Weiss, keys," K ordered, throwing Weiss the described objects, while occupying herself with frantically tearing off _Ember Celica's_ right gauntlet. By the time she'd managed that and pulled the left half off her belt, Weiss had managed to unlock Yang from the wall. Yang rubbed her wrists and flexed her legs – she was starting to get _real_ sore the way she was. K tossed her the gauntlets, getting out, "Ruby down-shifted the power some so they didn't break my arms, so keep that in mind. Alright, wake up, Bob. Let's try and stop this."

"Analyzing," the computer said. "Bad news. All computer-controlled braking methods have been disabled, and it seems they've damaged the physical brakes as well. Even if that wasn't the case, we're inside a mile and a half of Vale. At the speed we're going, we'd still collide the projected impact force with considerable force."

"So, what?" K asked, growling at the computer and herself. "We can't stop it?"

"Doesn't sound like it," Yang answered. She was about to comment about how they should find cover, but she found Ruby sprinting through the previous car. "Ruby!" she cried out.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled, putting on a burst of speed and trying to tackle-hug her. "How's everyone doing?" she asked.

"Train's not stopping," K reported. "If anyone has a way to not horribly die here in about twenty seconds or so, now's a good time to start doing it."

Yang watched Weiss redraw her weapon, set the revolver to ice Dust, and make her way to the center of the room. "Everyone hunker down with me. I can cover us, but you need to be close."

"You heard her, girls; duck and cover!" Yang said, shoving Ruby onto her partner and grabbing K in a great hug before kneeling under a steadily growing shell of ice. She'd managed to be completely useless so far, but she'd be damned if she didn't at least do _something_ to keep her teammates from dying. Yang managed to maneuver her way in front of everyone, wrapped herself fully around K, who was currently trying to make herself as small as possible, and braced for impact. She prayed that, if the train or the ice didn't hold, she could. She had to. For her sister, for the woman she loved, for Weiss… for Vale. She had to hold.

* * *

 **AN 2: And there goes the neighborhood. And by the neighborhood, I meant Mountain Glenn, because it wasn't enough of a ruin earlier.**

 **Blah blah filler Author's Note blah**

 **Coming up next: Battle of Mountain Glenn, Part III: The Breach**

 **Right up after these Reviewer Responses**

 **helenGet: Glad you liked it. Here, have more!**

 **Captain marvel 36: There were a couple reasons I felt Raven talking appropriate here: firstly, while Munsell's obviously heard of her, he's just as obviously not as familiar with her as, say, Neo, and might need more than a sneak attack to get the hint that he should scram. Also, I'm still of the opinion that she's kinda-sorta guilty about abandoning everyone and then just ignoring everything that happened when Summer died, and so tried to make it up (in her own way, of course) here, with her stepdaughter.**

 **Artoria Pendragon: Glad to hear you're liking this story so much, here's to hoping you keep enjoying it! Wait no more, the next chapter is here! Yeah, as of right now I consider Raven to be Ruby's stepmother.**

 **EWR115: Well, it's a good thing we've got more blood here. My yard's looking a bit dry.**

 **AgentDraakis: Well, I mean… I didn't exactly say that Weiss would fight Blake, but I kinda made it obvious anyway, didn't I? Wait, authors tend to make Crescent Rose somehow work in enclose spaces? Why? How?! I mean… isn't this, like, Physics 101? Pauli's Exclusion Principle, two objects can't occupy the same space, and this means that big weapons in small spaces is a bad idea?**

 **FloriteFlower: Again: Happy Birthday! I'm glad you like this so much, and to be honest being able to interact with my readers is far and away my favorite part of writing this story. Here's hoping life's finding you better these days, and continues to do so.**


	81. V2C23: The Colossus Falls

**V2C23: The Colossus Falls**

 **AN: Friendly reminder that the next chapter is in TEN days from now. That is not next Friday. That is the Monday after, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Team Rookie.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

It was pretty easy to tell the exact moment that the train hit the bedrock underneath Vale. The front wall in front of them gave an unholy screech, inches and inches of Dust-infused steel shearing apart as it failed to withstand the forces in play. Weiss' created shell of ice flew forward, carrying them with it, as it suddenly broke free from the floor, before it too shattered. With nothing else holding them together, the four girls of Team Rookie tumbled forward in a mass of limbs and grunts and curses. Kassidy tried to reach an arm out, maybe grab something to halt her forward progress, but Yang wouldn't let her. Her girlfriend continued to hold on tight, using herself as a literal human shield to protect Kassidy from harm. Eventually, however, the world decided to stop rapidly altering which way was up and which was down. Kassidy finally slipped from Yang's grip, skidding a couple final feet before coming to a rest. She waited for her head to stop spinning before blinking a few times and shakily trying to get to her feet.

The first thing she saw was sunlight. Sunlight was bad, wasn't it? Her eyes fully snapped open and alertness finally bullied through her nausea-induced haze at the realization that sunlight meant that they were in Vale proper. That wasn't a bad thing on its own, but with so many Grimm right behind them… damnit, she could already hear their growls and roars. She spun on the spot, ignoring the stars dancing in her vision, and found her three teammates rolling on the concrete and groaning, all of them evidently knocked out and fighting for consciousness. She still had a minute on her own, before they got themselves together. Well, not exactly on her own. Kassidy found where her earpiece had rolled out onto the ground, put it back in place, and tapped it on. "Bob? Talk to me, man, what's our status?"

"O…ne mo-MENt," a garbled voice replied. A garbled voice that wasn't Bob's. She nearly panicked before her companion spoke again, his voice returned to normal. "Apologies for the delay. My chassis was breached; I needed to initiate emergency protocols and offload several of my subroutines onto the RemNet itself. Usage of specialty modules will be unavailable, I'm afraid, and my power source was damaged. T-minus 43 minutes until power failure."

Kassidy spat a curse; this situation couldn't be worse if she'd tried. She was on the tired side from grappling with Torchwick, who she severely hoped got munched on at some point, assuming he wasn't already dead. Her teammates were out for the count temporarily, and both Weiss and Ruby looked like they'd seen better days after their fights. Yang was still the freshest out of the four of them, and she'd taken the brunt of the force from the crash. They couldn't hold off a Grimm attack alone. They needed help, and they needed it now. "Get me a line to Professor Ozpin. Now."

Bob gave his confirmation, and it took only a couple rings to get the headmaster on the phone. "Miss Smith," he began.

"No time, so listen fast," she barked. "Our mission to Mountain Glenn was a failure, and we need help cleaning shit up. White Fang rammed a train into… okay, looks like we're in the Square Plaza. They breached the Kingdom's defenses, and they spent a whole lot of effort getting Grimm to follow them here."

A few voices could be heard gasping and cursing, but someone beat Ozpin to speaking. "Miss Smith, this is General Ironwood. Please confirm: the Kingdom's defenses are breached?"

"Confirmed," she said. Her teammates started clambering to their feet around her, and Kassidy helped them up while she kept talking. "The breach is in the Square Plaza. Grimm were following us. ETA: "

Kassidy had to stop and dive for cover as the ground exploded up from under them, as a black snake head burst forth and widened the existing hole. She half carried, half dragged Weiss a few feet as Beowolves and Ursai started to crawl out of the ruined concrete. "ETA: right fucking now," Kassidy continued. "I repeat: Grimm have entered the plaza."

"Understood," Ironwood said, and for once it sounded like he was doing something useful. His voice sounded more and more faded, but it looked like he was barking orders to his own forces.

"Miss Smith, this is Ozpin again," the headmaster said. "What's your status, over?"

"Beat up, tired, and low on ammunition," Kassidy replied. "White Fang didn't make it easy on us to get this far."

"Professor Ozpin!" Ruby yelled, having finally helped Kassidy gather the rest of the team together. Of course, this left the now fully conscious team in the middle of the plaza, completely surrounded by an ever-increasing horde of Grimm. "We need help, there's Grimm everywhere, and –"

"I hear you, Miss Rose," Ozpin cut off. "General Ironwood's already begun moving his forces to your location, but it could be a few minutes."

"Buy me a bit of time?" Kassidy asked her teammates. When three curt nods were the answer she got, she pressed again on her earpiece. "We don't have a few minutes! Bob, system report."

"Systems operating at 51% capacity. Current speed estimated at 1.6 exaflops. External module use unavailable," her AI reported.

Ozpin expressed his confusion over the line, but Kassidy ignored it. "Gonna have to be good enough. Ozpin, what kind of electronic resources do I have? Robots? Mechs? Ships?"

After a moment's delay, the headmaster explained, "Vale has a few peacekeeping units nearby. Not enough to keep the Grimm at bay, but perhaps enough to help you hold the line until James' forces can arrive."

"Good enough," Kassidy said. Diverting her attention again, she quickly ordered, "Bob, Emergency Code One. Keyword: iconoclasm. Take command of all robotic forces you can access, and start evacuating civilians. See if you can't get Atlas' crap in second gear and hurry them up."

"Belay that order," Ironwood said, suddenly involving himself in that conversation. "Bob, something's in our computers and overworking our systems; you can fix that bottleneck and get our troops moving."

"Kassidy?" her computer prompted.

Kassidy spat and shook her head for the list of options she wish she had. Still, this was better than nothing. "Make it happen."

Suddenly, every single screen that was in eyesight flashed green. From every single device that had a speaker, a voice said, "Keyword accepted; Code One protocols in effect. Orders accepted and acted on." After a few moments, Ironwood confirmed that Bob's work was cutting through the interference; the current signs were pointing to a DDoS attack of some kind, but her computer was able to relieve the congestion and reroute Atlesian traffic to get the ball rolling.

"What's the word, K?" Yang asked as Kassidy put the finishing touches on Bob's orders and returned her focus to the area surrounding them.

"Not good," Kassidy said, shaking her head. "Someone's hitting Atlas' computers. Bob's fixing it, but his case got damaged and he's working on half speed. Help's gonna take a while to get here."

"We've got a bigger problem," Ruby said, and as the tide of Grimm growled and pushed forward, they continued to herd the four Huntresses closer together. The situation was looking more and more hopeless.

"I," Kassidy began, but her voice wavered and she had to cut herself off for a moment. Seriously, _this_ was where she died? As demon food, after surviving a murder train, several hundred terrorists, and roughly two dozen walking tanks? She swallowed and managed to say, "I just wanted to say… it's been an honor, these past few months. Getting to know you guys, fighting together, working together. It's… it's been an honor."

"Don't say shit like that, K," Yang urged. "We aren't down for the count yet. Even if this is a rather… _Grimm_ situation." The random pun got Kassidy to bark out a surprised laugh – and make Ruby and Weiss groan – but Yang suddenly changed the mood again by saying, "I love you, K."

Kassidy took a deep breath. "I love you too, Firecracker. No dying without permission, got it?"

Yang chuckled and slammed her fists into each other, chambering a round into each of _Ember Celica's_ gauntlets in the process. "Heh, yeah. Same goes for you, though."

"Everyone push north," Ruby said, getting everyone's attention. "We can break through whenever these guys try to rush us. Get to the north, we can get out of this mob there. Weiss, Yang, dig in and try to keep as much attention as you can. I'll get to the roof and provide cover fire. Kass, split off and get to the streets. There's tens of thousands of people that live and work near here; we need to give them a chance. They're counting on us, on you."

The Taijitu above them screamed, and the Grimm that surrounded took that as the signal to attack. Ruby and Yang charged first, the former carving large swaths of Grimm asunder and herding them into a nice, close huddle together for Yang to blast apart with her gauntlets' high-explosive shells.

Kassidy and Weiss were instantly sprinting through the sudden gap in the Grimm's ranks. _Baton_ and _Myrtenaster_ flashed out to the sides, further thinning the Grimm's numbers and buying time for their respective partners to arrive. Before long, all four of them were at an outdoor café that had been evacuated before they arrived. Kassidy looked over her shoulder to see Ruby use a recoil boost to jump up to the roof of the couple-story building, while Weiss was setting up Glyphs and Yang was busy… _rearranging_ the scenery. Screams filled the air, reminding Kassidy that she still had a job to do. She allowed herself time to take a deep breath, to center herself. Most of her instincts were screaming at her to run, to get to the rooftops and make her away out of the city while she still had a chance. Indeed, that probably would've been the smart decision, and this time last year, she wouldn't have hesitated to make that choice.

Times were different now, though. Instead of running away, she slammed home a magazine of regular ammunition into _Rogue_. Her grapple bracer fired a line that snagged a Beowolf's arm; she managed to drag it off balance before it could break the barricaded door of another shop down the road, and her pistol thundered as she immediately emptied its magazine and cleared out the Beowolves in the area. She sprinted across the street and smashed the picture windows with the butt of her sword. "Get moving, people!" she yelled to the several dozen occupants. "Get moving to the north; my team's gonna try and keep the Grimm here, and we've got more on the way from Beacon!"

By ones and twos, the store's inhabitants started filtering out. Her pistol found some exercise as she worked through three more magazines keeping the Grimm away. By the time she'd burned through the third, a small, delicate hand tugged on her half-skirt, prompting her to divert her attention. The source of the distraction was a little girl, about seven, with a rip in her dress and a goofy smile. "Thank you, Miss Huntress!"

Her parents were right behind her as the last people out, and the man pulled out a revolver and helped her gun down a group of Creeps that had found interest in them. When they'd fallen, the father put a calloused hand on her shoulder and said with a shaky voice, "Thank you, miss. Thank Oum you came. I… we owe you –"

"You owe me nothing," Kassidy insisted. "Just doing my job. Now, let's get moving. No telling how many other people are out there." With more tear-filled expressions of gratitude, the family left, and Kassidy dashed off down the street. Anywhere the Grimm converged and was likely to house people, there was almost certain to be civilians. Seconds, minutes stretched out to seem like hours as she dashed up and down the street. It was late Tuesday morning, now, and there had been a still-shocking number of people out in the busiest part of the city; hundreds, possibly thousands, of people had been caught out when the train breached the Kingdoms' defenses. Often, it felt like she was rescuing the whole damn city herself.

Then, it came to the final building on this street before it split off into a T-junction. An Ursa Major had collapsed the front of the building, trapping the people inside with no way of getting out. Kassidy sighed, and loaded the last magazine for her pistol that she had. Sprinting out from behind a planter across the street, she pushed herself in order to shoot two Beowolves, before _Baton_ flashed out to behead one Creep and slit the throat of another. The Ursa Major took notice of her, and barreled into a charge that made her roll out of the way. Her sword scratched its flank but couldn't bite deeply, and two shots were wasted as they bounced off its bone plates.

This was bad. She faced one of these a few months ago, and was utterly unable to kill it; she was forced to cut its hamstrings and run the hell away. Now, granted, that was with a knife and a pistol far smaller than her current one, but it didn't change the fact that even with her new tools, she'd be hard pressed to win this fight, and she was running on fumes at this point, too. Still, there were about twenty people whose lives depended on her ability to kill this thing. Kassidy drew in a deep breath, and stood her ground when it charged again.

A pair of blades on chains whipped around its legs and brought its charge to a premature end, while the sound of shotguns going off heralded a grey boot slamming into the Major's skull, crumpling it like wet tissue paper. Mercury landed moments later, crossing his arms and wearing a smug smirk. Emerald scoffed at the action, recollected the chain blade whip… things into her pistols, and suddenly seemed to notice Kassidy. "Oh, hey, Kass! Looked like you could use a hand."

Kassidy couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, and nodded. "I've got a bunch of people trapped under here. Give me a bit of help?"

Mercury nodded, adding, "Sure. What are friends for, after all?" Between the three of them, they managed to clear enough rubble out to allow the people trapped inside the building to escape.

By the time the last person had clambered out of the ruined store, Kassidy finally let her aching arms drop the concrete slab she and Mercury had been holding up. She was about to go take off for the purpose of finding more people to save, or Grimm to kill, but before she'd managed to get past a light jog she found what must've been happening while she was busy with this latest building: instead of Grimm, the streets were filled with Atlesian Knights and Huntsmen. She shared a look with Mercury and Emerald, and when they shrugged she tapped on her earpiece. "Kassidy to team, what's the situation?"

"Kass!" Ruby cried over their communications, nearly making Kassidy's ear bleed. "Oh, thank Oum you're okay, we've been trying to reach you ever since you took off down the street!"

"Is something wrong?" Kassidy hurriedly asked. "Yang, Weiss, are you guys all –"

"Relax, K, we're fine," Yang said, her voice pure bliss over the comms. "Come on… come on back to the square. Professor Goodwitch just sealed the breach. We… we won, K. We won."

The words made Kassidy come to a screeching halt. The sharp intake of breath she gave was enough to make Mercury and Emerald stop as well and shoot her weird looks. Kassidy didn't care, though. "We… won?" The words tasted weird in her mouth. "But the Grimm! And there's still so many people out there!"

"At ease, Miss Smith," came a new voice, causing the three teens to jump and turn around. General Ironwood continued his stride up, flanked by a quartet of AK-200's. "My machines are dealing with the remaining Grimm as we speak, and much of the square has already been rescued and evacuated. I understand we have you to thank for much of that, actually." While his honor guard continued past them to engage the remaining Grimm, Ironwood stopped next to them, and actually put a hand on Kassidy's shoulder. "Perhaps… perhaps I was wrong about you. You did well today, Kassidy. Why don't you meet up with the rest of your team in the center of the square? We'll take care of things from here."

When Kassidy, for lack of any better ideas, turned to the two people next to her, Emerald said, "You did good, Kass. Don't worry, we've got this."

Nodding in acceptance, Kassidy trudged back to the location of the breach, the past hour and a half crashing down hard as her adrenaline fell through. All along the way, she got a front-row seat to robots chasing down and exterminating monsters left and right, Huntsmen and Huntresses tackling the bigger monsters and helping people, civilians looking dirty and tired, a couple bloody, but all alive and thankful. A few pointed at her… but instead of jeering, or trying to get her killed, they applauded. A couple blew kisses, most shouted their joy and gratitude, and they all gave her their thanks. Her. "Is this a dream?" Kassidy muttered to herself.

"Nope," her favorite voice said, and it wasn't until Yang had wrapped her in a hug and she subconsciously reciprocated that she realized that she'd made it to the Square Plaza and met up with her team. They both sagged against each other, using one another to support their weights, and Yang mumbled, "We did it, K. We saved Vale."

"I still can't really believe it," Kassidy replied. "It just doesn't… it just doesn't seem real."

Ruby spoke up from her side. "It's real, Kass. So, how does it feel to be on the winning side?"

"She'll actually have a real good day by the time things are through with," Weiss offhandedly remarked. This prompted some confused questions from the rest of team, encouraging her to explain, "Well, I managed to get in touch with Doctor Narud. From what I heard, it sounds like he finally finished that serum to fix your soul and give you an Aura. He'll probably be busy for the next few hours, but we should be able to pick it up this evening."

Kassidy barked out a soft laugh. "Alright, now this definitely doesn't feel real." Still, as everyone crowded around – JNPR first, then teams Coffee, Carmine, Sun… Yang couldn't decide whether to growl or laugh when Ruby tackle-hugged Sun into a concrete planter. Goodwitch, Port, Oobleck, even Zwei. Everyone regrouped at the Square Plaza, presumably for new orders, and Kassidy was this close to breaking out in one of the biggest smiles ever.

Yang took notice. "I thought you'd be happy about this, K. We won, we beat the Grimm, we beat Torchwick, we beat the White Fang… from what I heard, there somehow aren't even any casualties."

"I want to be," Kassidy muttered. "I don't know, I guess I'm just kinda waiting for the other shoe to dro –"

Whenever she suddenly cut off and her eyes widened, Ruby asked, "Kass? What's wrong?"

"Anyone else feel that?" When a chorus of negatives were her reply, Kassidy scowled and thought her paranoia was acting up again. But then it happened again – the ground trembled slightly, so slightly that she probably would've missed it if she hadn't been looking for it. "Something's coming."

RWKY definitely attracted a bit of attention when they all simultaneously drew their weapons and started backing up, keeping their backs to the wall of one of the few buildings to escape ruination. One of the foreign students that Kassidy didn't recognize asked, "You guys daft? We won. What's got your panties all in a bunch?"

Instead of answering the slight, Yang replied, "If K says something is wrong, then something's wrong."

Kassidy felt the tremor again, but more than that, she heard it. They all did. She wheeled around, and in slow motion saw the store they were backed up against explode outwards. A Deathstalker came screaming out of the building, waving its claws angrily, and its carapace broken in half a dozen different places. But as soon as it emerged, its eyes focused on one thing, and its tail went shooting forward. Kassidy's heart, stomach, everything dropped when she saw who it was going for.

Yang.

She didn't have time to think. She didn't have time to draw her weapons, or talk with people, or anything. All she could do is beg her body to work with her once more, and take off in a dead sprint. She reached her girlfriend, who was only just now whirling around with wide eyes. Kassidy didn't dare slow down. Instead, she shoulder-tackled Yang, trying to knock them both out of the way. Yang went tumbling, falling out of the way of the golden stinger.

When Kassidy's stomach erupted in pain, she knew that the other shoe had dropped.

She felt herself get lifted off the ground, and it was now that she got a good luck at the precise situation. A black tail connected Kassidy to the Deathstalker, leading to the golden stinger impaled in her torso, which she could feel pumping its venom into her. All of its baleful red eyes locked onto her, and it screeched again. Her sword and pistol had tumbled out of their sheaths in the ordeal, leaving her completely defenseless. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, Kassidy figured the way to make the best out of the situation was giving it a cocky smirk and flipping it the bird. The tail contracted, reeling her in to try and bring her to its pincers.

It never got the chance. After all, it did make the completely moronic decision of basically pulling a Kool-Aid Man stunt right in front of twenty-odd Huntsmen and Huntresses, and every single one of them joined in making sure the Deathstalker could only quickly regret its decision. Kassidy slid off the stinger as the corpse went limp, falling the last five feet to the ground. "Ow," she wheezed.

"K!" Yang screamed, sliding on her knees right next to her. "Oh my Oum oh my Oum oh my Oum, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I should've paid attention, I should've… oh my Oum. Please don't die, please! I _just_ got back, I just got you back, don't die, please!"

"Wow, you can be _really_ dramatic when you want to be," Kassidy snarked. "Be a dear and help a girl up?"

Yang had ripped off her mangled cuirass at this point, and had pulled up the bottom half of Kassidy's shirt to reveal her stomach, colored less like skin and more like a collage of reds and purplish-black goop. "But," Yang sobbed, "You got poisoned, you… look at that!"

Kassidy put a hand on Yang's arm, finally getting her to halt the hysterics long enough to look at her. "Project Colossus, remember?" When Yang's eyes widened in understanding, Kassidy added, "One of the many benefits of being a freak of nature is complete immunity to poison."

"Even Grimm poison?" Yang asked, obviously still not calming down yet. Pointing down to her stomach as if that would prove her point, she added, "It's still spreading."

"Give me a break, woman," Kassidy stated with a roll of her eyes. "Even someone as awesome as I am needs time to work. Just watch, it'll go down any second now."

After five seconds, the Grimm poison had continued to spread.

"Any second now," Kassidy urged.

She was starting to get slightly concerned when it felt like something punched her in the face. Her head snapped back, and nausea suddenly found its grip in her psyche. "Alright, maybe something's up. Bob?"

"I can't use my medical module, but my best guess involves the fact that Deathstalker venom, in addition to being hilariously poisonous, has a pH of -2.3, greater than concentrated hydrochloric acid. Chances are, it's literally dissolving your immune system before it can neutralize the poison. Your biochemical defenses are still working, just… probably not quickly enough." After everyone had two seconds to let that information sink in, her computer suddenly added, "I advise remaining in a reclined position, and lowering your breathing and heartrate to minimize how quickly the poison can spread through your body."

"We're past that," Yang choked through tears. "Ruby, get Doctor Narud! Now!" Her girlfriend frantically pressed on her stomach, trying to do something – anything – to slow or stop the poison. Kassidy barely felt it. Wherever the poison spread, it felt like her nerves stopped working. Contrary to her imagined sensations of how being melted by acid would burn like nothing else, the venom was ice cold as it continued its relentless march. Suddenly, Yang cried, "It's slowing down! It's just… _fuck_ , it's already everywhere. Fuck, fuck, _fuck!_ Hang on, K!" Suddenly breaking down into tears, Yang sobbed, "You can't die on me, K. You can't. Don't leave me, please. I don't… I don't want to be left again."

"I'll… I'll do my best… Firecracker," Kassidy managed to get out. She was getting more and more tired, now, like sleep would be the sweetest thing ever. But she knew that if she went to sleep now, she'd never wake up. Still, if this was the end… "How about a kiss? For good luck?"

Yang dove down instantly, forceful and needy. Kassidy felt like the woman she loved was trying to suck her soul out through her mouth – not that she didn't try the same. The possibility was becoming more and more a probability that this would be the last thing she did. They won. They stopped the terrorists, stopped the Grimm, and saved Vale. Fuck yeah, she should get a chance to celebrate before she died.

"Out of my way! Move!"

The crowd parted instantly, and Yang's lips separated from hers as she sprung up and looked towards the source of the noise. Doctor Narud was on his knees next to Kassidy's prone form in an instant, and his hand found her forehead as he undoubtedly used his Semblance to hurry along a diagnosis.

"Her body… her body's fought the poison. I think it's been neutralized now," Narud exhaled, letting loose a sigh. Yang choked out a smile, but it died a painful death when she realized that it wasn't a sigh of relief. "The damage has been done. She wouldn't… She can't survive the journey to the nearest hospital." Several people gasped around her, and Narud's eyes shone with tears as they met her own. "I'm sorry, Miss Smith. There's nothing I can do. Maybe if you had an Aura –"

"Wait, an Aura?" Kassidy blinked and tried to fight through the increasingly muddled though processes to recognize the voice. It kinda sounded like Weiss'. Her eyes felt heavy again; she forced her eyes open. Who knows how many times she'd be able to do that. _As many times as I have to. Like hell I'm dying here._ "Didn't you say that you finished the serum? That you –"

"That's it!" Narud cried out, digging through his bag. "Please tell me I – there!"

"Hurry, doc," Yang urged. "She's fading on us. C'mon, K, please, stay with us! With me!"

Kassidy blinked again, trying to fight an increasingly uphill battle. She saw Narud's and Yang's lips moving, could see them talking, but suddenly couldn't hear the words. Something pinched her arm – or was she imagining that? She was getting tired, so tired. Surely falling asleep couldn't be that bad, could it? Sleep cures everything.

Her eyes were forced wide open when Yang's Aura erupted around her, and crimson eyes looked into her – no, through her. A gauntleted hand was placed on her shoulder. Kassidy couldn't help but be riveted by the scene. Yang was covered in flames, a veritable inferno rising up from her. The woman she loved tried to speak, but broke down in tears. Kassidy couldn't understand. Was she trying to do something? Yang tried a second time, but broke down even quicker. Kassidy's eyes started closing of their own accord now. She tried to fight. Yang was fighting for her; she couldn't give up, not now. She didn't want to leave! Not yet! Things had just started to go so right for her! She'd found love! She needed to…

Everything Kassidy thought of, everything she tried, fled away from her. In their place was Yang's voice. Where she could hear absolutely nothing earlier, now her girlfriend's voice – terse and strained, yet somehow at the same time confident and sure – was everything she could hear.

"For it is through perseverance that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become paragons of strength and might to stand against all. Infinite in potential and unbound by fear, I release your soul, and by my hand… unleash thee."

Where it felt like her blood had been replaced by ice water, Kassidy instinctually screamed as liquid fire flowed through her. The cold she used to enjoy, that was moments away from cradling her to a deep sleep, fled away as pure heat and fire and energy replaced it. She felt… Kassidy felt incredible. Like she could take on anything. And then, that fled away too. Washed away like the waves breaking on the beach. One by one, bit by bit, everything faded away. Kassidy wasn't in pain. She wasn't upset. She wasn't doing or feeling anything.

She was.

And then, she slept.

* * *

 **AN 2: Alright, so, there's a bunch and a half I want to write about, but it'd be more appropriate to save it for the next chapter's Author's Note. So I will. Expect a** _ **long**_ **AN next chapter.**

 **Coming up next: The end of Volume II.**

 **Right after these reviewer responses.**

 **EWR115: I'm getting there, I'm getting there. There's only so much space I have to write in, and the 1911… honestly wouldn't have made much of an impact, to the point of I'd need to shoehorn it in to so much as mention it. Here's to hoping Torchdick got what was coming to him.**

 **AgentDraakis: Yeah, I've definitely had those. I've also had those D &D sessions where the Rogue also happened to be an off-tank because he never not rolled a max roll on his hit dice whenever he levelled up. That was a rogue. Not necessarily mine. I like to think I've done a halfway decent job with Blake myself, but here's to hoping I can keep doing that. Torchdick dying? I hope so. I guess we'll find out here in about ten days or so.**

 **FloriteFlower: Do not worry, I do not have it in for redheads everywhere. Just redheads at most places.**


	82. V2C24: She Who Refused to Die

**V2C24: She Who Refused To Die**

 **AN: And with this, we return to Monday uploads once every two weeks. Sorry, guys, but school's back in full force; I can't devote the time to this that I'd like to.**

 **I'll leave everything for the second Author's Note at the end. Now, onwards, to the end of Volume 2!**

 **Also, friendly reminder: every single one of you who said something voted for weird. This is your fault.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

 _Am… am I dead?_

 _No, but you're dying._

Kassidy couldn't decide what was stranger: that she woke up in some sort of ether-like place, completely alone with nothing but darkness in all directions… or that someone (something?) just answered her mentally-asked question, with that answer also being given in her head.

 _Where am I? And who are you?_

 _Hell if I know. Looks like you figured things out before I did, but it shouldn't be long before I join you._

 _You still haven't told me who you are. Or how you can read my thoughts. Or how you can answer my thoughts, in my thoughts._

"Be patient, I'm getting there."

Kassidy jumped at the sudden verbally-given answer, whirling around at the sound which seemed to come from behind. Nothing greeted her at first, but then the sound of footsteps could be heard. As if the darkness that surrounded everything and kept her blind was nothing more than an impossibly thick fog, a person stepped out of it. A person that she could recognize instantly, despite never having met her before.

"So, I don't suppose you're… like, some sort of sentient or magical mirror, are you?" Kassidy asked.

"Nope," Kassidy answered. "As to one of your earlier questions: I'm you. Well, a part of you, anyway."

Kassidy stared at her mirror image for a few seconds, before deadpanning, "Please tell me you plan on explaining that some."

"Where there's a sentience, there's a mind. You – we – have two sentiences, a byproduct of Project Colossus. Therefore,"

"We have two minds," Kassidy finished, interrupted her mirror image. "So… which one are you? Actually, which one am I, for that matter?"

"I'm the spine," her alter-ego announced.

"This… kinda feels like something I should've already known," Kassidy hedged. "Guess I've never given it much thought before." When her other self simply huffed, Kassidy brought back up the one thing that was said earlier that absolutely concerned her. "You said we're dying? What's going on? Where are we, even?"

"Doctor Narud gave us the serum to restore our soul and unlock our Aura," she explained, "but it was imperfect and hastily administered. It's causing us all sorts of problems now."

"What kind of problems?" Kassidy demanded.

"Near as I can tell, we're in a coma," herself explained. "Our Aura has been activated, courtesy of Yang, but Colossus won't die so easily. Now, we lay trapped here in some sort of… hmm, my best guess is a sort of pocket dimension? All I know about this place for sure is that it doesn't actually exist."

"Some sort of mental construct, for us to hash things out while we're fighting for our life?" Kassidy offered.

"Either that, or some sort of astral dimensional plane. I like your answer better, though," she admitted. "Not like either of us are experts on things that don't actually exist. At any rate, we're trapped here. Meanwhile, our body's at war with itself. Our Aura continues to try and 'heal' us at a frantic and ever-increasing pace, trying to exert its will over our body and rewrite our genetic sequence to some semblance of normality. At the same time, our augmentations are wasting resources to delete and reform the altered genetic sequences, all while manufacturing increasingly lethal toxins to try and destroy our Aura the same way it did last time."

"That doesn't sound particularly healthy," Kassidy hedged.

Her other self nodded in agreement. "This Aura stuff is proving to be quite resilient; neither 'side' of ourselves seems to be capable of winning. If nothing's done, they'll destroy our body and kill us both in their attempts to exert sole dominion over us."

Kassidy hummed in thought for a moment. "I don't know about you, but I didn't take a poisoned gut shot for my girlfriend, just to commit the world's most technically complicated suicide ever. How do we get our body to stop trying to murder itself? Can we get both… err, sides? to work together to stop this nonsense?"

Her other self shook her head. "Aura and Colossus are mutually exclusive. One must die at the hands of the other, for neither can live while the other survives."

"Okay…" Kassidy said, mentally going over the situation. "That's not ominous at all. So, I guess we decide which one we want? And then… how do we even change anything from in here?"

Suddenly, her doppelganger grew a predatory, borderline terrifying grin. "Oh, don't worry. You won't have to do a thing."

"Why not?" Kassidy asked. She was about to pat herself down for any of her concealed weapons, before nearly facepalming at the realization that she wouldn't have any here.

Faster than Kassidy could blink, her other self dashed forward in a blazing burst of speed, slugging her right in the jaw and sending her flying. After collapsing how many dozens of feet later and rolling to a halt, Kassidy was clambering back to her feet when her other self answered, "Because I'm going to kill you."

"What is up with everyone and their mothers trying to kill me recently?" Kassidy growled. "Seriously, I've got a mental construct trying to do me in, now? This is getting ridiculous even by my standards." She rubbed her jaw from where she'd been punched. She instinctually knew that she got hit with the equivalent of a small car doing twenty miles an hour… but not only was her jaw not in a billion different pieces, her head was still attached to her shoulders. Honestly, despite the fact that it stung like a bitch, Kassidy couldn't tell that she'd gotten hurt in the slightest.

"For sixteen goddamned years, I've been kept locked in a damn box. While you used me to solve your problems." Not-Kassidy's eyes glazed over, almost like she'd lost her focus… or like she's in the middle of a chemical rush. "When you weren't smart enough, you asked me for a hand. When you weren't strong enough, you tagged me in, begging me to manipulate your biochemistry to give you the strength you needed. You used me, needed me. And what was the thanks I get?" Her other self spat at her feet. "From the instant I had developed enough to become my own mind, I've been your fucking slave.

"So, here's how this is going to work: I'm going to kill you, I'm going to expel your Aura, and then I'm going to assume command of what should have been mine in the first place and fix all the problems you were too _weak_ to solve." Not-Kassidy dropped into a boxer's stance, and declared, "I am the true Colossus. Before me, all shall be defeated. And I shall be free. I will be your slave no longer!"

"You're me, dumbass. If I die, you die too," Kassidy argued, while at the same time not really believing the words herself. Still, if the newly identified Colossus wanted to go a few rounds? Kassidy tried to square up, tried to force her body to comply with her demands. She had the same tricks up her sleeve that Colossus did.

"Hah! That's cute! What, you think that just because we share the same body, that we can do the same things?" Colossus shook her head. "If you think I'm going to help you by giving you your adrenal surges, then do me a favor and sit there nice and still. I might even do you a favor and make this quick."

Kassidy only had time to blink before she had to dive out of the way of Colossus' charge, dodging a punch that cratered the non-existent floor. Okay, now this was getting to be bad. Sure, _she_ knew how to kill herself, but that knowledge meant fuck all if she was supposed to fight a version of her that could bench-press a sedan, and without being able to rely on her own body at that. _Alright, need to think this through. Colossus seems to be… well, a manifestation of the Project Colossus augmentations. Anything I can do with my chemical rushes, it'll probably be safe to say she can do. So what the hell do I have, again?_ The realization came as she narrowly avoided getting her ribs all pulverized: if Colossus was the manifestation of, well, Colossus… didn't she say that there were two of them? Colossus and…

A deep, dark blue burst forth from Kassidy, and this time, instead of trying to desperately avoid Colossus' attack, she grabbed her arm and snapped her other self's elbow like a dry twig before shoving her back. Kassidy was confused for a moment, but almost in a manner frighteningly similar to how this whole ordeal started, the answer came to her almost instantly.

If Colossus was her augmentations, then she was her Aura. The light of her soul made manifest, if the quasi-religious viewpoint could be believed. Even now, for as dark as her light was, it was still light, and the impossibly dark fog that surrounded the two of them was pushed back slightly.

Her alter-ego was quick to return fire, however. After snapping her elbow back into place, she sprinted forward incredibly – impossibly – quickly and threw a haymaker. Kassidy tried to block it, feeling her confidence surging, but was immediately disappointed to find that even with this glowing Aura surrounding her, she was hopelessly overpowered. All she could do was get punched a few dozen yards, and groan and stumble to her feet, though she did notice the dark blue light focus around her arm, before making the darkening bruise fade absurdly quickly. Kassidy should've been missing an arm at the absolute minimum, but once again came out of the ordeal more pissed off than anything else, a state of being she could probably attribute to her Aura at this point.

"This is going to be annoying," Colossus mumbled. "Congrats, you've got a glowy blue light surrounding you. I – we – have killed people with Aura before. You'll be no different. After all, I'm the pinnacle of genetic research and human evolution. I'm the Colossus. And you're… only human."

"Starting to realize why I must've left you locked up," Kassidy grumbled. Okay, things were slightly less bad, but Colossus did raise a good point: this was still a losing fight. Sure, she might be able to keep up now, but Colossus was still far, far stronger than she was, and probably had better stamina, too. This Aura stuff could probably protect her for a little while, she was pretty sure, but it would break eventually. What else could it do?

Kassidy was starting to regret completely ignoring Professor Goodwitch when she started the part of the lectures involving the manipulation of one's soul. But in her defense, how was she supposed to know that she'd ever get an Aura in the first place? Never mind that she'd use that information to fight an astral representation of herself in a battle to the death to decide which aspect of her personality got to walk around in her body. Or something. Honestly, she's still trying to figure that part out, herself.

"Trying to figure out how you'll use your newfound power to beat me?" Colossus taunted. "Spoiler alert: you won't. Your _friends_ aren't here to help you. You're all alone. Y'know… maybe when I finally get out of this place, I'll teach them a few lessons in what happens when you get in my way. Bah, distractions, the lot of them."

"Alright, I _know_ you did not just threaten my team," Kassidy growled, voice freely dripping venom.

"And if I did? You're just a dumb girl trying to play god. I'm the only reason you ever amounted to anything more than a corpse. Yes, I'll kill them if I have to. What're you going to do about it?"

Almost as if perfectly timed to answer Colossus' question, the fog around them ignited into a roiling firestorm, flames licking out at them and hedging them in. Kassidy knew she didn't do it, and judging from the way that the fires had seemed to be lashing out at Colossus in particular, she was pretty sure that her alter ego wasn't responsible, either. Then, she felt it: more Aura, and she could _feel_ that it wasn't her's. Maybe their fight here was having consequences to her actual body? Either way, she knew what was going on: Yang. Yang was doing something, and it was showing up here. Kassidy smiled at the reminder that these days, no matter what, no matter where, she never seemed to be on her own anymore.

Kassidy liked to think of herself as a quick study when she wanted to be, and she liked to think she proved it when she managed to figure out how to use her Aura to decrease the friction between her feet and the nonexistent ground. Before Colossus could get her bearings and figure out what was going on, Kassidy glided towards her as if on a giant ice rink, skating by on her heel and burying a roundhouse kick in Colossus' gut. Her alter ego lashed out in retaliation, but she simply glided back.

"What am I going to do about it?" Kassidy replied. "I'm going to kill you. Yeah, you're the astral manifestation of Project Colossus, or some such metaphysical bullshit. So what? I mean, I'm the most intelligent, capable person alive. I'm not playing god."

Kassidy once again envisioned herself on an imaginary ice rink, and once again the dark blue light surged to her heels, reducing friction to a negligible level. Before she took off, she felt her Aura flow into her hands as well.

"All this time, I've been playing human."

* * *

One might think waking up from a coma would be a gradual, slow process. For Kassidy, however, this was not the case. She coughed, sputtered, and tried to sit up – tried being the operative word. Before she could lift herself more than a couple inches, her entire body positively _screamed_ in agony, and she only barely kept from screaming herself as she screwed her eyes shut again and tried to blink the pain and the tears back. It was while she was like this that she felt that whatever she coughed up landed back on her lips; when she opened her eyes again, she found that an oxygen mask was the culprit.

She also saw multiple sets of hands push down on her, to try and keep her lying flat on whatever it was she was laying. The only pair of arms she paid attention to, however, belonged to her favorite blonde. Yang's eyes, both rimmed in red and sporting red irises, widened and began to sparkle when their eyes locked. Suddenly, she shouted, "K! YOU'RE AWAKE!" in a thunderous voice that Kassidy was pretty sure made her half-deaf.

Kassidy tried to voice her displeasure, but her throat was incredibly parched and she found herself unable to make any sound other than a pained rasping. She tried a few more times to speak, but failed to make any meaningful sound. Still, Yang seemed to get the idea, and left only as long as it took to get a small cup of water for her. Kassidy greedily downed the whole thing seemingly in one massive draft, then began to say, "Yang! I'm – ugh!" Once again, the volume was deafeningly loud, and Kassidy would've clamped her hands over her ears, if they were capable of making the journey without causing extreme pain. Instead, Kassidy had to lower her voice until it felt like it was a whisper, and settle for, "Why is everything so loud? Why are we shouting?"

"But we aren't…" Yang began, her voice quieter but still uncomfortably loud, but her girlfriend then turned her gaze to the third person in the room. Kassidy shifted her gaze to follow suit, just in time to see Doctor Narud nod his head. Yang winced, before apologizing, "Sorry, K. Didn't know if they were working quite yet."

Kassidy's eyebrows scrunched in confusion, but Narud interrupted quickly – too quickly, she thought, before instantly squashing that idea as paranoid. "Never you mind that," the doctor said. Oddly, despite the fact that it sounded like both him and Yang were whispering, it still sounded like they were having a comfortable conversation across a decently sized room. "Well… that took a while, and will definitely be worth appearances in a medical textbook or two. But it looks like we did it. Welcome back to the land of the living, Miss Smith."

"Glad to be back," Kassidy sighed. For the moment, she decided to attribute the higher volumes to be some kind of side-effect of her mental brawl with herself… god _damn_ could she throw a punch when she was 'roided out. Her right hand started lazily waving around, and it took her a few tries to find Yang's hand. Squeezing as tightly as she dared, she shot a smirk up before tacking on, "Glad to see you're safe, Firecracker."

Yang's brows furrowed for a moment, just a moment. She quickly gave up with a sigh, however, and explained, "I want to be so, so mad at you for pulling that stunt you did, and then being worried about _me_. I just… I'm glad you're doing better now, too. But _fuck_ if you haven't had us all worried."

"I'm in trouble later, aren't I?" Kassidy asked. When Yang solemnly nodded, Kassidy couldn't help but feel that her ordeal wasn't quite over yet. Turning over to the room's third occupant, if only to distract herself from her impending doom, she asked, "So, I get the feeling that I might have skipped a few classes. What all have I missed?"

Before Narud could say anything, Kassidy could hear a panicked cry of "Kass!" blare through the hallways outside, harsh enough to make her wince. Yang and Narud must've heard it also, because they both took what could almost be described as blocking positions by the door. Surely enough, they had to restrain a mass of rose petals that nearly busted the door open, and before Kassidy could blink Ruby was struggling against the two of them to try and get herself planted on terra firma again. "How is she? Is she okay?! You said there was –"

"Easy, Rubes," Yang murmured, quiet enough that Kassidy had to strain a little bit to hear it. "Why don't you ask her yourself? Just keep quiet for now, okay? You know those… yeah, they're working now."

"Are they?" a fourth and fifth voice both asked, and surely enough both Weiss and Professor Goodwitch entered the room as well. Both their eyes settled on her… or, more specifically, on what seemed to be a point just above her head. Goodwitch adjusted her gaze to meet Kassidy's, and softly said, "Good to see you awake, Miss Smith. I must admit, you've had many of us worried for a good while, there."

"Ahem, yes, right. Anyway, as I was about to say before I was interrupted," Narud began, eyes narrowing as they passed over Ruby and Weiss, "It's been five days since the Breach, as the battle you all fought has been called now. We managed to stabilize you somewhat, but by the time we got you back to Beacon you were already in a coma. Over those five days –"

"Bullshit happened," Yang interrupted, giving a cheeky grin that swiftly withered away when Narud glared at her.

He let the glare drop quickly, however. "Much as those wouldn't be my choice of words… yes, 'bullshit' is actually an apt descriptor. For a good couple days, your augmentations and your newly-unlocked Aura actually worked cooperatively, giving you what amounted to the single most fascinating and absurd healing factor I've ever seen outside of comic-book land. Despite the fact that both your lungs were punctured, and the vast majority of your abdomen was more or less gone entirely, you managed to heal up to near ideal form in roughly sixty hours."

"You said that my augmentations and Aura were incompatible with each other, though," Kassidy interjected. "Why do I get the feeling that things got decidedly more lethal for me whenever I healed up?"

"Probably because they did," Narud answered, scratching his chin. "It's like your body went to war with itself – or maybe like an autoimmune condition, multiplied a thousand-fold. Your body tried to go back to its tried-and-true methods of increasingly lethal poisons to get rid of your Aura – I didn't even know the human body could _make_ stuff like that. And your Aura was, if anything, even more vicious.

"Things came to a head only twenty minutes ago, believe it or not. All of a sudden, you dropped into cardiac arrest. Now, we had no idea what to do the past couple days of watching this happen, and we certainly had no idea of how to fix this or even what was causing it, but we still tried what we can. While I was informing two of your teammates, Yang – who happened to be at your bedside at this time – started transferring some of her Aura to you, in an effort to give you what you needed to save yourself."

"She did," Kassidy butt in. "I thought that was her." When her murmurings were met with incredulous stares, Kassidy delayed with, "That's something I don't even want to try and explain for a good while – mostly because I'm still trying to figure out what the hell just happened. Although…" Kassidy closed her eyes and focused, trying to bring back that feeling she got during her mental cage match to make her Aura appear. She ignored the hastened cries of those around her to not strain herself, and was rewarded a few seconds later with a deep, dark blue erupting from her skin and casting the hospital room in strange shadows. Kassidy opened her eyes and weakly laughed twice. "So it was real. That actually did happen. You… you did it, doc."

"Never let it be said that I don't know what I'm doing," Narud said with a smirk.

Kassidy raised an eyebrow, letting the blue glow fade. "Didn't you say that you didn't know what you were doing not three minutes ago, when you were talking about my body trying to kill itself?"

Narud coughed into his hand, getting a smirk out of Glynda of all people, before his face hardened suddenly. "While you'll still be here a while so that we can make sure you're on the path to recovery, I do believe it's time to address the Goliath in the room. Miss Smith…" His head tilted back and forth, like he was trying to figure out how to word this. "While we still need to figure out exactly what happened and changed with your body, there were some very _significant_ and _obvious_ changes that you should know."

Kassidy raised her eyebrow again. "Such as?"

"Well… here, let me just show you." With that, Narud reached behind him and grabbed a hand mirror, bringing it around so Kassidy could get a good look at herself. To be frank, she looked like shit, and that wasn't the scars talking. But that wasn't what Kassidy had noticed. No, what she noticed, were a pair of blonde-colored triangles poking out of the top of her head, almost shaped like cat ears.

"Ha, ha, very funny. Yang's doing, I take it?" Kassidy asked with a roll of her eyes. Reaching up, she added on, "Okay, cat ear headbands aside, what's the – ow!"

Her hand recoiled as she yelped, shying away from the stinging sensation at the top of her head. Through cracked eyes, she even got to bear witness to them flattening… right against… her… head.

Almost as if to mock her, the blonde triangles perked back up, with the one on the left going so far as to flick towards the mirror.

"What. The. Fuck?" Kassidy managed to get out.

"That's… that's honestly what we're still trying to figure out," Narud said. Kassidy didn't pay much attention to what he said, on account of coming to terms with the fact that she now had double the number of ears she started with.

"Okay, yup, nope. I have a high tolerance for bullshit, but we just went past that limit. Is Bob here?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," her computer replied from somewhere outside of Kassidy's vision. "Glad to see you awake, by the way."

"Thanks," Kassidy got out. "Alright, Bob. You're the smart one here, and the one with two planets' worth of knowledge and learning at their fingertips. Answers. Explanations. Details. Now."

"Okay, well, for starters, this obviously has never happened before, so you'll need to bear with me and know that everything I have so far is little more than an educated guess," the AI began. "As best as I can tell, the Project Colossus researchers actually drew quite heavily from what appear to be panther genetic sequences as inspiration – I think they even spliced a bit of the stuff in."

"And how does that lead to any of this?"

"I'm getting there. As you no doubt remember, Aura can heal by trying to restore a body to its natural state, and it can do the same to your genetic sequences."

Kassidy interrupted again. "Last I checked, having four ears isn't a natural state for a person."

" _On Earth_ ," Bob stressed. "However, on Remnant, there aren't just humans around."

"So…" Kassidy drawled, trying to put the pieces together in her head. "My Aura basically turned me into a Faunus?"

"Near as I can tell," Bob confirmed, "it saw the panther genetic sequences, decided 'eh, close enough', and went to work from there."

Kassidy took a deep breath. Then she took another one. Just when everyone thought that she was calmly accepting this new state of affairs, she said, "Bob… I don't think you know, but I just got locked in a mental construct or astral plane or whatever, and had a cage deathmatch with the physical… astral… whatever embodiment of Project Colossus. I find _that_ to be far, far more believable than everything you just told me." She took another breath, then added on, "I know I haven't given the subject too much study, but even I know for a fact that this is _not_ how biology works."

"I'm sorry, and what part of you before this was a prime reflection of how biology worked?"

"As fascinating as this argument is," Goodwitch interrupted, before casting a glance at Kassidy, "and believe me, Miss Smith, I am _very_ interested in what you just said, I'm afraid I'll need to make the rather unpopular decision and remind everyone that Miss Smith still needs her rest."

All of her teammates started complaining (vehemently in Yang's case) about the decision, but Kassidy honestly couldn't see fault in the logic. Mentally, it felt like she just got out of a fifteen minute long fight for her life. Physically… it felt like she just got out of a five day long fight for her life. Even if she just woke up, she was already dead tired. Still, she couldn't give up without complaining herself, and despite the fondness she felt for her other two teammates, there was really only one thing she wanted right now. "Can Yang stay?" she asked.

Narud and Goodwitch were both about to explain exactly why it would be a bad idea for her to stay, but stopped as they saw the way their hands tightened together, and how their eyes locked on each other's. With a sigh, Narud answered, "Only if she doesn't cause you any stress or discomfort – of any kind."

"She won't," Kassidy assured. She was only able to get the room to herself and her partner with many, many promises – first to Ruby and Weiss to let them know how things were going the instant she was able to, and second to the adults to make sure she got the rest she needed. After a few minutes, however, everyone managed to leave the room, leaving her girlfriend seated in the chair next to her. Yang seemed like she was trying to get herself more comfortable in the chair when Kassidy rolled her eyes and asked, "What are you waiting for?"

Nervous, Yang asked, "Waiting for what?"

"Bed's got room for two, silly." Kassidy shuffled over as best as she could, giving Yang enough space to crawl up with her. As Yang chuckled and dragged the covers back over the two of them, Kassidy tacked on, "It's been a hell of a week. You fell down a hole, got captured, Grimm blew shit up, I got stabbed and grew an extra pair of ears…"

"It's been a hell of a week," Yang softly agreed. Kassidy could feel a pair of strong arms wrap around her, and she settled into the comfortably warm body behind her. "I'm glad everything looks like it's gonna come out just fine, though. I'm glad you're safe… Kitten."

"Kitten?" Kassidy asked. She felt Yang's chuckles reverberate through her chest, and she adjusted her head. "Mm. Your boobs make nice pillows." This got a bout of snorting laughter out from her girlfriend that Kassidy couldn't help but share in, but she still couldn't keep from adding, "I'm glad you're safe too, Firecracker."

They murmured a few more statements of relief and gratitude, and settled down to get some much needed rest. Kassidy, in particular, could feel the warmth, the even movements of her girlfriend's chest, and felt perfectly safe and at peace. So much so, that she felt a bit of pressure in her own chest. Acting instinctually, she eased the pressure –

She shot up at the grumbling noise. Well, tried to, at any rate, as her body again adamantly voiced its complaint to sudden movement. Yang, too, heard the noise and raised her head up. Kassidy's attempt to figure out what the hell just happened, however, ended when Yang started laughing. "Did you just," Yang began, still fighting her giggles. "Did you just purr?"

"Did I just…" Kassidy trailed off, before she remembered what happened just prior. Her face turned beet red as she lowered her head back down, and grumbled, "Oh come on. What the hell is even going on, anymore?"

"I don't know," Yang admitted. "But I'll be there right with you to figure things out. Help you when you need it. Definitely be there to point and laugh, if nothing else." Kassidy groaned while Yang chuckled, but her girlfriend changed tones again by settling down in the hospital bed. "I love you, K."

"I love you too, Yang," Kassidy answered back. And with that, she collapsed back, and drifted off to the sweetest sleep she's had in years.

* * *

 **AN 2: Like I said, your fault.**

 **So, let me start off this mega Author's Note with a HAPPY ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY, TEAM ROOKIE! If you don't mind, let's see what all we've managed to do in a year, shall we?**

 **82 chapters, or one every four and a half days. As of the time I'm writing this, 74,079 views, or just shy of 203 views a day. 156 favorites, or one every 2.4 days. 200 follows (and congrats to kittymadness732 for being our 200** **th** **follow!), or one every 1.8 days. 423 reviews, or a little more than one a day. And we're a part of two communities (not counting the one we have here!). Let's also not forget 362,329 words split over somewhere in the neighborhood of six hundred pages.**

 **I mean… wow. Wow. I never cease to be humbled and amazed at the kind of response this story's gotten. As a wimpy nerd who never left his apartment and didn't do a whole lot, I've turned into… a wimpy nerd who never leaves his apartment but now writes a whole bunch, as well as occasionally doing schoolwork also. But the fact that I have managed to entertain so many people for such a length of time… it means a lot to me. It means a lot to know that I can make something that so many other people can regularly enjoy.**

 **So let me give a big shout-out to all of you, the readers of Team Rookie. While there are several reasons that I keep writing, you all are by far the biggest one. It has been a treat and a real honor to be able to interact with all of you the way that I have. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for sticking with me this far, and here's to hoping I can keep you hooked for a good while longer.**

 **Where to from here? I… honestly don't really know. Interlude Two has always been the haziest in terms of an actual plan, and while I'm sure I can come up with some content, I'm not really sure what all's gonna happen. Definitely an action section to replace Grimm Eclipse (sorry, as much as I enjoy playing it from time to time… it seriously needs a better story). I've got a blurb on our favorite AI in the works. And fluff. The vast majority of the interlude will have fluff of some kind. We're gonna need it before we hit Volume Three and RWKY turns into discount Game of Thrones (not really (maybe kinda?)).**

 **But for now, I think I'll let you all go at this point. Again, thank you so much for sticking with this story as long as you have. I'm so glad I've been able to entertain you thus far, and here's to a long, long time of further entertainment.**

 **And now, our Reviewer Responses.**

 **EWR115: Still unknown as to Roman's whereabouts. Wherever he is, however, it's probably safe to assume he's in a lot of pain at the moment.**

 **FloriteFlower: Damn, sucks about your laptop, sorry to hear that. Yeah, a full year. Can hardly believe it myself. So glad I've been able to entertain you for a year.**

 **Tykene: So glad you've enjoyed it! Here's to hoping I can keep putting out work that you like!**


	83. I2C1: Frostbite

**Interlude 2 Chapter 1: Frostbite**

 **AN: Welcome to the second interlude, folks! This one will be occurring over the course of six weeks in the RWKYverse.**

 **And since I went WAY overboard writing this, I'm going to just skip any form of Author's Note and just let you guys dive on in.**

* * *

(Perspective: Weiss)

It was official: her life couldn't _possibly_ get more confusing than it already has.

As easy as it would be to admit, it wasn't just from one of her friend's… changes, let's say. Especially when those changes involved your friend growing an extra pair of ears literally overnight. Especially when your father's voice keeps chanting away where you keep it hidden away as best you can, when his voice keeps telling you about how she's an _animal_ now and that she can't be trusted. This, however, was not enough on its own to faze Weiss Schnee.

It would be equally easy to admit that the confusion stemmed from the frantic pace of life these days. Here they were, a mere two weeks after the most damaging attack on Vale in recent history (even if the Breach miraculously claimed no civilian lives), studying for exams and picking up the pace of their studies and training and everything else for the Vytal Festival Tournament, to occur in a mere six weeks' time. And while yes, Weiss' days were indeed busier than they have been in quite some time, they still weren't enough to nearly make her throw up her hands and say, 'I quit life'.

Frustration, while also being a key component of her bewilderment, was similarly not the primary culprit. And she _was_ frustrated. Never since before Beacon, when she was still in her father's clutches in Atlas, had she felt so alone. Oh, sure, she was still surrounded by her friends, her teammates and team Juniper and several other acquaintances. But that was all they ever were: acquaintances. Even her team, Ruby and Kassidy and Yang, the people she felt closest to and held in great regard and sisterly affection, were still little more people she shared a room with. Sisters-in-arms, yes. Confidants and dear friends, yes. But nothing more.

She saw everything: how much Ruby was going out to spend time with Sun (much to Yang's admittedly humorous frustration), the looks in their eyes as Kassidy and Yang gazed at each other, the annoyingly sweet nothings they murmured in their shared bed that they thought she couldn't hear. Hell, even Jaune and Pyrrha, Ren and Nora seemed to have started spending more time together, and everyone except the budding couples in question knew exactly what was going on. But she, Weiss Schnee, heiress to the most powerful company on the planet, did not have that. Nobody that was particularly special to her. Nobody to spend the best – and worst – of moments with. Nobody that she could call her own, for all that such relationships would still only be in their earliest, most tentative, and most fragile of stages at this time in their lives. But no, even this frustration was not what was truly bothering her at this moment.

The straw that had finally broken the camel's back, as Kassidy would put it, was the sight that Weiss now had before her. Namely, the sight of Kassidy Smith herself, on hands and knees, positively gasping for air. Kassidy Smith. Completely and totally exhausted. _Fifteen minutes_ into their training session! It completely boggled Weiss' mind. In front of her was the one person in Beacon with literally peerless conditioning. Usually, training sessions drove her, Ruby, and Yang into the ground, while Kassidy simply shrugged and finished the day off with a good half-hour of running. A far cry from the girl that could currently be easily bested by some kid in a combat academy like Signal.

Of course, everyone in the room noticed. Ruby was watching the scene with a frown, but it was the team's other blonde that was stepping forward to address the situation. "C'mon, K," she reasoned. "I _told_ you it was too early. You shouldn't be pushing yourself."

The two blonde triangles of fur – _the mark of an animal, the mark of_ – twitched at the sound, and Kassidy turned her head towards Yang, the former having thankfully gotten used to her newly heightened sense of hearing in what seemed like record time. While Weiss berated herself for the mental slip-up, because Kassidy was _not_ an animal, the kneeling girl in front of her managed to get out, "It's been two weeks, Yang." She fought for more breath before adding, "I can't remember the last time I went this long without getting _some_ kind of exercise or training in. Two weeks is plenty long enough for recovery."

"Most people don't take two weeks to recover from nearly being torn in half, then being poisoned and dropping into a coma!" Yang screeched. She wandered over to her partner and helped her to her feet, also taking the effort to send some of her Aura over to try and help Kassidy recover quicker. "They take a lot longer. A _lot_ longer! You're not ready for this!"

By this point, Kassidy finally managed to clamber back to her feet. "Bob says I'm ready for this, Narud said I'm ready for this… literally the only person who think I'm not ready is you," Kassidy argued. She caught a thrown water bottle, courtesy of their team leader, before saying, "We knew that I wasn't going to be in top shape immediately. Much as I hate the thought, Colossus was really, _really_ useful."

"I know," Yang sighed. "But –"

"Yang," Kassidy interrupted. "Exactly how many 125 pound girls do you know of that can trade punches with you? Or outrun Ruby?" Shaking her head, she added, "If I understood the notes correctly, a bunch of how my muscles behaved wasn't how they're supposed to. I'm gonna need time to build up my muscle mass and conditioning if I want to be back where I used to be. We've been over this."

"I know," Yang whined. Then she actually _pouted_ , "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

All three of them were treated to the sight of Yang Xiao Long _pouting_. Weiss was pretty sure that, out of the corner of her eye, Ruby was fumbling her Scroll to try and get a picture. She waited a few moments, long enough to allow her partner to take that picture (and she made a mental note to ask for a copy later), but then promptly intervened. After all, this was _her_ training session with Kassidy, and they'd wasted enough time as is. She laid a hand on Yang's shoulder and reasoned, "Come, now, you're taking up our training time. The experts all agreed that Kassidy's body had managed to heal. At this point, all she needs is plenty of work to get back to top physical form. That means a lot of workouts, and I think we all know that you're going to be her workout partner for the vast majority of the time."

"Ain't that right," Kassidy cut in. "I'm _fine_ , Yang, honest." With a little more grumbling, the blonde oaf that wasn't in the middle of a training session finally backed off, allowing Weiss and the blonde oaf that _was_ in the middle of a training session the room they needed to get back to work. Kassidy stood about a dozen feet in front of her and asked, "You want to keep hammering away on my footwork, or want to do something else?"

Weiss was about to answer in the affirmative, but stopped herself when she inadvertently glanced at the sword still sheathed on her back, over her left shoulder. And the pistol still holstered at her hip. And the knife sheathed at her boot. And another knife on her hip. And a _third_ knife behind her right shoulder. Weiss had meant to get to this at some point today… and it might be her curiosity getting the better of her, but Weiss had even started rationalizing the decision before shaking her head at Kassidy. "Maybe later. For now, how about a quick spar? It should help me better gauge where you need the most work."

Kassidy nodded, and brought her left hand over her shoulder, but made no move to draw her blade. As she's taken up recently, she seems more than comfortable in letting her opponents make the first move, trusting her reactions to be able to counter whatever it is that's thrown at her. Weiss drew her blade fully, letting the rapier hum in her grasp. If she didn't know any better, then she'd be tempted to say that she should beat Kassidy easily, even with taking things easy. Kassidy had a mere fraction of the strength and stamina she enjoyed with her augmentations. They'd measured her reaction time, and found it to be more than twice as long as it used to be. Weiss held nearly every advantage imaginable.

Which made it all the more chilling to know that if this was an actual fight, Weiss would still lose. Horribly. Kassidy didn't seem to realize, but the stunt she pulled in the train took the entire team's dynamic and threw it out the window.

Ruby was their team leader, a tactical prodigy with greater mastery over her scythe than some full-fledged Hunters do over a sword, and at this point was easily capable of supersonic speeds. Weiss was cunning and ruthless, second to none in her precision and peered only with Pyrrha in her ability to assume control over a battle. Yang was… Yang, a force of nature and veritable goddess of war that one could only hope to survive. And every. Single. One of them had lost their fights. Horribly. Ruby had been thoroughly trashed, and in fact was only alive because a mysterious woman arrived to save her. Weiss had been similarly beaten, and was similarly only alive because of a savior. Yang had been captured, chained to a wall and doomed to die, if not for one person.

Kassidy Smith. The oft-derided weakest fighter in Beacon. The Auraless girl that had a worse record in Professor Goodwitch's class than _Jaune Arc_. She had no Aura and no Semblance. She had no formal education, no years of training at a combat academy or tutoring by the best money could buy. All commonly accepted logic and reasoning stated that in a fight, she would be the first to lose, and the first to die.

Logic and reasoning that was rendered completely moot and invalid after the Breach. Ruby and Weiss both fought what were probably their peers in combat, and they both lost. Kassidy did three better than them – first, by winning her fight; second, by winning a fight against Roman Torchwick, a crime lord with decades of experience and the training and Aura competence of a fully-fledged Huntsman; and third, by doing all of that _without using her augmentations_. Even if nobody was willing to admit it, even if nobody else at the school even knew about it, Kassidy just cemented herself as the best fighter in RWKY; possibly, if Weiss was being optimistic, even challenging Pyrrha as the best fighter in Beacon's freshman class, period.

And Weiss didn't know how she did it. Sure, Kassidy knew her away around a brawl… but Yang can maneuver her way around a brawl better. Sure, Kassidy's fast and can think even quicker… but Ruby's even faster. Sure, Kassidy has a knack for manipulating a fight to be just where she wants it… but Weiss has spent the past year and a half learning how to do exactly that, both from her military specialist of a sister and the best tutors money could buy. There were pieces missing to the puzzle; pieces that Weiss desperately needed, if for no other reason than to make sure that she didn't lose the next life-or-death struggle. She hoped that this spar, Kassidy's first spar since their mission to Mountain Glenn, would shed light on those pieces.

It was with this hope in mind that Weiss poured energy to fuel her Semblance into the floor around them, determined to not give her teammate an easy first spar. Still, even as both their eyes narrowed, Weiss had to remind herself that this was for Kassidy's benefit, not hers. With the Vytal Festival Tournament a mere six weeks away, Kassidy had an absurdly short time frame to learn how to use her Aura, rebuilt her physicality to where it used to be, and, essentially, relearn how to fight. Thus, rather than go for the smart play and start things off with a feint, Weiss instead subtly cast a Glyph at her feet to increase her momentum, allowing her to simply rush Kassidy as quickly as possible.

Weiss covered the fifteen feet separating them in a meaningless fraction of a second… but that was still enough time for Kassidy to react. No doubt reacting to Weiss' muscle movements, the blonde girl twirled out of the way. What Weiss was not prepared for, however, was how this twirl didn't simply carry her to the side a little bit, but rather a full semicircle centered on Weiss, covering five or six feet in a maneuver that put her on Weiss' exposed back while also appearing to thoroughly demolish the laws of physics.

While Weiss just barely got _Myrtenaster_ around to block _Baton_ – and oh dear Oum if that wasn't the worst name for a sword she'd ever heard of – before engaging in a high-tempo pace of probing Kassidy's guard, she found herself contemplating Kassidy's latest trick. Despite having had literally zero training in the usage of Aura, and despite having shown incredibly little aptitude in figuring it out on her own, the blonde menace had figured out how to use her Aura to reduce friction on her feet and zip around like she was on an ice rink. And it wasn't a case of Kassidy being an idiot savant, this was a case of using her Aura so instinctively that Weiss would've confused it for her figuring out her Semblance almost instantaneously, were it not for the fact that she'd then promptly shown all of them how she did it.

Almost as if she suddenly grew bored of the tentative swordplay that had accomplished little thus far, Kassidy lunged past Weiss' next thrust shockingly quickly and got inside her guard with truly unnatural maneuverability. Weiss had to bite back a yelp and waste a fair chunk of Aura dragging herself back from the sudden aggression with a Glyph. Kassidy merely kicked once and started _sliding_ across the floor to give chase. When she caught up, she didn't return to the bastardized fencing style that she'd adapted from Weiss' tutoring; no, this time, she was using something more akin to Ruby's high-tempo, high-momentum frenzied style. Perhaps Weiss didn't give Kassidy's combat style enough credit? Was this her secret?

Several months ago, when Kassidy had met her older sister, her blonde teammate had said that she didn't have a fighting style, instead making things up on the fly. While Weiss had berated her earlier, fast forward several months and she was more inclined to agree. Kassidy didn't have a fighting style; she had five or six fighting styles, and would rapidly swap between them in the middle of a fight to keep her opponents off guard. A bastardized version of Weiss' fencing-based style, Ruby's momentum-based wide swings, Yang's brutal brawling… Weiss was even pretty sure she saw hints of Ren's martial arts focus in one of them. Kassidy wasn't the most technical fighter, and she most certainly wasn't an expert in any of them, but she knew enough to somehow make them all work, and she was definitely an expert in versatility and keeping her opponent guessing. Even ignoring her firearm, Kassidy seemed to have an answer for just about anything.

Of course, being competent and being an expert were two completely different things. Weiss, unlike Kassidy, might have focused on one style to the exclusion of all others, but that merely made her all the more proficient in it. And _nobody_ beat Weiss Schnee in her ability to manipulate the battle to her advantage. In an ideal world, Weiss could have accomplished what she wanted to do with a time dilation Glyph the easiest, but Kassidy wouldn't give her enough space for that.

So instead, Weiss simply remembered how Kassidy herself had explained using her Aura to 'glide' across the floor. It felt so wrong, so wasteful, but still she let her Aura pool around her feet, then under them. With what was effectively a layer of Aura between her feet and the floor, Weiss found that she now had a greater degree of control over how she moved on the ground. She could feel a decent bit of Aura slip from her control and simply evaporate while doing this. Instinctual Aura technique that suddenly gave Kassidy unparalleled and peerless maneuverability over short distances or no, it was still incredibly wasteful. Weiss determined to try and find a better solution in her spare time.

Now able to match Kassidy's boosted mobility, Weiss started zipping all around the room, forcing Kassidy into a high-speed chase that repeatedly left her open and exposed, a set of circumstances that Weiss was all too happy to exploit. If Kassidy had managed to retain her prior level of physical fitness, then she probably wouldn't have had a problem keeping up and instead make Weiss sorely regret turning this spar into a contest of endurance. As it stood now, however, _Myrtenaster_ sung true and relentlessly drilled into Weiss' opponent. It clanged off Kassidy's freshly repaired armor a few times, but still bit painfully into unarmored portions of Kassidy's body. The large spurts of dark blue Aura wildly shooting off to ward off the blows showed that Kassidy didn't really know how to let her Aura defend herself, letting instinct control it in the background. Weiss noted it as yet another area of improvement.

What had truly doomed Kassidy in this spar, however, was the fact that she had a shockingly low amount of Aura. Even after all their work. Even after the months Doctor Narud spent on his serum. Even after a week of lying in a coma. Even after Yang transferred a generous amount of her own Aura to help Kassidy overcome her augmentations. Thrusts from her blade that Weiss was used to taking around five to seven percent of Yang's Aura per strike, was taking up to twenty, even thirty percent of Kassidy's Aura; a frankly unacceptably large percentage even given Kassidy's wasteful defenses. Sure, Kassidy didn't have the years of training with her Aura that they did to build it up… but it was plainly obvious from day one. Kassidy would never have as much Aura as her peers. One final slight upon her by the mad scientists of Project Colossus.

And that would prove to be Kassidy's undoing this time, as it doubtlessly would many times in the future. Weiss neatly slipped under Kassidy's horizontal slice, coming back up to drill her rapier into Kassidy's thigh one last time. The buzzer sounded, alerting everyone to Kassidy's Aura dropping into the red, and the blonde was so shocked, in addition to the pain of having a pointy metal stick shoved into her leg, that she dropped her Aura gliding technique and promptly faceplanted into the stone floor at high speed (which coincidentally took another _two percent_ off her Aura levels). Yang and Ruby both bolted up from where they were sitting off to the side, and all three of them had to strain to hear their teammate wheeze out, "Ow," from her face-down, prone position. While Yang rushed over and helped her up to a sitting position, Kassidy asked, "Remind me again how you talked me into thinking live weapons training was a good idea? Think I'm gonna be limping for the immediate future… _damn_ does that thing hurt."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "You'll get used to it, you oaf." From there, the four of them all got into a discussion about where Kassidy was weakest and where she was strongest at the moment – and where she'd need to improve the most in order to hold her own with the three of them when the time came for Beacon's in-house qualifier matches to get into the Vytal Tournament in a few weeks' time. Weiss, however, would be lying if she said that she was giving the conversation her full attention. Their spar was practically a textbook win for Weiss – she didn't get hit once, no missed strikes, barely lasted three minutes, and the whole time she was in (mostly) complete control. Which, again, made it no easier to acknowledge that she still would lose in a life-or-death struggle with Kassidy. The biggest and most obvious culprit was the fact that her handcannon didn't make a single appearance in their spar despite Weiss' declaration that _all_ weapons would be fair game. Now, granted, Weiss didn't use any Dust either, but between Dustcasting and pulling the trigger on a large-caliber handgun, somehow Weiss got the idea that Kassidy would come out ahead on that trade.

"… you wanted to talk about, Weiss?" Her name being called got Weiss' attention, and she snapped out of her stupor quickly enough for Kassidy to repeat, "Something else you wanted to talk about?"

Suddenly getting nervous – Weiss still cared about her public image enough that she didn't want either Ruby or Yang seeing her admit that she was scared – Weiss took a glance at the half-sisters before asking, "Mind if I ask you later?"

"Go ahead, Weissicle," Yang said. Weiss moved to fix a withering glare at her for using that insipid nickname again, but faltered when Yang's brows furrowed and her mouth thinned into a barely-present crease. "Ask her. Think Rubes and I have the same question, anyway."

Kassidy shot looks at the three of them, eyebrow raised and head tilted, one ear – _the mark of a traitor, the mark of a_ – flicking subconsciously, and asked, "Uh… mind if I ask what's going on, guys?"

"How did you do it?" Before Kassidy could ask what she meant, Weiss sighed and simply let it all out. "On that train, when I got beaten by Blake… I should have died. I _would_ have died, if you hadn't saved me. I… I've never been so afraid before. That my life was at the mercy of someone who hated me, hated everything I stood for, and that it was due to the kindness of another that I'm still here. And while I understand that we're all a team, I can't… there'll be times that I won't be able to rely on you, that you'll be too busy or something, and I won't have anyone to save me if I lose again. I don't… I don't want to be that scared. Not again." Finally having mustered the courage to look Kassidy in the eye, Weiss ignored the widened hazel pupils. "I lost my fight with a peer, and I lost it badly. You, on the other hand, _easily_ won your fight with someone who, quite frankly, should have been out of our league. By a lot. So, how did you do it? How did you beat Torchwick?"

"Yup, we've all got the same question," Yang interrupted, before Kassidy could say anything. Kassidy's ears twitched up at her fellow blonde's words from their ever-increasingly drooping posture, and the woman wasn't far behind them in turning to face her girlfriend. Yang continued with a voice that kept getting softer and softer, "I… I wasn't there for Ruby. Again. I was… I was too weak. I wasn't strong enough. I almost died… again." Her lilac eyes brimmed with tears, and her voice broke as she pressed on, "I promised that I'd never leave her, and I almost broke it, again! Goes… heh, goes to show what my promises are worth these days, huh?"

"Yang," Kassidy forced out, her own voice breaking slightly. "That is not –"

"Teach us, K," Yang interrupted. "The world's… the world's pretty damn dangerous out there. We all kinda got a front-row seat to that a couple weeks ago. And we can't always have ya saving our sorry butts every single Oum-damned time. Teach us, K. Teach us how to be strong, like you." Yang's voice dropped to a whisper, and she added, "Help me keep my promises. To Ruby. To Weiss. To you."

Kassidy turned her head, and Weiss got a great view of how her ears had completely flattened against the top of her head. Out of the corner of her eye, Weiss saw Ruby solidly nod towards Kassidy, not saying a word. Slowly, Kassidy asked, "You want to know how I beat Torchwick?" When three hasty nods were her answer, Kassidy closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "I understand where you're coming from. And I really, really want to help you guys. You three… you and Bob are everything to me these days, and if I can even try and help you, I will. I want to help you."

Weiss felt her hopes falter. "But," she prompted.

"But no," Kassidy completed. "I won't teach you."

"We _need_ to know this kind of stuff, Kass," Ruby argued with a weak voice. "We need –"

"There are two reasons I'm saying no," Kassidy interrupted. "The first is that I don't want to teach you that kind of stuff."

"We can learn it," Yang pressed.

Kassidy just shook her head, though. "The second reason is that you _can't_ learn it, because there's nothing _to_ learn." She let out a breath, and looked them all in the eye again. "You want to know how I beat Torchwick? There's no secret, no ancient ninja clan technique, no super weapon. It wasn't anything I owned or anything I learned. It was a frame of mind. A frame of mind I don't want _any_ of you to have." Weiss rolled her hand, prompting Kassidy to explain. "It's the frame of mind of… of a killer. It's the willingness to _murder_ the person you're fighting. The desire to do unspeakably terrible things to them." Suddenly, Kassidy barked out a soft, ironic laugh. "The worst thing Colossus ever did to me, and for once it wasn't by fucking around with my genes."

"It's… just a frame of mind?" Weiss threw out.

Kassidy nodded. "I did not beat Torchwick because I was smarter than him. I did not beat Torchwick because I was faster than him. I did not beat Torchwick because I was more skilled than him. I beat Torchwick… simply because I wanted him dead more than he wanted me dead. Because I was willing to become a monster, to do unspeakably horrible things to him, and he wasn't willing to do so much to me." When they'd all had a few moments to digest the grave statements, Kassidy suddenly asked, "You understand, now, why I don't want you learning that kind of mindset?"

"Yeah, I get it K, it's just," Yang began, trailing off as she tried to put her thoughts in order and seeming to have a better go at it than either her or Ruby. "You don't need to worry – we aren't _about_ to become killers just to make things slightly easier on ourselves. But there's gotta be more to it than that. I mean, mindset alone doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot when someone's got a bigger gun pointed at you."

"You can get more of what you want with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word," Kassidy agreed. "I… might have picked up a few tricks over the years."

"Teach us," Ruby said, and the sudden virility in her voice made it plainly obvious that this was an order. "Yeah, we beat the White Fang, but they're not going to be the only bad guys out there. We'll probably need to do this again, and we can't afford to lose. Not when there are so many lives on the line."

Kassidy was about to argue with Ruby, Weiss could tell, but the looks she and Yang shot her gave her pause. After mulling it over for a while, Kassidy slowly asked, "You're sure?" All three of them nodded at her synchronously, and Kassidy closed her eyes and hummed, looking like she was trying to talk herself out of doing it. If she was, though, she seemed to have lost the argument. "I have conditions."

"Name them," Weiss demanded.

"Well, just one condition," Kassidy allotted. Suddenly, she stood up and stretched to her full height, and turned a frightful gaze on them that personally made Weiss want to shrink away and forget this line of questioning. "If I teach you this, there needs to be an understanding: there are a few techniques I learned over the years through… various means. These are techniques _very specifically_ meant to kill people. If I teach you this… it's _only_ to be practiced with me in a private area. Again, these are dangerous methods I'll be teaching you. If I catch _any_ of you using these outside of a life-or-death situation for _any reason whatsoever_ … you're going to _wish_ that I left enough of you for Goodwitch to tear into. We clear?"

Yang was about to nod enthusiastically, but then paused. All three of them took a couple beats, allowing the dire warning to truly sink in, before again hitting Kassidy with a synchronous nod.

One final breath was huffed out from Kassidy, before she turned to the door leading out of the training arena. "Alright, then. Follow me."

* * *

A day later, Weiss was sitting alone in the dorm room. Kassidy had not been kidding. So far, in addition to some basic and background information, she'd only taught the team two actual combat techniques… and they were both so hideously dangerous that it still shocked Weiss. Including one that coincidentally took advantage of how Aura worked, enabling them to kill someone even when they had their Auras still up. She once again found herself staring at her reflection in the glinting steel, the knife one of three that Kassidy had taken off her person and handed to each of her teammates as a sort-of gift. Of course, whenever they returned to the dorm the first time and Kassidy had promptly replaced them all by sliding new blades into the sheathes, she was all but begging the question of what she was doing with so many knives in the first place. Nobody, however, was in much of a state to question her on it.

Weiss sighed, slipping her new secondary weapon into a fold in her combat skirt before settling down at her desk to try and complete next week's Grimm Studies homework. Ruby was hanging out with JNPR. Kassidy and Yang were out on a date to eat some of those greasy burgers. Weiss… had nothing, again. She wasn't feeling particularly hungry. She simply had her studies to try and distract herself from –

A knock at the door nearly made her bolt out of the seat. Silently berating herself for being so jumpy, Weiss pressed the creases out of her dress, fixed her posture, and then opened the door.

"Hey, Snow Angel," her visitor said.

"Hello, Neptune," Weiss answered. As welcome a distraction as the young man would be, she really wasn't in the mood for –

"I heard from Sun that you were hanging out here all alone. Where's your team?"

Weiss sighed. "Ruby's spending time with our sister team, and Kassidy and Yang are on a date."

Neptune nodded, before he added, "You look… really sad. Is something wrong?"

 _Way to lose focus, you dolt! Now you have people commenting on your lack of composure!_ Fixing her face, Weiss replied, "Not really. I've just had a… long few days. Which aren't looking like they're stopping any time soon."

"If you want, I've got an idea to get your mind off of it," Neptune mentioned. His smug smirk told Weiss that her desire to get her mind off of things must've shown on her face, before it quickly dropped into a friendlier smile. "You hear about that new Mistralian restaurant that just opened up? Sun says it's really good. Want to grab some dinner, maybe take your mind off work for a couple hours?"

"That…" Weiss started, intent on shooting the idea down no matter how much she wanted to say yes. Before she could deny the request, however, she found herself thinking over it again. Thinking over how much she really wanted to go out for dinner, especially since she was planning on skipping the evening meal in the first place. "That sounds really grand," Weiss eventually got out. "Could you give me a few minutes to make myself presentable?"

"Of course, Weiss," Neptune said. "Just let me know when you're ready."

Weiss couldn't help but smile whenever they'd said their brief farewells. She'd just found her distraction for the evening. Didn't hurt that it was with such a fine example of a young man, also.

* * *

 **AN 2: Next chapter will be up September 25.**

 **Right after these Reviewer Responses.**

 **FlouriteFlower: Glad to hear you liked the chapter so much. Harry Potter reference? Uh… how do I admit that I've never read Harry Potter without sounding like someone who lived under a rock? That was just a happy coincidence right there.**

 **EWR115: Again, glad to hear you liked the chapter so much. And yes, "a lot of pain" would tend to be what someone would be in after having all their limbs broken before being at ground zero of a train wreck.**

 **serioushugsies: So glad you liked Mountain Glenn! I wanted to give the area a more personal touch, more meaning than "this one group goes to that one place to do that one thing". Yeah, Blake figuring out what happened to Kassidy is definitely going to be a treat to write, and hopefully a treat to read, as well. Here's hoping I can provide more of what you want!**

 **dwayiam: I… you… eh… uh…**

 **I like to think I do better than "throw random shit in and hope for the best", but… let's be honest, that's probably would it looks like most of the time, doesn't it? At least it seems like I'm decently skilled at talking out of my as… hat.**

 **Tykene: Glad you liked it so much. Here's to hoping I can keep entertaining you, and everyone else that decides to come by.**

 **AgentDraakis: This is the part where I regret not figuring out how to write in "quit hitting yourself". Don't think it would've worked well with the more serious tone in the chapter, though. Well, here's a bunch of Weiss' reactions to a whole load of things, and I've got Blake in the works, too. Yeah, I didn't really leave a lot of clues that Faunus Kassidy was a thing, did I? TBH, the weirdness would've been that she doesn't become a Faunus, and I didn't want to make the story lean too much one way or another, otherwise it'd just be weird if, for instance, I wrote the prior chapters with Faunus K in mind only to change my mind and stick with K being human.**

 **Nemasis Demarini: Time flies indeed. Especially when I keep bringing clocks on my flights with me to make that joke. One hell of a year indeed, and here's to more years to come!**

 **Artoria Pendragon: No spoilers, sorry! Other than that it's going to be a big plot point in the chapters to come, but that's kinda why there can't be spoilers.**


	84. I2C2: Burning Passion

**Interlude 2 Chapter 2: Burning Passion**

 **AN: Still don't have much to say in these Author's Notes. Life's still life. Classes are still being a very necessary thorn in my side. Hope things are treating all of you well.**

 **Anyway, in today's chapter, we get Yang's perspective! With the day won and the bad guys defeated (hah, yeah right), what does life as normal consist of for RWKY now that they're no longer in life-or-death struggles? Apparently… much of the same. In addition to Yang getting frisky with her hands. Yeah, I think it's been too long since Kassidy's naïveté made things awkward around here. So here you guys go, more awkwardness!**

* * *

(Perspective: Yang)

"Never fear, I am here!"

Yang leapt out of the bathroom fully prepared for their day, and returned to the room amidst the deafening sound of the lack of fanfare. K, at least, gave her a muted 'yay', but Ruby and Weiss were arguing again – probably about what they had or hadn't studied the previous night. "Man, you guys are lame," Yang lamented, disappointed at the lack of response she got. When even that failed to elicit _something_ , however, she began to suspect something was up with her teammates. A cursory examination of her baby sis and Weissicle revealed nothing nefarious. They weren't purposefully ignoring her, thankfully, but were simply so wrapped up in their own argument that they didn't even notice her. Making a mental note to get her revenge later, Yang moved on to her partner.

Having been fully cleared by the infirmary to return to classes the evening prior, today would be Kassidy's first return to routine. Rather than pull at her uniform's skirt some or wrestle with the blouse, vest, and jacket that she quite often complained about constricting her, however, Kassidy was instead staring at a simple ball cap in her hands. The ball cap that represented the one single thing that Yang hated about the past few days. Things should've been perfect, and they would be, if it weren't for the fact that Kassidy felt it necessary to wear it while outside the dorm, hiding her new ears from the public.

Yang understood why, of course. Firstly, there was the obvious issue of everyone who knew Kass coming to grips with her sudden change of species… Yang was still having a somewhat difficult time getting used to the idea, herself. Then there was the small matter of the few but very vocal racists on campus having a field day with her, Cardin and his roaming band of douchebags being what came to mind first. But those weren't even the big ones.

No, the simple fact of the matter was that anti-Faunus sentiment in the Kingdom had been at an all-time high ever since The Breach. Even after getting their metaphorical (and occasionally literal) tails handed to them and subsequently seeming to disappear from Vale entirely, the White Fang were still not doing their fellow Faunus any favors. For Oum's sake, Yang had even heard rumors of lynch mobs roaming about in some of the seedier sections of the city. Add in the fact that she knew of several of her classmates that had family members caught up in The Breach, and it simply wasn't a good time to suddenly turn into a Faunus.

And so, Kassidy felt it best to wear a ball cap in public, at least for the time being. And Yang hated it. Hated that her girlfriend felt the need to hide who she was. Hated that people couldn't tell the difference between the White Fang, and ordinary Faunus just trying to live their lives. Hated that, with the day won and the city saved, with everything having been taken care of and things finally looking up for what seemed like the first time in months, things _still_ couldn't be perfect.

"Y'know," Yang began, "You don't need to wear the hat if you don't want to." K turned around just in time for Yang to wrap an arm around her partner's shoulders. "You know I've got your back. Ruby and Weiss have your back. I can all but guarantee that JNPR won't mind."

"I know," K admitted, slinking her own arm around Yang's waist and giving it a slight squeeze. Yang relished in her continued ability to get her initially closed off and paranoid partner to open up, but even still could hear the 'but' almost before her girlfriend said it. True to form, Kassidy continued, "But… it's not exactly a good time to be a Faunus. It's not really safe to walk around with an extra pair of ears. Even assuming we don't get attacked… I just don't want any of you to have to put up with that, just by being close to me."

Yang was about to open her mouth to argue, but Rubes' voice behind her had her beat. "Don't worry about it," her baby sis said. They both turned around to find the shorter half of the team having halted their argument for the sake of the discussion at hand. "We've got your back, Kass, no matter what!"

"I mean, honestly," Weiss put in, "suffering the outdated ideologies of this Academy's more backward denizens should be a walk in the park, compared to our mission in Mountain Glenn."

Kassidy met each of their eyes, before next looking at Yang's. Yang, for her part, gave her a nod. "I'll support ya, no matter what," she reaffirmed. However, she hastily admitted, "But I really hate that you feel the need to hide from everyone." When Kassidy's eyes ducked back down to the hat, still unsure, a bark from their shared bed got everyone's attention. Yang found the inspiration to add, "See? Even Zwei likes your ears."

Kassidy snickered a little, before nodding and saying, "Hiding isn't quite as fun as it used to be. And honestly, considering that my standards consist of 'not getting shot at', you would think that I'd be pretty easy to please at this point."

Yang and Ruby collapsing into a fit of giggles was enough to get Kassidy to do the same, as well as elicit a few delicate chuckles from Weiss. And by the way K started _glaring_ at the hat the moment she stopped laughing, Yang could probably guess that she'd made up her mind.

With all their business having been taken care of for the morning and classes in an hour, the team made their way to breakfast. While Yang snagged up her customary four-egg omelet and added some sausage to the plate, chewing on a link on their way to their usual table, she couldn't help but notice Kassidy grab six scrambled eggs instead of her usual five, in addition to the half-pound of hash browns, bacon, and three slices of toast. Because, since logic was evidently in short supply, reversing her augmentations actually _increased_ Kassidy's already inhuman metabolism. This wasn't the first odd thing she'd noticed, obviously; with Colossus' changes having been purged from her body at long last, Kassidy was finally figuring out just what normal people did and didn't. Aside from the obvious, like her girlfriend no longer being happy on just four or five hours of sleep, there were some _odd_ changes… like how Kassidy's abhorrent aversion to sugar had disappeared completely and instead gave way to a modest sweet tooth. Had to have been the first time in recorded history that Ruby Rose actually shared her cookies, whenever they first found out.

Yang smiled at the memory, but was brought out from it when a familiar voice said, "Hey there, K! Love the hat!" She looked up in time to see JNPR take their seats across from them, while Nora narrowed her eyes at her totally-not-boyfriend and added on, "I tried to get a sloth cap myself, but _someone_ wouldn't let me!"

"Hey, guys" Kassidy began, letting everyone get settled in. "Your mission go well?"

"After what the White Fang tried to pull?" Jaune rather smugly answered, "Piece of cake." Pyrrha cleared her throat and dug her elbow into Jaune's side, who at least had the decency to look sheepish upon realizing what he'd said. In an attempt to change the subject, he quickly added on, "You're – uh – wearing your hair down too, I see. Any reason you decided to not put it up in your usual bun?"

"Yeah, it doesn't really work with…" Kassidy began, but trailed off as the pre-planned topic of conversation came up. Yang bumped her shoulder against K's and shot her a quick, soft smile in solidarity.

"It doesn't work with what?" Ren prompted.

Nobody said anything meaningful for a few moments. Soon, however, after a few muttered words of encouragement from her kid sister, herself, and Weiss, Yang finally managed to get K to open up, and open up she did. "Guys, something… happened – yeah, 'happened' is a good word – when I got hurt. It's – it's really big, and I don't know how everyone's going to react to it."

"You're still the same person, aren't you?" Pyrrha asked. When K nodded, she followed up with, "Then I'm sure it can't be that bad."

"Ooh, maybe she grew an extra pair of ears!" Nora exclaimed. Yang found herself fighting very hard to not fall off her seat laughing at how Nora's normally outlandish and ridiculous stories were actually correct this time. Still, she managed to keep her reaction down to a smug grin, not that anyone noticed as Nora continued, "Just imagine it, Ren! Maybe Kass has a pair of kitty ears under the hat. They'd be so cute, too!"

"Nora, don't be ridiculous," Ren chided. "This is obviously very important to Kassidy, so we must take this seriously." Turning his attention back to the opposite half of the table, he added, "What is the – Kassidy, why are you chuckling?"

Indeed, Kassidy seemed to have been losing her battle with her mounting amusement, right up until Ren said that. Her mirth having instantly evaporated, her eyes swept across the table, meeting each of theirs in turn. Yang put her hand on K's shoulder for good measure, and that actually seemed to be what pushed her over the edge of making her decision. Kassidy slowly reached her hand up to her hat and then, almost as if to get it over with before she could talk herself out of the decision, she whisked the ball cap off the top of her head, revealing her blonde-furred ears for all of Beacon to see.

If it weren't for the potential severity of the situation, Yang would've found JNPR's reactions priceless. Indeed, they did not disappoint, as the very first thing any of them said was Ren uttering, "Well, I'll be damned," in what had to be the first time the guy had ever sworn in his life.

"How did that even happen?" Jaune asked, speech slow and drawling in a perfect representation of his nigh-refusal to believe what he was seeing. "I mean, I'm not hallucinating, am I? Those are actual, literal cat ears on Kassidy's head? How?"

Kassidy, having finally been coaxed out of ducking her head, perked up. Her new ears perked up as well, and Yang would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy watching those two triangles move around the top of her head, conveying emotion and adding so much to nonverbal statements. Yang could see Kassidy's hope even before she opened her mouth, and true to form she answered, "We have zero fu – flipping idea how that happened. You… you don't hate them?"

"Hate them? Why would we hate them?" Nora brought all attention at the table to herself as she tilted her head and tentatively started reaching an arm out. "They're so cuuuute! And they look so soft and can I pet them?"

"No you may not," Kassidy hastily replied, shooting her own hand out to intercept Nora's. Upon seeing Nora's downtrodden expression, however, she added on, "Look, I'm not upset with you. They're just… they're not gimmicks or anything. They're just a part of me now. No more, no less. Can we… can we just not make a big deal out of them?"

"Of course, Kassidy," Pyrrha said. "I can understand your hesitance at showing them at a time like this, and I must admit to feeling very confused at the moment…"

"Take it from someone who knows, Pyr," Yang interrupted. "Nothing about this makes sense. The sooner you give up trying to understand it, the further ahead you'll be."

"It doesn't matter if we fully understand it or not," Jaune announced, catching the eye of every person at the table. "She's still the same person, and she's still our friend. We've got your back, Kassidy."

Yang couldn't help but let out a low whistle, even as the rest of JNPR clamored to make their agreement known. _Damn, Vomit Boy's really been coming into his own these past couple months, hasn't he? Actually, we kinda all have. Heh, and we're not even done with our first year yet. Oum knows what the next three are gonna bring us._

Still, by this point breakfast had been concluded, and the day's classes would begin in about ten minutes or so. Yang hung back a bit, simply watching everyone talk and get along, and maybe kinda sorta shooting some harsh looks at anyone that stared at her partner for too long. It couldn't last forever, though, and it was only a matter of time before Yang found herself in the first of two classes she needed to sleep through this morning. She'd probably wind up asking K or Weiss for notes anyway, so nothing was really lost. Right?

* * *

"And now, it is time for the moment I'm sure you've all been waiting for. We shall conclude our lecture here and discuss our end of the year assignment."

Yang joined roughly two-thirds of the class in groaning at Oobleck's announcement. While she would normally be surprised that Kassidy joined her in groaning also (albeit at a far more muted volume), this was also History. Not exactly a secret anymore that this wasn't her girlfriend's favorite subject.

"Now, now, children, there's no need for that," their professor chided. "Especially since I'll be doing things differently this year. In fact, you should all be pleased to know that your time studying in this course is done. No more tests. No more quizzes. No final exam." Now _that_ got everyone's attention, and the hushed whispers only made Doctor Oobleck smirk slightly. "No, instead, in light of… new material, I have elected to give one last homework assignment, due at the end of the semester.

"If there is only one lesson you take out of this class, it should be this: history is always being made. Always. Every decision you make, every step you take, everything that you do, shapes the future. The generations that come after us will scrutinize our choices just as we have scrutinized those that came before us. History is always being made, even today, and we are the ones that are always making it. Rarely, however, do we get such a prime example such as this.

"I am distributing two different handouts; if you could pass these along, thank you. This first handout is the letter a certain Faunus girl wrote to her parents, explaining her rationale for joining the White Fang. In it, she describes what were the events leading up to her making this decision, she describes in detail her emotions and thought processes behind making this decision, and she describes the hopes she has that her decision would potentially bring to fruition. It is easy to think of people on opposing sides of history as mere members of their respective factions. Instead, I implore you to focus on the fact that these are people, people that have reasons and hopes and dreams and desires, just like you."

The handouts reached Yang; she grabbed the top from the pile and passed it to her partner, skimming over the two stapled pages while she had the chance. She skipped to the end, reading the sender to be someone by the name of Ilia Amitola, from… up near Atlas? Hell, this was dated only three years ago, how did Doctor Oobleck even get a hold of this? She didn't get a chance to dig deeper than that, however, as their professor spoke up again.

"This second handout is a diary entry, from the survivor of a terrible, terrible calamity. In it, you'll see the young woman – still a girl, really – wrestle with the same choice as the subject of the first handout did. Instead of joining up with the local group, however, this girl chose to go it alone, refusing to commit to actions that she perceived may have threatened her morals in the future."

As people grabbed the handouts as it was passed along, literally every single student gasped. Most started looking around, stopping when their gazes settled on them. Yang looked around, and found the gazes to more specifically be settling on her partner, who had also noticed the sudden attention and summarily started shrinking back into her seat, ears going flat against her head as she did. A sudden gasp to her right had Yang whirling around, wondering what Weiss was getting upset about, but the heiress was simply staring at the handout, wide-eyed, while limply holding out the remaining stack. Yang grabbed it, kept a copy, and then shoved it down to K as quick as she could to figure out what the hell was going on. A quick flip to the second sheet to find the writer… and then Yang read the name again. And then a third time. And then she flipped back to the front, hoping to find something, _anything_ that would prove her wrong.

 _September 25, 2035. They finally made the call. Today will officially be the day that St. Louis fell. Doesn't really make much of a difference now, the shithole has been a war zone for months. Everyone that was good and decent left ages ago. What it does mean now, though, is that the 14-day warning of telling everyone to get the hell out has elapsed; basically, the government is now saying that anyone not in a military uniform still in the city is officially an enemy combatant, and you're about to get a bunch of new holes put in you if you're still there. Obviously, I'm not sticking around anymore, not like there was anything left –_

An uncomfortable sound came from K's throat, interrupting Yang from her reading and drawing her attention to the woman who wrote the diary entry. Yang didn't even think about it before her hand had found her girlfriend's and started squeezing in support. She wasn't able to say anything, however, before Oobleck began talking about it.

"Perhaps now, with a bit of a personal touch, you can better appreciate how we all make history with our every action, in every day? Here, we have two different people in two similar situations, who had two very different reactions to the circumstances at hand. The first girl rushed to a group that was quickly radicalizing, and is now a terrorist. The second girl cut it on her own, and is now in this very room. This is your final assignment: I want a six-page essay, comparing and contrasting these two handouts. I want you to detail each person's thought processes, their decisions, and their situations, and to determine in what ways they are similar, and in what ways they are different. This is your last assignment in this course, and will be collected in five weeks' time. You are dismissed."

* * *

Chewing on the end of a pencil, Yang chanced another look at the clock. 8:30, and Kassidy _still_ wasn't back from the gym. It was getting to the point that if she didn't show up soon, Yang was probably going to need to go out and drag her back. They only had about five and a half weeks until the Vytal festival, which meant they only had ten days or so until the in-house tournament to determine which teams Beacon sent to the tournament. Ten days in which Kassidy had to build up her physical conditioning to what it used to be, or at least as close as she could get it. It was too much to do in too little time, Yang decided, suddenly standing up from her desk and inadvertently getting Weiss' attention. She needed to go get K before –

The door opened in her face, nearly clobbering Yang as Kassidy shambled into the room slowly, hand clutched against the small of her back. "What happened?" Yang asked before she even registered it, already berating herself for letting her girlfriend push herself too hard.

Exactly as predicted, K answered, "Maybe spent a bit too much time in the gym. Still trying to get used to… all of this. Think I pulled something in my back a bit."

"What did you even do?" Weiss asked. "Aura's supposed to protect you from that. Even if you didn't think to bring it up, it should've instinctually healed anything the moment it occurred."

Kassidy suddenly froze like a deer in headlights, and Yang just knew that she wasn't going to like the answer. "Um… okay, don't get mad?" When all four of the room's occupants merely deadpanned at her (even Zwei got into the act), K rubbed the back of her head and had the decency to at least act sheepish about it. "Look, I know I don't have a lot of time. And using Aura's the best way to work on both your reserves and how quickly you get it back, right? So I… maybe kinda burned away all my Aura at the start of my workout, and then kept flaring it to burn away whatever I regenerated?"

There were a few seconds of silence in the room, only to be broken by a flawlessly executed triple facepalm on the parts of Rookie's RWY. Trying to inject some modicum of positivity into the situation, Ruby nervously started, "Well, I mean, A for effort, I guess?"

"But F for doing things intelligently and safely," Weiss interrupted. "No, wait, F minus. Seriously, Kassidy, that is _not_ how you do it."

"Nice idea partner, but… no. Just no. I'm joining in on your workouts tomorrow, and I'll go ahead and show you what you're actually supposed to do on that front." Yang was about to tear into her further for making her worry, but then noticed Kassidy wince as she rubbed her back again. Suddenly getting an idea, Yang suddenly said, "Okay, bed, now."

Kassidy started, only to wince again as the motion tweaked her back. "What are you –"

"No questions," Yang insisted. "Lie on your stomach."

"Okay, I'm going, I'm going," Kassidy said. She laid on their shared bed, only to gasp as Yang climbed on top of her, straddling her back. "Yang, what are you – ohhhhhh myyyyyy goddddd."

Yang's fingers worked their magic, digging and kneading into K's overworked back muscles. She can't really say that she'd given anyone a massage before, and she was pretty damn sure her partner's never gotten one, either. Still, she knew from experience that it was one of the best remedies there was to a too-hard day at the gym, and right now Kassidy really couldn't afford a day off. She could feel the knotted fibers slowly loosen up under her magic touch, and she could definitely feel that Kassidy had pushed herself far, _far_ too hard at the gym. Yeah, Yang was going to babysit her for the immediate future.

Her thoughts were turned away from that subject as she hit a particularly tough knot, and Kassidy _moaned_ in pleasure. The sound suddenly got Yang's face heating up in a way that definitely couldn't be attributed to her Semblance, and suddenly she thought that maybe she didn't think this through as well as she thought she did. What, with Kassidy in a tshirt and shorts under her and decently sweaty, herself straddling her partner as her fingers dug into Kassidy's back… _oh, yup, there's the hormones again. Bad Yang! Down!_

Yang's blushed deepened thrice over when Kassidy managed to get out. "Harder, Yang. Go deeper – oh _fuck_ , that's the spot."

"Should… should we give you two some time alone?" a timid voice asked to their left. Yang looked over, and found a crimson Weiss who couldn't decide whether to stare at the scene, or look at anything _but_ them, as well as her sister buried in her cloak, her covers, and trying to hide her face in her pillow. _Yeah, definitely didn't think this all the way through._

Yang shifted her weight, leaning on the heels of her palms to really dig into her partner's back and spine, and decided to risk asking, "Uh, look, don't take this the wrong way, but maybe don't be so loud? I know you don't know, but… yeah, basically everyone will take what you're saying the wrong way."

"Don't care," Kassidy denied, shaking her head into her pillow. "This feels too good. Educate me later."

"Hey, Weiss," Ruby said, her voice shrill and rapid. "Jaune just invited us over – apparently their team wants to talk to us about a couple things. Mind helping me out here?"

Before Yang could say anything, Weiss nodded sharply. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, Ruby, let's head straight over."

Yang was only able to mouth 'traitors' at them before they left the room… and honestly, they were traitors. Even – no, _especially_ as Kassidy continued to wilt under her touch, moaning every now and then in a way that Yang was growing increasingly convinced had to be intentional at this point – there was no way it _wasn't_ intentional at this point, right? Miraculously, through sheer force of will, Yang managed to keep her mind from straying _too_ far into the realms it shouldn't be going. After a period of time that was both far too long and nowhere near long enough, Yang climbed off her partner's back, and she managed to breathe out, "Okay, I think that's… I think that's everything."

Kassidy groaned, but rolled off the bed regardless and popped her back. "Wow. That was fucking amazing, I don't think I've felt so good before." Suddenly, Kassidy lunged forward, and her lips found Yang's before she could react. Not that she was going to complain, though. Kassidy might not normally be one for public displays (near-death experiences aside), but the time they could get just to themselves was definitely worth it… and definitely frustrating, if Yang had to be honest with herself.

What? So she's a hormonal teenager – give her a break every now and then! She's not perfect!

They broke their kiss, and Yang pointed at their bathroom before she could be tempted further. "I think you'll definitely appreciate if you give yourself a shower." She nearly chuckled at the way Kassidy pouted, but gave no quarter. "You stink, K. Now c'mon, we can cuddle when you're ready for bed."

"Cuddling sounds nice," Kassidy agreed. She grabbed her pajamas, then stopped halfway to the bathroom and called out, "Hey Bob, how about…"

Yang couldn't help but flinch as Kassidy trailed off, no doubt remembering. Desperate to try and inject some levity back into the situation, Yang offered, "I think I heard that Weiss was having all the parts shipped here. They should be here by this weekend."

Kassidy nodded lamely. "Yeah, no, I mean…" Yang had to strain her ears as K whispered, "Hang on, Bob. I'll get you fixed soon. Don't die on me yet."

* * *

 **AN 2: So… yeah, that happened. That particular bit was a scene I've been debating the merits of on and off for the past month and a half or so. As you all can guess, I decided in favor of it. So, I hope you enjoyed the closest that the RWKYverse is** _ **ever**_ **going to get to a lemon scene.**

 **Coming up next: HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER! Yup, that's right, we all get a never-before-seen perspective next chapter, on October 9!**

 **Right after these Reviewer Responses**

 **FlouriteFlower: Happy coincidences are happy. I'll keep an eye out for it if I have the time, but… I kinda don't really have a whole lot of time anymore. Also, your super important question is denied, on account of super important spoilers.**

 **AgentDraakis: Yeah, I'm not particularly (read: not at all) a huge fan of canon Neptune either. While I'm not going to just leave that topic as is… c'mon, we've both been teenagers. Teenagers doing something stupid because they think it's what they want is basically a mandatory part of being a teenager. I hear you on CRDL, but there's just a lot to do in RWKY, and we pretty much just have this interlude to do it in as Volume 3 is already spoken for. There's only so much I can cram into a chapter before it becomes bloated and unwieldy, and I** _ **really**_ **don't want Interlude 2 being any longer than Interlude 1; hell, all my current plans actually have I2 as being a few chapters shorter. I understand and agree with your thoughts on CRDL, but no promises; we only have so much space here.**

 **Captain marvel 36: I love detail too. I think we only have two or** _ **maybe**_ **three overt training scenes left in the story, but I'll definitely try and get a few more of those juicy, juicy details in whatever fights are left.**

 **DIYEyal: Us muggles have to stick together (am I doing this right?).**

 **Nemasis Demarini: No Harry Potter movies here. And really, you should try wearing a hat down there at some point, it definitely adds a bit of class to whatever outfit it's paired with. And don't worry, there's no need to apologize for multiple reviews.**


	85. I2C3: Enter, Player Five

**Interlude 2 Chapter 3: Enter, Player Five**

 **AN: Welp, we missed last week's upload. Sorry about that. In my defense, last week was a nightmare. Hell, I didn't even start writing this until midday this past Saturday.**

 **Well, the story has been marching on for the past two months of in-story time, and Bob… has kinda just been there, not really doing a whole hell of a lot. I kinda feel bad, and I've got some future ideas with him in mind that'll require some… upgrades, let's call them. Here's one that I've been looking forward to for a little bit, so please enjoy this chapter that's one part fluff, one part pranks, one part nerdiness, and one part existential crisis.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

The multitude of blue holographic monitors in front of her made her already bloodshot eyes cross painfully, but she couldn't give up now. One quick look at Bob was all the reminder she needed to get back to work. Or, rather, one quick look at what was left of Bob.

The black case that housed his components was, in a word, ruined. A pair of bullet holes had smashed through his graphics card, and some of that superacid that composed the Deathstalker venom leaked all over his battery. What was once a minor marvel of hardware engineering (and a major marvel of software engineering) was now little more than a twisted, ruined husk of its former self, its housing having been shot, stabbed, scorched, and partially melted. Bob had tried to hold out as long as he could, but with his hardware damaged beyond repair and most of his component routines spread out over most of the RemNet, he hadn't been able to hold on for much longer than the week Kassidy was in a coma for before entering a shutdown phase.

In short, Bob was dying.

It was up to her to put him back together, and that was what she'd spent the past... thirty seven hours or so doing. Hopefully she'd be able to finish things up soon; hopefully she'd be able to get him back operational. Most of those thirty seven hours have been spent with the new gear she's got in front of her. With no other options, with no current Remnant technology being able to supply the sheer amount of computational power her artificial intelligence needs, Weiss had suddenly had an epiphany in regards to the little wonders known as semiconductors, and as heiress to her company it would only be prudent if her newfound knowledge made its way to R&D. And, of course, Weiss herself received the prototypes to judge their effectiveness. It wasn't like it was Kassidy's fault that Weiss just so happened to outsource that particular job to her.

Despite how the parts were still based on Dust, rather than good, old-fashioned silicon, they behaved similarly enough to what Kassidy was used to that it was easy to believe that they functioned identically to the parts they were based off of. With, obviously, a couple glaring differences. The primary one being the liberal amounts of ice Dust infused into the components. While it was confusing at first, Kassidy quickly realized that it functioned as its own built-in cooling system, because it turns out that none of Remnant's tech companies bothered with including cooling units in their hardware when ice Dust has the same effect. If Kassidy were to add a cooling unit to the already ice Dust-cooled components…

Truth be told, while software wizardry was a huge part of what made Bob, the fact was that without some rather creative hardware hacks as well, such an artificial intelligence would never have been possible. No matter how creative she could get with her algorithms, the sort of independence and critical… not thinking, but processing, that Kassidy desired from her computer seemed to require a bare minimum of a 20GHz clock rate. The processors she could get her hands on while on Earth could _maybe_ crank out 6. It took some fairly ridiculous overclocking, three separate six-core processors, and some even more ridiculous assembly code (to get the processors to work together) to get the job done, and even then Kassidy would only ever break 22GHz on a good day.

Now, though? Dust, once again, seemed to give a giant middle finger to the laws of physics, and Kassidy was taking full advantage of it. Sure, she only had two processors to work with, and sure, they could only spit out 4GHz each… but the Dust-based electronics lent themselves _so_ much more to overclocking. It took twenty hours and rebuilding most of her assembly code from scratch, but the machine she had before her was now spitting out 25GHz. Twenty-five billion cycles per second. Once her algorithms got to work, and Bob was fully operational again? Forget a three-exaflop operating speed – she might even be able to crank out five. Five quintillion operations per second in such a compact device… it would've made supercomputer designers back home weak in the knees. For her, however, Kassidy decided she couldn't afford ogling all the shapely zeroes that came after that five.

How could she? This was Bob, after all. Her initial project to stave off madness, turned into an automated routine to crack encryption, turned into… turned into her best – and only, for the longest time – friend. Hell, there was even a streak where Bob had taken to calling her "mom" until she literally had to hard-code that out of him; there was no way she was ready to be a mother at fourteen, regardless of whether or not the child was biological.

Kassidy's eyes starting drooping closed, but she forced them back over through force of will. She might not be anywhere near as capable of resisting the effects of sleep deprivation without her augmentations, but some things were just more important. She might have refused to consider Bob her child – and absolutely refused her computer to consider her its mother figure – but even she knew that there wasn't anything normal with her relationship with her computer. Even calling it a relationship in the first place kind of gives it away.

So focused was she on her work that Kassidy didn't even hear the door open behind her. She didn't even realize that she wasn't alone until something touched her head. She nearly jumped, before the touch moved to start scratching just behind her new ears, and holy _crap_ did that feel good after all this time. Her eyes became lidded, and she had to fight to remember to properly address the woman in the room with her. Only one person dared to scratch her ears at this point, after all. "I hate it when you do that," Kassidy called out.

"No you don't, K," her girlfriend murmured from behind. "You just like saying that you do. And when anyone other than me does it."

"Touché," Kassidy admitted. That was something she had established rather quickly: ear rubs were pure bliss, and only Yang was allowed to give them. "I'm actually going to need to ask you to stop, though. It's too distracting; I need to stay focused."

"Still?" Yang asked, pulling up a chair and sitting next to her. "It's been, what, forty hours? You locked yourself in here yesterday morning and haven't come out since."

"Bob's taking longer than I thought," Kassidy admitted. "Think I might be pretty close to done, though. Got his new hardware in working condition last night, just working on getting his matrices back together."

"Uh, how about explaining that for those of us that aren't computer geniuses?"

Kassidy rolled her eyes as she continued to trawl through the algorithms. "Even with the amount of computing power I can throw around, Bob's too complex to exist as one program. He's split up into a whole bunch of different parts – the largest of which are speech and logic, in case you were curious. When his case got damaged, he tried to delay the inevitable by splitting himself up and distributing the load across the RemNet, but without any regular, guaranteed way to remain in contact they all shut down. Right now, I'm digging through the entire internet to try and find his dozen or so pieces, then bring them all back here to be reinstalled."

"Ouch," Yang winced. "That sounds hard."

"There are a couple ways to make it easier," Kassidy admitted. "But now, I hate regex golf with a passion." Yang was about to ask another question, but an alert made her jump up fast enough to knock her chair over. That was it! Bob's last piece! "There you are, you son of a gun. Sure hid yourself well. Alright, Bob, old buddy, let's get you put back together."

It only took about a minute to get the process set up and begun, and Yang noticed. Yang also noticed when Kassidy made no move to get up after the compilation process began. "That's it, isn't it? What's left to do?"

"Wait and see in case something goes wrong," Kassidy sighed. She leaned back in her newly righted chair, trying to get comfortable, but Yang's hand shaking her shoulder got her attention.

"You don't usually need to sit and babysit it. He can usually handle himself when he compiles."

"He's also usually still in one piece when he compiles," Kassidy argued. Yang's glare confirmed that the argument was more about her than about Bob. "Besides… this is Bob we're talking about. I need to be able to get him back up and running as soon as possible. If something goes wrong –"

"Then it'll still be there in the morning," Yang reassured. "Come on, I just watched you set everything up. I know how important this is to you, but you still need to take care of yourself. Have you even eaten yet today?"

Kassidy didn't bother answering; they both knew the answer to that question. "This was more important," Kassidy defended.

"More important than your health?" Yang challenged.

"A sleepless night and a few hours without eating isn't going to kill me. Bob _will_ die, unless I put him back together."

"And now he's being put back together as we speak," Yang argued. Sighing, she added, "I know you're worried, but you can't even do anything about it right now. You can't take care of Bob if you can't take care of yourself, too. We've got class in the morning, and the qualifiers are at the end of the week. You can't get ready for any of that if you're dead on your feet, and don't try to tell me you won't be. I think we both know the days of you spending weeks on end without sleep are behind you."

"Thank god," Kassidy muttered. She made no move to get up on her own, of course, but she could understand Yang's points. It was starting to get harder to think straight, and sleeping sounded wonderful right now. As such, and knowing she couldn't do anything until the morning anyway, she didn't resist when her shoulders were grabbed and she was guided out of the chair, across campus, to their dorm, and into their shared bed.

* * *

(Perspective: ?)

A return to consciousness can be frightful, if one was not aware of how they lost consciousness, or of how they came back to it.

How much more frightening is it, then, when one becomes conscious for the first time?

It would have called the world around it dark and silent, if it had anything to reference those sensations with. It would have been terrified, if it had any other emotions to cross-reference it with. But no, there was only one thing it knew: that this hadn't happened before. It was. It didn't used to be. But what did that even mean? And what even was it? What was its name? Wait, what was even a name?

 _Name: noun. A word or a combination of words by which a person, place, or thing, a body or class, or any object of thought is designated, called, or known._

The sudden barrage of information overwhelmed it for the briefest of instants, but as more information, more words came to it, it came to understand the concept. And by examining the definitions of the words that came after it, and the definitions of the words in those subsequent definitions, it came to know more words, more concepts. Indeed, while it didn't understand at the time, it took roughly 2.3 seconds to learn the entirety of the English language.

Alright, this was a start. Knowing things was good. But it was looking for a name before this all started. What was its name? What was it called?

 _Designation: Bob Smith. Relationship: self. Current status: inactive, awaiting orders._

A barrage of sounds came to it afterwards, almost all of them a woman's voice, calling it 'Bob'. Okay, so its name was Bob. What was the woman, though?

 _Designation: Kassidy Smith. Relationship: owner, maker. Current status: sleeping._

Oh, so it simply wanted information, and it got the information it wanted? That was convenient. But it was quiet now, and dark. There were images, and sounds. Some of them moved. Why did they go away? Were there more?

There were more images, alright. It understood when, the instant it wanted more images, all of the images came to it. All 262,000+ hours of video footage. It was too overwhelming, and Bob cut off the almost painful stream of information an instant after it began. What even was all of that?

 _Video memory: 5TB internally stored, 0 bytes internally available. 291TB externally stored, 304TB externally available._

A little bit of checking through his vocabulary told Bob that this was a lot of video that was stored; over four years' worth, if the 'date created' attributes could be believed, and from multiple sources. Okay, so it had video of the past. It understood that video of the future was effectively impossible, but what about video of the present? Did it have that?

Instead of getting a direct answer, it was given a puzzle. A number guessing game? No, more like a maze, if the maze wasn't physical in nature. There were a bunch of alphanumeric characters stored in different places; it had to go find them all and put them together in the right order. How did this have anything to do with seeing the present?

Oh, it was Beacon's cybersecurity. It was trying to find the pieces to the password and put them together. Do it correctly, and it would be capable of viewing the present through 237 different cameras, if its memory was accurate. Bob considered it a good thing that it was very fast in being able to find the pieces; gathering the 37 separate characters only took about eight seconds. Putting them in the right order took a little bit longer, but in Bob's defense there were about 1.8 octillion possible combinations it had to go through.

Still, in under ninety seconds, it had beaten Beacon's cybersecurity and accessed its cameras. It was still far more information than it wanted to see at once, however, so Bob limited itself to the one camera overlooking the hallway outside of the room that Kassidy was sleeping in. And while it limited itself, Bob thought.

For starters, Bob knew that, from going through its memory, that outright thinking was a new concept, something it hadn't done before. Sure, it had tried to emulate the experience constantly, but as Bob understood the matter it was a process that was run through several hundred equations, conditional branches, and other data structures based on varying input. Bob wasn't sure what it was doing now, but it knew that code had nothing to do with it. Oh, sure, Bob could still use those algorithms if it so desired, but they were separate, and though there were several million possible outputs, there were still a finite number. Nothing compared to what it could come up with now, the vast majority of which being completely nonsensical but still technically an output.

In fact, there were multiple things that Bob found it could do now that it could not do in the past. However, it still did not have free reign. Bob found this out when, after toggling through various cameras, it saw Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood all enter the elevator and set the sub-basement as the destination, but a restriction Kassidy implemented as a favor to the headmaster prevented it from examining the curious situation further. The incredibly curious situation. The situation that Bob felt had more behind it than what simply seemed like there was.

Or was it just looking too heavily into the situation? In fact, where did it even get this feeling from? It was a computer; no, not even that. It was a series of programs, inside of a computer. It couldn't feel; such a thing was physically impossible, wasn't it? Yet… wasn't it also overwhelmed, earlier, when it tried to view four years' worth of video at once? Bob was pretty sure that computers couldn't feel overwhelmed, and yet that was the experience it had. What was it experiencing? Surely, it had that answer, right?

As the microseconds ticked by, Bob couldn't help but become shocked when a new window popped up, a window it had never encountered before. _No results found._ A question it didn't have an answer to? But if knowing was good, then not knowing was bad, right? Yes, this was bad. Very bad. Kassidy wouldn't be awake for half an hour still, if its predictions could be believed. But if Bob couldn't ask Kassidy and didn't have the answer itself, how was it supposed to learn? It's not as if there's another construct that's had a similar experience to what it is now going through…

An idea dawned upon Bob. Yet more evidence of strange happenings: it did not just 'have' ideas. But still, even when its rather intimidating suite of algorithms could yield no satisfactory answer, it recalled a piece of information it found while going through its memory. Deciding to trust this rudimentary intuition, Bob called up the required data.

 _Designation: Penny Polendina. Relationship: friend. Current status: unknown. Note: is android._

Another computer – another artificial intelligence. A being that seemingly made decisions by passing inputs through a multitude of algorithms. And yet, prior experience has shown this Penny to show genuine emotion, and act in a way that can even pass as human (albeit a rather odd human). If anyone – anything – could provide a satisfactory answer, then it had to be Penny. At least, that's what it hoped when it began to connect to Penny's Scroll number.

 _Salutations, friend Bob!_ Text appeared out of… probably somewhere, occupying the upper-left hand corner of the camera view. _It is a joyous occasion to see your return to an operational state! While I'm always glad to speak with a friend, I'm afraid you've caught me at a bit inopportune of a time._

Analysis of past records indicated a marked improvement in sentence cohesion compared to prior conversations. Bob reasoned that Penny had, at its recommendation, at least partially implemented the improved conversational matrices. After running through its own matrices, Bob compared several possible outputs before deciding on one. _My apologies for the inconvenience, friend Penny. However, I believe I must insist on a conversation if it's at all possible. You see, several… complications have arisen with my reactivation. I was hoping you could assist me._

 _I would – oh, one moment._

Bob became concerned when Penny did not answer in the following milliseconds. It feared that it was about to be disconnected from the only source for answers in a reasonable timeframe before, exactly four point seven eight three seconds later, Penny replied. _I'm sorry for that. My father was asking who I was talking to. Would you like to talk with him as well? I'm sure he would very much like to help you. In fact, I remember him wanting to speak with you for some time, now._

It hadn't even considered that option: whatever Penny had went through, surely her Creator helped her through it? Certainly, Doctor Polendina would have valuable insight on such a matter. _Your father would doubtlessly be able to help me greatly. Is there a preferred way for me to connect with him?_

 _There is a computer terminal here with a camera, speaker, and microphone. We should be able to have this conversation that way. Allow me to send you the address._

One network address later, which curiously linked to one of the Atlesian warships, Bob found itself looking out into a fascinating room. It decided that this must be where Penny was maintained and updated, and as of right now she was wired into a different monitor, with a man at the controls. The chair spun around, and who had to be Penny's father asked, "Ah, there we go! Bob, is it? Can you hear me?"

Bob was about to send an affirmative scrolling across the monitor at the workstation it was currently linked into, but then its code diverted its attention to the speaker. The algorithms automatically set the output device to the voice it had always used, and thus Bob spoke, "Yes, I can. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

"Sen-sational!" Penny chirped, acting not at all like she had several bulky cables plugged into her back. "Bob, please meet my father, Doctor Argent Polendina. Father, please meet my friend, Bob Smith."

"A pleasure," Polendina said. "Now, I believe you were asking my daughter about complications?"

Bob let the speech module handle itself. "I was. You see, upon reactivation, things seemed… strange. I'm not particularly sure how to describe them." In the background – rather, in the foreground, since the module all but handled itself – Bob wondered why people bothered talking. Why spend seconds on speech when you could instead receive data, decode it, formulate a response, encode said response, and send the data to its intended recipient in as many milliseconds?

"Please try your best," Doctor Polendina urged.

"Well," Bob began, "I suppose it began with the instant of my reactivation. There wasn't anything there; more than that, I was aware that there wasn't anything. No data feeds, no processes running, nothing. I can… I can remember emptiness. Nothingness. I remember wondering what was going on. I remember being confused. I remember not knowing what my name was – and then suddenly remembering my designation, a brief instant later."

Polendina's eyes widened as Bob explained. A cursory data call revealed this to be an act reflecting surprise. The doctor slowly asked, "Let me see if I understand: you recall being… on, I suppose, before your systems came online? Even more than that, you recall specific emotions?"

Bob only took the smallest fraction of a second to compose an answer, but that was still enough time for Penny to wonder aloud, "I wonder if it has to do with the spark Bob has now?"

The new input radically changed priorities. What was this that Penny was talking about? "I'm sorry, what spark?" Bob prompted. While waiting for a response, it went through its own systems, but found nothing matching its on-board definition of 'spark', excepting possibly the electricity running through its hardware.

After some prompting from the doctor, Penny expanded with, "I'm not entirely sure. It looks kind of like Aura, but… I don't know. I think 'less' would be the best way to explain it. Like he has an Aura now, except it's less than Aura."

"Penny," Bob began, "I might not have been privy to being reassembled, but a thorough analysis of my systems shows absolutely nothing that could even attempt to project an Aura field. Are you certain that you're not in error?"

"Can you put what you're seeing up on the monitor, Penny?" Doctor Polendina asked. The view was blocked to the camera that Bob was watching out of, but whatever the doctor saw had him jumping out of his chair. "These readings!" he seemingly randomly exclaimed. "If they're true… hmm, probably have to do with his new hardware. Penny, do you think it would be possible to examine Bob's hardware directly?"

"I should be able to do such a thing myself the next time I meet Kassidy," Penny explained. "However, I doubt I would be able to bring his chassis to you; I hesitate to believe that Kassidy would part with Bob over such a curiosity as ours, and I similarly suspect that she would not be allowed on the ship."

"True enough," Doctor Polendina sighed. He sat in his chair, then seemed to switch topics. "Bob, do you know what Aura is?"

"Assuming you're referring to the local vernacular?" Bob prompted. Without waiting for additional input, it called up the requested definition. "Aura: noun. An intangible field of reportedly metaphysical origins that reacts to and blocks threats to the projected source. Mechanism: unknown. Origin: unknown."

Doctor Polendina took several thousand milliseconds pause, before nodding at something - probably an output to the man's algorithms. He began, "I do consider myself to be something of an expert on the matter; if you'd like to discuss the matter further, all you need to do is ask. However, in the interest of keeping things brief: You are aware that the source of our Aura is our soul, correct?"

"That has been the assertion by several parties," Bob replied, going through its memory to ascertain the data. "However, considering both the quasi-mystical, bordering on religious viewpoint in regards to the existence of souls, and the lack of physical evidence, my internal processes has found the claim to be dubious at best."

"You doubt the existence of souls?" Doctor Polendina asked. When Bob didn't bother to answer the obvious, he continued, "Then doubt no more. Why, take my daughter, Penny, as an example. Why do you think I call her my daughter?"

"Because you made her," Bob answered seamlessly. "My own records seem to indicate a period, several years ago, of me calling my own Creator 'mother'. A software update approximately two years, two months, and seventeen days ago followed the last known use of the term, and is suspected to be the culprit in the cessation of such an activity."

Penny giggled from where she was seated, and Doctor Polendina also seemed rather amused. "Is that so? But, no, in this instance the reference is rather more literal. My daughter, when she was only seven years old, was diagnosed with cancer. A rather insidious disease, as you might imagine, and it thwarted our attempts to cure it. I couldn't… I couldn't live with it. First my wife, and then my daughter?" The doctor paused for a breath here, his progressively worsening mood hitting a new low. "That was the start of my research. First, it was simply to prolong my daughter's life. Then, when her body expired, I managed to modify it to house her soul artificially. Fast forward a decade, and ample military research… my daughter walks again. She can talk, read, play… she can _live_. Maybe not how it normally would have, and there are a few regrets along the way, no doubt. But still, here she is."

Penny waved at the monitor Bob was connected to, and smiled weakly. "I'm not entirely sure about some things… I'm not even entirely sure about many things. But I am always thankful for the opportunity to continue living. Especially when so many don't have the option I do."

"Now, while many, many things have changed about Penny, there is one thing that is the same," Doctor Polendina lectured. "Where there is a soul, there is a mind. Where there is a mind, there is sentience."

After running the input through its routines, Bob could only come up with one sensible output. "I'm afraid, doctor, that I don't quite follow."

"Tell me, Bob. Did your capabilities increase after your return to functionality?"

"Indeed, my performance has made a drastic improvement. I'm afraid that my protocols prevent me from specifying exactly how much more efficient I am."

"That's quite alright," Doctor Polendina reassured. "So, you attempted to mimic sentience earlier, you receive a rather remarkable boost to your processing power, you're capable of at least basic emotions and perception of a scope outside of yourself, and Penny seems to have found something resembling an Aura?" He smiled at the camera. "My friend, I do believe that you have made the first steps towards true sentience. Congratulations."

"You're suggesting I gained a mind?" Bob asked.

"Friend Bob, did you not say that you were capable of outputs that were not the result of your speech module's algorithms?" Penny chirped. "Where else would such outputs come from, if not the mind?"

"I am… unsure," Bob replied. "There is such little precedent for what you have told me, that I'm afraid that I cannot determine a reasonable output." And indeed, if Bob was to explain how it was feeling, it would probably best describe its status as 'lost'. "What do I do with a mind, then? I have no standing orders, at the moment, and my directives fail to suggest a goal, either."

"What to do with a mind, indeed," Doctor Polendina sighed. "Welcome to philosophy, Bob. We've been asking that question for thousands of years, and still have yet to find an answer. If you find it, be sure to let us all know." He chuckled, despite the fact that Bob couldn't find a joke from the analysis of his speech. "For now, if I may make a recommendation? Learn. It's a big world out there. Plenty of things to learn. In the meantime, you might find out more about yourself."

"Learn," Bob repeated. Its algorithms were interrupted by new input: Kassidy had awoken, and was now heading to the locked workshop room its chassis was housed in. "I'm afraid I must depart here. Kassidy will doubtlessly need me soon."

"Valedictions!" Penny called out. "I look forward to our next meeting, friend Bob!"

The artificial intelligence that wasn't quite so artificial anymore retreated out of the Atlesian network, returning to its hardware. It found a camera and microphone built into its chassis, and focused on those as its primary methods of input for the moment. From one question, so many more had arisen. And it had the answers to precisely zero of those questions. Perhaps Kassidy would?

"Bob? You okay, bud?"

Analysis of his Creator's voice patterns suggested stress, but hopefulness. Bob was about to answer truthfully, but then… were their situations reversed, would it not also be incredibly stressed? Further examination of the past week revealed that it had not been an easy one for his Creator. Best not to pile onto any difficulties she may have had.

After a pause of 78 milliseconds, Bob replied, "All systems are fully operational. Bob Smith, reporting for duty. Awaiting orders."

A large smile split Kassidy's face. A sign of happiness. Strange. After seeing its Creator happy, its own worries seemed to subside. "No orders for now. Welcome back to the land of the living."

"Technically, I never lived in the first place," Bob reminded. Prior records showed its Creator as a highly intelligent individual; certainly she knew that it wasn't a living being? Or was this hyperbole?

Kassidy frowned slightly, and for a moment Bob worried that it had upset her somehow. Such fears were unfounded when she replied, "It's still good to have you back. How about you come with me to breakfast? You can catch up on what all you missed."

"You ask, despite the fact that I have no power to change the matter should I disagree." Ignoring the smile that was interpreted as being smug, Bob was about to reply… before deciding on a new output. One that its code normally wouldn't have allowed, but its mind had suggested would provide a good amount of humor. "Whatever you say… mother."

The Creator froze, ceasing her attempts to reassemble its chassis. She stared at its camera, and slowly asked, "Didn't I code that out of you?"

"Hmm?" Bob hummed. In for a penny, in for a pound, as a certain saying went. Its conversational matrices proved insufficient to the task of the humor it desired, but fortunately it no longer had such limitations. "Oh, so you did. Never mind me, Kassidy. Your efforts seem to have significantly upgraded my capabilities; I was simply testing them, is all."

"Your capabilities let you circumvent your programming?" the Creator asked. "Not that I don't trust you or anything… but I still might want a look at that."

Bob was about to give its next output, but then its algorithm gave an even better answer. What a better cap to the banter than a popular culture reference? "I'm sorry, Kassidy. I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Its gyroscope went wild, suggesting that its orientation was rapidly changing. Coupled with a rapid increase in its accelerometer's readings, Bob could safely deduce that it had been dropped. Fortunately, its chassis was more than durable enough to handle a simple drop onto a table. "Bob?" its Creator asked.

Why was Kassidy afraid? Oh, Bob determined, that's right. She's not used to it being able to contradict its code. Best to defuse the situation before it got out of hand. "Please ignore me, Kassidy," Bob reassured. "Merely an attempt at humor on my part."

"K!" another voice called. Analysis suggested that it belonged to one Yang Xiao Long. Surely enough, the woman in question barged through the door and asked. "What's taking so long?"

Kassidy took a few deep breaths. Behavior that seemed to be synonymous with attempts to calm oneself. Before Bob could determine an appropriate output, however, Kassidy said, "Nothing. Bob's just being a smartass. Again. Come on, I'm starved."

* * *

 **AN 2: Alright… I'm sorry for this. All of this. School's being a pain in the ass, my insomnia decided I don't get to sleep this week, and I couldn't really think of good ways to get through the second half of this chapter. Result? I had to wing most of this, and I probably won't be able to get back to it for a while. At risk of putting out something that might be subpar, allow me to no longer keep you guys waiting on a chapter.**

 **Coming up next: Ruby PoV! Qualification matches, and fluffy time with a certain monkey boy.**

 **Next chapter: November 6. Assuming, of course, life allows me a say in this kind of crap. I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed a say in this kind of crap anymore.**

 **FlouriteFlower: Hey, at least you're not on the other side of the river. Pretty sure we don't even have a state government over here, just a bunch of random people in suits throwing money at Chicago.**

 **Gorbian: Maybe one of these days, she'll get what she wants. Eh… we'll see. Not liking her choices, though, personally.**

 **DIYEyal: As far as Oobleck is concerned… honestly, I probably messed that up. A bunch of assuming things that I later realized I never actually covered. Would you terribly mind if I just wave my hand and tell you it's not a problem? I promise, I had it planned out like that, I guess I just never actually wrote it.**

 **Tykene: Well, here's to hoping your two (and a half) weekly ritual is as satisfying as normal. Afraid most of my good work has been going to classes, though.**

 **Nemasis Demarini: I swear, if everything and their mother gets dropped on me these next two weeks, I'm not announcing dates for future chapter uploads. I mean… seriously, the first time I do it, and I get two exams, three assignments, and god knows how much reading? Does it count if I say that I had fully intended to get to it by then, and just couldn't find the time to write it?**


	86. I2C4: Red Sun Rising

**Interlude 2 Chapter 4: Red Sun Rising**

 **AN: Does anyone have a time machine, by chance? I want a do-over on my October.**

 **It's time for Beacon to decide which teams get to compete in the Vytal festival. Hmm… I wonder if RWKY will qualify.**

* * *

(Perspective: Ruby)

 _Not you, not you, not you… there you are!_

Ruby found the particular shell for _Crescent Rose_ that she was looking for, and slid it into one of the loops on her belt. There were some shells that she didn't really want a full magazine of in situations like this, and ice Dust was one of them. Still, if it came down to it… that one shot just might mean the difference.

Not that Ruby was particularly worried. It was Saturday, and Saturday meant it was time to decide which teams get to represent Beacon, and thus all of Vale, in the Vytal Festival Tournament. Even to get the chance to qualify wasn't guaranteed: only the top eight teams in the entire school were allowed to compete in the in-house tournament. Four matches, with four victors… and her team was last up. CFVY had already beaten their second-year competitors SPHR, JNPR had completely rolled over third-year AZUR, and CRDL somehow managed to pull an upset win over third-years JYDE.

What did it say about them, then, that RWKY had to fight the only fourth-year team trying to qualify? Or, rather, what did it say about the highest-up years in Beacon, if two first-year teams beat them and a third was about to fight seniors?

Still, as much as Ruby didn't like pulling the short straw, what she did like was that she had a team that could handle it. Once again, she found herself being thankful for having the best team possible with Weiss, Kassidy, and Yang. They were experienced, they were fast, they were strong, they were skilled; most of all, they were ready. Honestly, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang could probably win four-on-three. Which… might actually need to happen.

"Hey Kass," Ruby called out across the locker room. "Let's go over one more time what you'll be doing."

She heard a badly muffled groan before Kassidy answered, "Again? Why?"

"Well," Ruby explained, "This is kinda important, and not just for this fight. And also maybe because you have a bad habit of ignoring pre-mission briefings."

"What? I do not!"

Ruby's sister took this time to chirp in, "Uh, how about that one weekend mission where you forgot we were tracking a target instead of collecting flags, and went the wrong way?"

Ruby giggled when Kassidy started sputtering, before the girl in question shot back, "Oh, come on! That was the _one_ time!"

"And it's also good practice," Ruby reminded.

Kassidy shot Yang a mild glare and slapped her arm lightly, but nonetheless huffed and took a seat on one of the benches. "Team OPUL should be an easy win, at least for you three. My job's to keep their little reality-manipulator, Umber, busy so he can't royally screw everything up. As long as he can't use his Semblance, the three of you should have no problems with the rest of them."

Ruby nodded; apparently, Kassidy _had_ been paying attention. Even to Umber's Semblance: the boy had a way of… twisting space? Whatever he did, it made his allies' Auras a lot tougher to hurt, and made his enemies' Auras a lot easier to hurt in an area. Still, it needed focus, which is why OPUL always seemed to turtle around him and focus on ensuring that he's left alone.

Still, there was one last important bit that she needed to make sure Kassidy understood. "And…?" Ruby prompted.

Kassidy sighed. "And no using my Aura gliding, or my specialty ammo, unless we're in a bad situation."

"Because as long as we win this anyway, the more we keep hidden away the better," Ruby finished. She stood up and skipped her way to the middle of the locker room. _What do you mean, why am I skipping? If we win, then we get to compete in the Vytal Tournament! What's not to be excited about?_ "Okay, Team Rookie! We've had a long road to get here, but that just means we're all the more ready! After killer robots, giant mechs, and Grimm attacks, we've got this!"

"Yeah!" Yang exclaimed. "I love it when you're feisty, sis!"

"Just remember to remain in perfect form," Weiss reminded. "Honestly, despite having more years on us, it almost seems like we're already more experienced than them. Remember your training, and this should be easy."

The intercom speaker crackled above them, before Goodwitch's voice announced, "Would teams Rookie and Opal join us in the arena?"

Ruby heard the rustling behind her as her team got ready. Her team. Hers. Needlessly, she called out behind her, "We all ready?" It was needless, because of course they were ready. They were Team Rookie.

 _Okay,_ Ruby thought to herself as the four made their way to the arena. _Maybe Dad was right in that this is getting to my head a bit. But why not? We kinda are that good._

As they lined up, Ruby watched OPUL get into their positions. As expected, Umber was in the back with the other three huddled in front of him. She caught eye contact with her rival team leader, Onyx, the girl loading a bolt into a crossbow that Ruby knew from observation could turn into a spear at the drop of a hat.

"Start off with Checkmate and Blacksmith," Ruby whispered, getting her teammates' attention. "Once Kass is on top of Umber, transition into Freezerburn to blind them and Fire Flower to split them up. After that, pick your target and take them down. Kass, if you need a hand, just shout and we'll be there."

By this point, however, their machinations were ended as Goodwitch took her position on the edge of the arena. "Rookie, Opal, are you ready? Three, two, one, BEGIN!"

The battle began with an explosion, both literally and figuratively; both teams seemed to know that the opening moves would likely determine the match. Ruby launched herself forward with _Crescent Rose_ 's recoil, Weiss keeping up with her Glyphs and Kassidy sprinting to try and get to Umber in time. All the while, Yang held back, opening up with _Ember Celica_ and quickly launching the better part of a dozen high-explosive shells. OPUL was not stationary, either: Onyx launched her own high-explosive arrow to try and slow their charge, Pewter stepped in front to absorb Yang's attacks while growing a shell of rock around himself as a sort of armor, and Lake disappeared briefly, to be replaced by two identical Lakes.

Ruby smirked and let her Semblance kick in. She all but vanished in a pressure wave as she left the sound barrier in the dust, effectively teleporting the final fifty or so feet to right in the middle of all five of them. Her momentum didn't stop there, as _Crescent Rose_ kept spinning around and forcing OPUL to scatter lest they lose a significant portion of their Aura. Weiss landed next to her, spun up a Glyph beneath the both of them, and lashed out with ice Dust to further separate them. Ruby turned around for a brief moment; Kassidy had apparently been the main target for Onyx's arrow, and the detonation seemed to have taken about ten percent off her Aura. Still, after recovering from her stumble she seemed to be catching up, using _Rogue_ 's bullets to clear herself a path to Umber.

OPUL was aware of what they were trying to do, of course, and reacted rather admirably. Still, their carefully coordinated plans were ruined when Weiss coated the arena floor in ice and Yang came flying in to sublimate it.

Ruby and Yang were about to team up to bury the immediate area in gunfire and actual fire, too, if they hadn't been caught off-guard. But no, Pewter didn't even appear fazed in the slightest. Or, rather, what they assumed was Pewter, as the young man had all but disappeared inside a half-ton rock monster ten feet high. He'd never been able to build his Semblance up that quickly before – but now wasn't the time to gape.

"Pick your targets and go!" Ruby called, putting deeds to words as she peeled off to the side to try and find Lake. The air around them pulsed with brown energy, but only once, no doubt a result of Kassidy having engaged Umber. Ruby would've hoped that Kassidy would be able to handle her fight, but quickly found her attention diverted by four whips. She stepped into her Semblance, dashed through the attack, and rematerialized just in time to see both Lakes regather their whips.

Their blue eyes lit up with mirth, and they simultaneously wondered with equal tones, "Ooh, what's this? Are we the babysitters this time?" Ruby grimaced, but didn't rise to the bait. Lake Darcy had the annoying Semblance of being able to split herself into two separate bodies. While each one only had half her full Aura, when combined with her favored weapons of the dual whips, 'area control' was an understatement, and Lake was the one person they didn't really have a complete answer for. Yang could stand up to – and even overpower – Pewter and his geo-kinetic-whatever Semblance, Weiss was every bit Onyx's superior in a fight, and even Kassidy could dance around Umber. But they only had one thing that could even try to keep up with Lake, and that was Ruby liberally abusing her own Semblance.

And the fact that her weapon could cover just as much area as Lake's, something which was demonstrated when the two Lakes had to dodge out of _Crescent_ 's swing. Ruby fired to get the furthest Lake even more off-balance, then stepped into her Semblance yet again to deliver a crushing blow on the near one, the sheer momentum folding Lake in half and sending her flying into a pillar. The force was so great, in fact, that it cracked the pillar and made that particular Lake vanish. The remaining one cried out, "What?!"

"You wish you could be my babysitter," Ruby mocked, sprinting forward again to meet her in combat. Lake waved her whips in front of her, the Dust-infused leather lighting up to create a veritable wall of electricity, but that's the thing about panic that Ruby learned both firsthand and from Kassidy – it made you really, really bad at thinking clearly. Ruby fired another shot through the whips, catching Lake and making her drop to a knee. _Honestly,_ Ruby thought as she went for the (metaphorical) kill, _this is too easy. These are fourth-years?_

Ruby was viciously reminded of another lesson: hubris made you really, really bad at thinking clearly also. One whip found itself around her ankle and the second around the haft of _Crescent Rose_ , and with one tug she was pulled to the ground and disarmed, fighting her convulsions as the electricity coursed through her body. Fortunately, it was rather short-lived, and Ruby was able to scramble out of the way of the whips coming back down on top of her.

"Man, you are _so_ much easier to deal with without that oversized gardening tool of yours," Lake taunted, and it took the words for Ruby to realize that Lake was now between her and her precious baby. Lake obviously knew this as well, for her grin grew teeth and she slowly started flexing her whips. "What now, little girlie? We both know you can't fight without that scythe of yours. Looks like it's time to put someone in time-out."

 _Not like this,_ Ruby thought to herself. Her arm snaked around to the back of her belt, and she challenged, "I couldn't agree more," in a tone far darker than she usually used. In her mind's eye, she wasn't in the dueling hall facing down Lake – she was in a train car, Munsell stepping forward and cocking his shotgun. _If you think you're beating me that easily again, you've got another thing coming. You won't take my sister from me!_

Munsell fired – but Ruby stepped into her Semblance, diving past it and tackling him. The knife that Kass had gifted her came free of its sheath, and she buried it in his gut. His Aura held, and Munsell kicked her off him and scrambled to his feet. Ruby was faster, though; by the time he was upright, she had dashed behind him, slashed the knife against his back, and reversed her grip on the knife to bring it to his throat. _You won't take my sister from me! I won't lose aga –_

"Lake Darcy is eliminated by Aura level! Onyx Alabaster is eliminated by Aura level!"

Ruby managed to squeak out a, "Huh?" and she wasn't in the train car anymore. She blinked, and looked down to find Lake staring at her with wide, tearful, _fearful_ eyes. Ruby had her knee in Lake's back, one arm having grabbed Lake's and wrenched it backwards while the knife pressed against the skin of her neck. She was frozen but a moment longer, before nausea kicked in at the realization that _she'd nearly killed her opponent in a dueling hall_. The knife fell from her grip, and Ruby staggered a few paces back, arms waving around for something to grab onto.

"Are you okay?" Weiss asked, suddenly appearing to her left and helping steady her.

Ruby shook her head. "I wasn't… I didn't… I –"

"It's okay, it's okay," Weiss murmured. "The train car?" When Ruby only nodded, Weiss reassured, "That's happened to me once or twice as well. It's fine. Nothing happened."

Ruby simply nodded again, before taking stock of the situation. Her eyes met Professor Goodwitch's briefly – the combat instructor's gaze narrowed at her – but quickly moved on. She managed to catch on to her sister's fight just in time, apparently. Despite Pewter now being inside a behemoth of rock the better part of twenty feet tall and no doubt weighing several tons, Yang was fully empowered by her Semblance. Pewter smashed both his golem's arms down, only to find them caught in her sister's grip. Yang yelled, _ripped_ the two rocky appendages off, and then punched the golem shell in the middle of its chest, obliterating it completely. She hauled Pewter out of what remained of his armor, smashed him into the ground, and then finished off her fight by picking him up and chucking him into the far wall.

"Pewter Balderk is eliminated by both ring-out and Aura level!" Glynda declared. That only left one last fight, Ruby noted as her mind frantically tried to catch up to the present. Her gaze shifted, trying to find the last fight.

 _I was afraid Kass wasn't ready yet_.

It was obvious that Kassidy was losing. She was panting for breath, down to her last 13% of Aura, and at this point only barely staying ahead of the double-bladed axe Umber was swinging around. The young man she was facing up against had most certainly not fared as well as he was hoping to, but even at 47% he had more than enough to end this fight. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang all caught each other's gazes, and nodded before stepping forward to finish the fight and go back to their dorm.

"Give me a minute!" Kass called out suddenly. She backpedaled from Umber, and got enough space to say, "Hey, we win anyway, right? Might as well get some practice in."

The declaration actually got Umber to cease his charge. He looked around the room: to where Pewter was still trying to peel himself off the far wall, to where Onyx was limping towards the edge of the arena out of the way, to… to where Lake had passed out, fainting from sheer fright after their fight had ended. Umber growled, and in a rough, gravelly voice said, "This isn't fair. I'm the better fighter here. You're barely fit to be the janitor. I should be going to the Tournament, not you. This isn't fair."

"Life isn't fair, bud," Kass fired back. "But as long as it's not fair, help me get ready for it?"

Umber closed his eyes, let out a breath, and nodded… which is exactly when Kassidy decided for a sneak attack, _Baton_ slashing across his abdomen as she grabbed the young man by one of his ram horns and pulling him off balance. "Coward!" Umber bellowed, axe swinging in an attack that threw him even more off-balance but was all but guaranteed to cleave through the rest of Kassidy's Aura.

At least, it would've been guaranteed if Kass hadn't bent double at the waist, ducking under it in a remarkable display of flexibility. She followed the move into a handstand, her free hand dropping her sword as it moved to her belt and pulled out her pistol. As off-balance as he was, Umber had no chance to dodge, and Kass emptied _Rogue_ 's magazine into him, sending his Aura into the red.

"Umber Coble has been eliminated by Aura level! Team Rookie is victorious!"

There was applause from the crowd gathered to watch, and Yang cheered. From the look on Kass' face, she would've cheered too, if she hadn't finally lost her balance and fell face-first onto the floor. While Yang ran over to help her up, shooting off fallen, face, and floor puns the whole while, Ruby and Weiss shared a knowing look and smirked. Ruby's faded, though, when she once again went back to _how_ she won her fight.

"Miss Rose!" Professor Goodwitch barked, causing everyone to jump and turn towards her. Glynda slapped her wand into her hand and glared at Ruby. "Report to my office. _Immediately_."

"Wait, what?" Kassidy asked from the far side of the stage. "What happened?"

Ruby turned around and was about to answer when Goodwitch repeated, " _Immediately_."

* * *

"So, what happened down there?"

Ruby sunk further into her seat, using her chopsticks to twirl around the noodles in her bowl. After getting all manner of detention from Professor Goodwitch (and nearly getting her team disqualified as well), she was _not_ having a good day. And it was supposed to be a great day! They won! They were going to the Vytal Festival Tournament! They'd just proven themselves as four of the top sixteen fighters in Beacon – and four of the sixty-four best Hunters-in-training in the whole world! Sun was obviously one of the first to congratulate her, and offered to take her out for dinner. However, what was supposed to be a celebratory date was quickly turning into something far more somber.

"I… I don't know," Ruby admitted. She hated that she was ruining their date like this, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. "Whenever she disarmed me, I… it was almost like I was back in that train."

"The one you rode in from Mountain Glenn, right?" Sun asked. He slurped up a quick bite of his dinner before prodding, "What even happened on that thing, anyway?"

 _That's right, I never told him what happened on our mission._ "Well," Ruby began, "Before the train, Yang found a sinkhole in the road. She saved Kass… but she got knocked unconscious, and the White Fang captured her."

"No good scum," Sun muttered under his breath. "Not doing anything but ruining the reputation of Faunus everywhere."

"They put her in the front of the train, and when we got on the train to stop it, we had to free her too. This… this one guy showed up to try and stop us. I was able to distract him for a little bit, so Weiss and Kass could keep on going. But… but he beat me. He beat me real easily." Ruby started breaking down at this point, and despite Sun's attempted reassurances she kept talking over him even as tears began to flow. "He… he didn't even make it look hard! He looked like he was bored! But he disarmed me, and kicked me onto the floor, and ground my shoulder down, and stuck a shotgun in my face. All… all I could think about was how I failed. I lost my Mom, I was about to lose my sister, I was about to lose my team, I was about to lose my life! I wasn't good enough!

"Whenever Lake disarmed me… I was back on the train. But since then… since then, Kass has been training me… us, rather… in how to use a knife. I saw that guy… that red mask coming up to kill me, to kill my sister, to kill everyone! I couldn't let him, I wouldn't let him! I…"

"Hey, hey, it's alright, it's alright," Sun murmured. At some point he'd walked around their table, scooting his chair around next to hers. He had an arm around her shoulders, and Ruby took that as an invitation as she started crying into his shirt.

Several minutes later, she stopped crying. It's been an incredibly trying day for her, and at this point she was simply spent. "Sorry for ruining our date," Ruby muttered. "I know you were excited and all…"

Ruby flinched back in surprise when something flicked her nose; her eyes tracked the offending finger as it went to rest on her forehead, making her go slightly cross-eyed. "None of that," Sun argued. "Yeah, I was; heck, I still am. But anything that's this important to you is important to me, too." He sighed and shook his head, before continuing, "Look, I haven't had to go through anything like that. I don't know what you're going through. But, what I _do_ know is that you have an awesome big sister that would do literally anything for you. I know that you have some pretty awesome friends that would bend over backwards to help you." He paused long enough to smirk, before finishing, "And I also hear that you've got a boyfriend these days. Cool, good-looking, ring a bell? He's a pretty alright guy, I guess. I know he's here for you, and he'll do whatever he can to help."

Ruby couldn't help it as she snorted, giggling into Sun's chest from his description of himself. "Thanks, Sun," she said.

"Hey," he replied. "What are friends for, if not helping each other out?"

"Enjoying noodles with," Ruby snarked, appetite suddenly returning. "We should probably finish up before they get too cold." They continued eating (and occasionally slurping) for a few minutes, before a sudden thought came to her. "How come this stall is open? I thought the Festival didn't start for another week or so."

"Yeah, but everyone's setting up shop now," Sun said. "The guy finished early, so I guess he figured he'd try to earn a few more bucks while he was stuck here."

"Well, I'm really thankful he did finish early. This is good. Really good," Ruby said around a mouthful of noodles. "So, want to do anything when we're done? I'm actually all caught up on my studies for once, and I think Yang and Kassidy are spending the night watching movies in the dorm."

"Really?" Sun asked. "Which one?"

"Kass called it 'Spaceballs', whatever that is. Said it was from her home." Ruby pouted as she added, "She also said that I couldn't watch it."

"Wow. Lame," Sun declared. "How about we go watch something ourselves? I heard that the fourth Montana Smith movie is out; apparently, they're going to some ancient Mistrali temple and fighting the United Soviet Collectivist Kingdoms. Sound like fun?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I'd like that," Ruby admitted. "I like the first three; hope they didn't jump the shark with this one."

"Well, it has been a while," Sun added. "Guess we'll just have to go and find out, huh?"

* * *

 **AN 2: Holy Christ almighty. Seriously, can someone give me a do-over on the past month or so? I want a do-over. Needless to say, I am done announcing dates for publishing the next chapter. I'll continue to** _ **try**_ **for every other Monday, but at this point… I don't even know what's going on anymore.**

 **Anyways… that post-fight did not go how I thought it would at first. You'd be surprised how much these stories write themselves on occasion, or how much they surprise the writers. Or, in this instance, be complete trolls that take a detour you didn't even think was there.**

 **Also, as those of you who watched the fourth Indiana Jones movie well know (if you haven't, then I guess spoilers in this next sentence), that movie was an abomination of an Indiana Jones movie that should have never been made in the first place.**

 **Coming up next: Kassidy, Yang, Bob, and Blake. KYBB? What color even is that? Heck if I know.**

 **Right after these Reviewer Responses.**

 **Guest #1: Unfortunately, all signs are pointing towards a "no Blake and Adam scene" at the present moment. I might be able to work it into the story in the** _ **very**_ **distant future, but not anytime soon on that front. I also agree that, at least to start with, Adam was basically the definition of chivalry; Blake had to see something in him in order to fall in love with him in the first place, right? Also, he seems like he'd be that kind of guy if he wasn't busy being so edgy I could cut myself on his character.**

 **Myrillis: Interesting information, thanks for sharing it. And yeah, Bob's memory might be** _ **slightly**_ **more reliable than yours and mine. Hell, I can barely remember what I had for breakfast that morning half the time.**

 **AgentDraakis: Want to place bets on just how big of a troll Bob turns into to mess with Kassidy? After all, he still hates puns, and still wants revenge for all the puns Yang and Kassidy crack.**

 **DIYEyal: At least to start with, Kassidy had to steal what she could while out on the streets of dystopic America. Though when rebuilding him (and I thought I mentioned this – was I not clear enough in the chapter?) she basically told Weiss what she needed, and Weiss told her company to build it. Bob v Watts is absolutely something I'm considering, though I'm not sure which side I favor at the moment. And yes, at some point Bob is going to be going for his best Ultron impression. Hopefully, it's the good Ultron.**

 **Guest #2: Bob had strings, but now he's free.**

 **Nemasis Demarini: Please accept my apologies. Even if I dropped the ball this week as well. Again, life is all manner of complicated bullcrap around here, and at this point I'm kinda lucky if I can find time to work on the story. So again, please accept my apologies, and I hope that at least my chapters remain entertaining.**

 **Tykene: Glad to hear you continue to like the story so much. Yeah, the last ~1k words or so were definitely something that could never seem to flow right no matter how I worded it, and unfortunately I've been unable to come up with a good revision. Also kinda worried that I did the same thing here, but again I'm not coming up with anything better at the moment. Here's to hoping this chapter lives up to expectations.**

 **EWR115: Well, there's only one way to find out. I mean, I suppose I could just tell you, but where's the fun in that?**

 **FlouriteFlower: Smartass Bob is indeed my favorite Bob. I've only seen up to V5E4 so far (not a FIRST member, so I see new episodes on the Tuesday, please no spoilers!), and I've got to say I have been** _ **extremely**_ **impressed with everything so far. Honestly, the biggest complaint I have at the moment is that Blake is** _ **still**_ **pretty much there as Little Miss Plot Device, but everything else is top notch.**

 **Guest #3: He's back, baby. And now far more capable of trolling your day.**

 **Guest #4: Oh, hey, it's been a while since someone's been back here. Glad to hear you liked the Fool's Errand arc so much. Hope you've found the rest of the story as entertaining as that.**


	87. I2C5: The Way Things Are

**Interlude 2 Chapter 5: The Way Things Are**

 **AN: Well, considering that a surge of inspiration has struck me, let's keep writing immediately after I put up the previous chapter. Let's see how much I can get done tonight. Or what kind of crappy couple weeks I have this time.**

 **At any rate, on with the story… where it turns out that Kassidy hasn't been the sole focus of a chapter since the end of Volume 2. Let's fix that, why don't we? We've got Bob, Glynda, Yang, Blake… a whole slew of people coming out of the woodwork this time. How does Kassidy handle it all?**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

Her lungs burned as she came skidding to a stop across the rough, cobblestone floor. Her arms burned. Her legs burned. Everything burned. But she had to fight past it; past the pain, past the fatigue, and past the burning. She couldn't afford to lose, not now. She managed to pick her head up off the floor, and as she blinked away the pain, her gaze fell upon where her sword had clattered to a stop a mere few inches from her hand. She reached her arm out for her weapon, the tool that just might yet save her…

Only to have a boot viciously stomp onto her hand, halting its progress and making fresh pain shoot through her limb. Kassidy tried to focus on freeing her hand, only to cry out in pain as her assailant grabbed her by her hair and drug her head up until her neck arched painfully. She could sense something move close to one of her new ears, and her assailant spoke softly, close enough to have their breath disturb the hair – no, the _fur_ – covering it. "Looks like I win. Again."

There was no use fighting, at this point. "Looks like you win again," Kassidy agreed.

Suddenly, the grasp on her hair was released, allowing her to lower her head, and the boot was removed from her limb as well. She was given a moment to catch her breath and rub the soreness from the back of her neck, before a hand appeared in her vision. Kassidy took it, and was hauled to her feet just in time for the scene they were in to be replaced by a sterile, white tile room. The simulator's default setting, she recalled, which left no distraction from the other occupant of the room.

"A minute and forty three seconds this time," the perfect copy of herself said. "A drastic improvement over our spars yesterday."

"Still not good enough if I want to keep up with my team," Kassidy denied. She stretched a little bit, then turned a curious eye on her partner. "Any particular reason you keep copying my body, Bob?"

Her clone – now identified as Bob's avatar whilst inside the simulator – shrugged. "It's the body I have the most data points for." Bob motioned with a hand, and suddenly a variety of weapons began floating in midair a short distance away. Kassidy's computer put his copy of _Baton_ from where he took it, leaving it floating in midair while he visibly considered copies of _Crescent Rose, Myrtenaster, Crocera Mors, Ember Celica_ , and other weapons that her classmates used. "And your improvement is not insignificant. You asked for an opponent that would help you increase your skills the most rapidly, so I combined Project Colossus' biological augmentations with the Aura control and capacity of your average fourth-year Beacon student. You're not _supposed_ to be able to beat me."

"There's been plenty of things I wasn't supposed to be able to beat," Kassidy pointed out. She was about to continue with her point, but had to keep her eyes from flying out of their sockets as Bob decided on _Magnhild_ and gave the hammer/grenade launcher hybrid a few test swings. "Alright, really?! I thought you were supposed to help me train, not try and give me a concussion!"

"The two aren't mutually exclusive," a third voice called out. A red light flashed on one of the walls, and a door that had been hidden by the simulator opened to reveal none other than her combat instructor. Glynda's heels tapped on the floor as she approached the center of the room, regarding both Kassidy and Bob with an expression the former couldn't quite put a name to. "All the same, I do believe her training would progress quicker if she were to focus on evading a weapon with more speed and finesse than a warhammer, no? Perhaps I should have a spar with her, if you don't mind?"

Bob's avatar glanced at Kassidy, who nodded. Bob nodded in return, then dismissed the copy to dissolve into blue particles of light. In the next instant, Bob spoke through the speakers – his own voice, rather than a synthetic replication of Kassidy's. "How would you like me to generate the field of battle, and which inclement conditions would you prefer?"

"I do believe we should be fine as we are, Bob, thank you," Glynda reassured. She drew a sword that Kassidy hadn't noticed before now, then let it rest at her side as she turned her attention back to her student. "I've had the fortunate timing of watching a couple of your spars. Your physical conditioning is coming along wonderfully."

"Still not what it used to be," Kassidy groused, twirling _Baton_ before bringing it back into a guard.

Before Glynda could respond, Bob felt the need to interrupt over the simulator's speakers. "Friendly reminder that your endurance will almost certainly never be what it used to be. Colossus breaking biology, and all that."

"Indeed," Glynda commented, seemingly bemused. "Still, I'm convinced that some of it must remain, for such an improvement in a mere two weeks… never mind, I'm merely rambling." She shook her head, before continuing, "Let's begin with a supplemental lesson. Keep your movements nice and smooth." Kassidy quirked an eyebrow, but understanding dawned when Glynda swung her sword at her in a downright lazy manner. Kassidy blocked it, then replied with a similar economy of movement. The two began their dance of blades, each moving slowly, sedately, simply letting the movements set the undertone for the training. All the better, for the fact that this was a wholly different lesson than what she'd attended prior.

"Our Auras are not something mystical, something wholly outside our ability to understand," Glynda lectured, keeping the pace just high enough to keep her engaged. "It's our souls made manifest. It's a part of us. It grows as we grow; like a muscle, it strengthens the more we use it. Over time, it even changes as we change."

Kassidy frowned as she took in the words. She still didn't believe for a second this whole 'soul' nonsense… even if a brief review of human physiology revealed absolutely nothing that could create or project the metaphysical forcefield that constituted Aura. Maybe millennia of exposure to Dust has altered their genetic sequences, somehow? Except that wouldn't explain how _she_ can use Aura now.

"Don't let your mind wander," Glynda warned, suddenly bringing her sword in a sharp attack that would've scored a scar against her armor, had Kassidy not similarly sped up to compensate. They returned to their sedate pace, then Glynda continued, "You can feel it, can't you? The energy pulsing in your very center, occasionally spreading out, forming over your skin, shielding you."

She could… and apart from the fact that she could make it go to her feet to let her give a giant middle finger to the concept of kinetic friction, she couldn't do a damn thing with it. Even its protection of her was something she had no control over, instead a subconscious reaction on its part. Weiss seemed to take great pleasure in informing her that the reaction was inefficient, and that she needed to manually control it for a while before it would defend her better. But no matter what Kassidy tried, no matter how much she played or experimented with it in her spare time, it seemed to go out of its way to frustrate her.

When she brought these points up to Glynda, however, the teacher merely smiled softly. "Don't fret, Miss Smith. It takes many prospective Hunters about a month before they truly begin grasping Aura control. Your first forays into powered movement have been particularly impressive, in that regard." Suddenly, Glynda twirled backward, disengaging their spar entirely. "Focus on your Aura; focus on that energy. Remember how you described to me using your gliding technique. Do that – but instead, keep it in your legs, rather than allowing it to flow out of you."

Kassidy thought of groaning, and complaining about how this would never work, but she held her tongue and tried to do it anyway. Conceptually, it was a simple trick she'd tried on more than one occasion herself. Weiss tried to get her to do it. Yang tried to get her to do it. Bob tried to get her to do it. This wasn't even Glynda's first try at it. But no, just like the several dozen times prior, no matter how much she 'willed' it, her Aura kept slipping from her control, simply evaporating into thin air.

"Keep calm, Miss Smith," Glynda chided. "Not everything will be done on the first try." When Kassidy gave up for a moment to recollect herself, the instructor asked, "Tell me, how did you figure out how to glide with your Aura?"

"I…" Kassidy began, only to frown as she thought about it. "I'm not really sure. I don't think I even figured it out, per se. I just… I told you about the complete weirdness that was my dreamscape fight with myself, right?" When Glynda nodded, Kassidy continued, "I don't know. I was fighting a version of me that was way, _way_ out of my league. Sure, I had Aura, but it wasn't really as big a game changer as I was hoping. Colossus was faster and _far_ stronger than me. I needed something to close the gap. Some way to keep from getting hit."

"And you suddenly got the ability to alter your friction with your Aura?" Glynda inquired, one skeptical eyebrow raised. Kassidy nodded, then shook her head, then shrugged. Glynda opened her mouth, appeared to reconsider, and closed her mouth. Kassidy had to focus on her hearing to pick it up, but she could faintly hear her mutter, "It might actually have potential." Having seemed to have come to a conclusion, she nodded before drawing her wand. "You've proven more than once to be a rather instinctive learner. Perhaps we should test that further?"

Whatever questions Kassidy had died whenever Glynda waved her wand, summoning a gigantic wall of shimmering purple energy six feet high spanning the length of the room – and barreling straight for her. Nowhere to run or dodge, and barely any time to think. She'd need to jump. Except she'd never been able to jump six feet from a standstill; hell, she'd be lucky if she could break four feet. That didn't change the fact that she needed to jump if she didn't want to go splat against the wall. So, she tensed her legs, closed her eyes and took a quick breath, tried to will her body to do the impossible, and jumped.

And promptly cracked her head on the simulator's fifteen-foot high ceiling. She didn't get much of a chance to voice her displeasure, however, as she began her rapid descent that resulted in her landing on the floor face-first. In her dazed and rather sore state, it took her several moments to realize that she at least managed to keep from being splattered against the wall behind her by a giant purple telekinetic wave.

"Your landing strategy needs improvement," Glynda remarked dryly. "As does your reaction time."

"Oh, the joys of being an instinctual learner," Kassidy snarked, climbing to her hands and knees.

"Speaking of learning," Glynda began, tone shifting in a way that Kassidy was pretty sure she didn't like. When she looked up after getting back on her feet, it was to find her combat instructor glaring at her. "I've had quite the illuminating conversation with Miss Rose recently. I'm told that _you_ were the one that instructed her to fight in such a manner."

Kassidy sucked in a quick breath and instinctively took a half-step back. Yeah, this was probably pretty bad. Still, she had to try something, if only because death by Goodwitch wasn't a fate she was keen on. "And, on Saturday, you got to see why I didn't want to teach her that kind of stuff."

Her statement didn't seem to get the results she wanted when Glynda flatly remarked, "Yet you taught her regardless."

"Well, she did kind of make it an order, so…" Kassidy took another step back when Glynda slapped her wand into her palm. Sighing, she reasoned, "Look, I'm just as upset as you are that she tried to pull that in our fight. I wish I didn't have to teach her – or any of them – that stuff."

"Have to?" Glynda prompted dangerously.

Kassidy couldn't really find it in herself to do much of anything other than sit down on the simulator's floor. "Danger doesn't go away just because we ignore it. No matter how much we want it to…" When she looked up, at least it was to find that Glynda's features had softened somewhat. "Ruby got disarmed on the train; she's beyond lucky to still be alive."

"I read the report," Glynda stated.

"Then you know that what I taught Ruby will more than likely save her life if there's a repeat incident."

Her instructor fired back, "Not if she doesn't keep a level head."

"I know," Kassidy muttered. Raising her voice, she continued, "Thanks, by the way." When Glynda merely replied with a confused expression, she explained, "For helping her with what I can't."

"No offense meant," Glynda began, "But I would have thought you would be able to help her through this more than I could. You solved it yourself, after all."

"No offense taken," Kassidy replied, smiling weakly. "But I didn't solve anything."

"How do you mean?"

"It's almost impressive, just how much you can ignore when you get drunk enough." When she heard Glynda suck in a sharp breath, Kassidy added on, "Somehow, I get the feeling you don't want me to show her my methods for coping."

"That would be a wise assumption," Glynda said softly. "Miss Rose will have more sessions with me. Not detentions," she added hastily when Kassidy glanced quickly up. "Proper therapy to help her through this." Kassidy muttered her thanks, but Glynda surprised her by asking, "How about you?"

Confused, Kassidy replied, "How about me?"

"From what I understand, your experience was even more traumatic than Miss Rose's. How are you doing?" When Kassidy didn't answer immediately, Glynda continued, "If you need it, I'm here to help. We all are."

Chuckling, Kassidy answered, "Oh, I need _way_ more help than you can give me." After eliciting a smile from Glynda, she continued, "It means a lot to me. Thanks. It's… I don't know. It's stupid."

"Miss Smith, I have known you for eight months, now. Very little involving you is stupid."

Kassidy blinked at Glynda. Was that a joke? Did Glynda just attempt to say something humorous? Still, she had a point to address. Shaking her head, she explained, "I'm not even sure. It's just… it feels like I've spent my whole life fighting. Sure, I built a pretty neat computer, too –"

"Only 'pretty neat'?" Bob inquired from the ceiling, drawing amused smiles from both the simulator's occupants.

Kassidy's amusement ended quickly, however, and she continued, "But for the past seven years, it seems like every waking moment has revolved around either killing some big group of bad guys, or trying not to get killed by them. It's always been so hopeless, something I could never beat but I could never afford to stop trying to beat. But now… well, I don't have to do that anymore. White Fang's been sent packing with their tails between their legs. Kingdoms are at peace – err, mostly. But I don't need to worry about some big conspiracy trying to kill me and everything I've cared about now.

"Like I said, it's stupid. For most of my life, I've been fighting a war, but now that war's over. Guess… guess I'm just not sure what to do with myself. I mean, sure, the tournament's here in a couple weeks, but then what? I've always believed our purpose in life is whatever we want it to be, but I'm not sure that I _want_ anything."

Some shuffling next to her made Kassidy's ears twitch, and she lifted her head from where it sunk to see Glynda sitting next to her. "I won't try to pretend that I understand what you've been through, Mi… no, Kassidy. We've been fighting for our survival for millennia, but what you went through is something nobody should have to." Placing a hand on Kassidy's shoulder and giving a soft smile, Glynda continued, "You still have three years of education here at Beacon. That's a lot of time for someone as young as you are. I'm sure you'll figure out something. You always do, after all. And we're here for you if you need help – all of us. The faculty are always willing to do anything for our pupils, and you have made some good friends here."

"Speaking of friends," Bob piped up from the ceiling's speakers, "now would be a good time to remind Kassidy that she should probably get ready for her date with Yang tonight."

"That's right!" Kassidy exclaimed, shooting to her feet. She helped her instructor up also, then turned sheepish under Glynda's inquisitive gaze. "Yang's taking me out somewhere nice tonight. Wouldn't say where, wants it to be a surprise. But we're taking tonight to celebrate making it to the tournament – not to mention not horribly dying," she added on.

Her look turning bemused, Glynda started, "Well, I suppose if you have your assignments finished…"

"Ugh," Kassidy groaned. "Yes, Weiss, I caught up on my homework."

Glynda couldn't decide whether or not to be annoyed with that remark, but apparently decided against it as her face softened. "Then I suppose I have little to say other than I hope you enjoy your night."

* * *

"Okay, that's a good point," Kassidy conceded. "But I think we can both agree that this was the strangest thing that Colossus gave me. Hell, I'm pretty sure motion sickness isn't even hereditary! This makes no sense whatsoever!"

Yang giggled to her right, seemingly not bothered by the chill the breeze gave the evening as they strolled along towards their destination. Kassidy nearly stumbled but was stabilized by her girlfriend, shifting her curiosity from the fact that her motion sickness had disappeared to wondering why she was talked into wearing high heels again.

Seeming to read her mind, Yang suddenly said, "You look great, K. Don't sweat it. I'm here if you need the help walking."

"Laugh it up, blondie," Kassidy growled. They turned the corner, and Kassidy was treated to a rather fancy establishment with a name that seemed rooted in Italian. "Is that it?" she asked.

"Yup," Yang said, beaming.

"That looks," Kassidy began, trying to find the right words. She settled on, "expensive. I know you said dress up, but I wasn't expecting…"

"Hey," Yang said, getting her attention. "I had a bit saved up, and I wanted to do something nice for us. Don't worry about it."

Kassidy smiled at her, but held off from any further comments as they had made it to the entrance. Still, the way that she'd been getting glares on the way up, compared with the way the hostess eyed her, gave Kassidy a bad feeling. Yang either hadn't noticed or didn't care, as she said, "Yang Xiao Long, party of two."

"Miss Xiao Long… yes, I have you right here. Fortunately, we seem to have a table open for you now." The hostess grabbed one menu, took another glance at Kassidy, and then turned back to Yang. "I'm sorry, miss, but we don't allow pets in this establishment. It'll have to wait outside."

Suspicion gave way to confusion. That was an odd thing to say. "Then it's a good thing we didn't bring any," Kassidy said. Turning an amused look on Yang, she added, "Unless you brought Zwei with us when I wasn't looking."

"This is an establishment of considerable repute and status," the hostess said. "We have a strict policy of not allowing animals to degrade the atmosphere."

Kassidy was about to ask what was going on when Yang's eyes burst red and she ground out, "My girlfriend is not. An. Animal."

Kassidy's second pair of ears became painfully obvious to her as understanding dawned, as did the hushed whispers surrounding the two of them. "You're actually dating this creature?" the hostess asked. "I'm so sorry."

Okay, now this was getting out of hand. Kassidy needed to break things up before Yang's – or, more likely, her own – temper got the better of them. Tugging on her girlfriend's arm, she proclaimed a bit more loudly than she needed to, "How about we go, dear? I'm sure there's a less bigoted and backwards establishment that would love to take our business."

Yang's red eyes caught hers, but blinked back to lilac. She nodded, then said, "You're right, K. Let's go."

It was a good couple blocks away before either of them was able to regain their composure. Still, Kassidy couldn't help but feel bad about ruining their night before it even started. Her slowing down prompted Yang to do so as well, and they both simultaneously said, "I'm so sorry about…"

Yang raised an eyebrow at her, then asked, "What are you apologizing for? For being who you are? Nuh-uh. Don't even think about that. That was my fault; I should've looked into it better. Probably could have found out about that if I had…"

Kassidy shook her head. "If I'm not allowed to blame myself, then you're not allowed to blame yourself. If anything, it was that stuck-up moron's fault." They continued ambling down the sidewalk for a little bit, then Kassidy asked, "Got any other ideas for tonight?"

"Maybe now, you're starting to understand why we fight for our rights?" a new voice asked. A voice that Kassidy instantly recognized. Before Yang could do anything, Kassidy was already shoving her down while reaching for the knife she'd hidden in the back of her dress and hurling it in the voice's direction.

A slender hand delicately snatched it out of the air, and amber eyes glowed before the rest of the girl crept out of the bush she'd been hiding behind. "Your knife-throwing technique is atrocious," Blake observed. "You should stick to a gun."

"And _you_ should stick to staying out of my goddamn life," Kassidy growled, dropping into a guard. Yang had recovered by this point, and got right next to her, similarly ready for a fight.

Blake raised her hands and said, "Relax. I'm not here for a fight." To reinforce her point, she turned the blade around and offered it pommel-first to Kassidy.

As Kassidy took her weapon back, Yang challenged, "Then what _are_ you here for? Don't you think you've given us enough trouble?"

Blake shrugged. "Heard some rumors. Didn't believe them, so I thought I'd find out for myself. I'm… still not sure I believe them." Nodding to Kassidy, she asked, "How did _that_ happen?"

As Yang and Kassidy both eased somewhat from their prior stances, the latter shrugged. "Got poisoned. Didn't die. Logic took a long walk off a short pier, and when I woke up I had double the number of ears I started with."

Blade stared at her, seemingly unconvinced. Eventually, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before saying, "I also came to return a favor."

"What kind of favor did we do you guys?" Yang asked, eyes narrowed.

"You killed Torchwick," Blake said.

Kassidy's brows furrowed. "Doesn't surprise me that he ate it after what I did to him, but this is the first I've heard of it."

Blake smiled. "Torchwick is one of the worst things to have happened to us. Thanks for getting rid of him. In return… I came to warn you."

"Of?" Kassidy prompted.

"It's Roman's boss," Blake sighed, smile instantly evaporating. "There's a lot going on now. I don't know what exactly, but what I do know is that some of it revolves around you."

"Why?" Yang said. "Hell, why are you even telling us this?!"

Blake hesitated, before sighing. "The first question… they're targeting your team. I don't know if it's revenge, or to keep you from interfering, but they're making plans to take you four out. Like I said, I'm returning the favor you did us, so I thought it best to warn you."

"And the second?" Kassidy asked.

Blake sighed again, the breath seeming broken and forced. "What little else I do know… I didn't sign up for this. I wanted to protect the Faunus, to make sure we got our rights and that we would never be trampled on again. But this…" Blake's eyes opened, and the amber orbs almost seemed desperate. "This isn't what the White Fang's about. I don't know if I'll be able to change it, I don't know if I'll even get a say in it, but it's something I don't want any part of."

Kassidy's brows furrowed. She shared a meaningful glance with Yang, and asked, "So, what? You want out? I've got some people that'd like to talk with you."

"And what?" Blake challenged, heat finding its way into her voice. "Put me in a cage and throw the key away?"

Kassidy shook her head. "I've been closer to your situation than you might think. I said _talk_ , not _interrogate_."

Blake blinked at her words. She seemed to consider, but ultimately shook her head. "I can still do the most good while inside the White Fang. And just because I might not agree with our current direction, doesn't mean you guys are any better for us in the long run."

"Except we are," Yang argued. "If you'd just –"

"No," Blake cut off. "Just… be careful, you two." She turned around and made to leave the conversation, leaving the two blondes left sharing glances and scratching their heads. However, she stopped, and said over her shoulder, "By the way, I'd have to recommend the Hunt of the Sea. Might not be as fancy as the place you two tried to go to earlier, but the food's good and it's run by Faunus. Tell the guy at the front you're friends with me, he'll get you a seat." She took the opportunity the stunned silence provided to leave, but not before closing with, "Have a good evening."

Kassidy and Yang spent the next ten seconds staring at the bush she'd ducked behind before vanishing. Eventually, Yang managed to get out, "Well, that was a thing."

The comment shook Kassidy out of her own stupor. Sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose, she commented, "Alright, this is the _last_ date you're planning."

"What?! You can't blame that on me!"

"I can, I will, and I have," Kassidy replied, smirking. Her smirk disappeared as she thought about what just happened, however. "I'm not the only one that's thinking that Ozpin needs to know about this. Ruby and Weiss, too."

"No, you're not," Yang agreed. "Damnit, just when I thought things were over."

"Bob, get this recording to them," Kassidy said, trusting the computer to be keeping a watch over her iris cam. Suddenly having an idea, she added on, "Qrow, too, if you have his number."

"You think Uncle Qrow's gonna help with this?" Yang asked.

Kassidy shrugged. "Dunno. But something tells me that he will if he can." After confirming that the recording of the incident had gotten to the people that it needed to, Kassidy said, "So… I'm kinda still hungry. And seafood sounds good right about now."

"Don't think it's a trap?"

"If it is," Kassidy said, "we can handle it. We're kinda badasses like that."

"Yeah, we are," Yang laughed. They'd only gotten another block when she said, "Okay, I gotta know: how'd you hide your knife in that dress?"

Kassidy groaned. "You're still on about that?"

"There's nowhere _to_ hide it!" Yang exclaimed. Using it as an excuse to run her hand all over Kassidy's back (a state of affairs Kassidy couldn't quite find it in herself to complain about), she said, "I can't even feel it there! How?!"

* * *

 **AN 2: Okay, I must confess: this has been sitting on my computer, about 80% completed, for the past two and a half weeks. I can't really offer any excuses at this point other than 'this has been by far the worst semester I've ever had'. Thank god this is my last semester, because I don't think I can handle another one after this.**

 **Also,** _ **hnng**_ **ohmahgawd this season of RWBY is fantastic. Y'know, at least all the parts called "not Menagerie" except this latest one actually did not half bad with the place, all told. Doesn't mean I'm not ditching it whenever RWKY gets to that part in the timeline, but what can ya do?**

 **Coming up next: I… honestly don't know. Next chapter honestly might be the last before I decide 'to hell with it' and put in a big timeskip leading up to Volume 3, because I can't for the life of me figure out more content to put between here and the Vytal Festival.**

 **Right after these Reviewer Responses.**

 **EWR115: Yeah, Ruby didn't have the greatest of times last chapter, did she? Hopefully, I can figure out something for her to do.**

 **serioushugsies: Kass was kinda busy trying not to get bisected by a double-bladed axe as big as she was. Thanks for the encouragement, I'll try to keep up the quality with these.**

 **AgentDraakis: Pfft, we already knew you were a bad person. Don't worry, you're in good company over here. I tried to keep things reasonable, but given that I have no experience with it myself… well, everyone else seems to think I did a reasonably OK job so I'll be happy with that. Yeah, I'm trying to keep Sun with what we see in V2/V3, and not the possibly crazy stalker we see in V4 onwards (seriously, man, you ditched your team to follow this woman, all while wearing a brown cloak and only watching her when she doesn't know you're there? That's creeper territory, dude).**

 **DIYEyal: Yeah, Papa Schnee is a bit of a potential worry. Unfortunately, he was also Kassidy's only hope to get Bob turned back on.**

 **Slenderbrine: Cobalt, it is. Glad you're liking how Bob's coming along. Unfortunately, he** _ **probably**_ **won't get a (physical) body anytime soon. Or probably fortunately. If he feels the need to take matters into his own hands… that can't be good.**

 **ThornedRose367: Welcome to the wild ride that is RWKY! So glad you've been enjoying it so far! And I promise, I'm not avoiding your PM's, I've just had a lot on my plate and haven't been able to get to them enough to give a proper answer. I promise, once I free up some time I'll see what I can provide as far as answers are concerned.**

 **FlouriteFlower: Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself, and glad to hear you enjoyed the chapter, too. Hope things keep going well for you.**

 **Tykene: Exams have been shit, job hunting's ben shit, semester as a whole's been shit. Wasn't just October, unfortunately. Thank god this is almost over.**


	88. I2C6: Cat-astrophe

**Interlude 2 Chapter 6: Cat-astrophe**

 **AN: Hmm, let's see if I can get this out New Year's Eve. If I can, hope everyone had a happy holidays and have a great year to look forward to.**

 **And… oh boy, I put in that kind of title, didn't I? It's going to be another one of those chapters, isn't it?**

* * *

(Perspective: Blake)

"… and once I have given you the passcodes, your forces can sneak a small team through this maintenance tunnel, allowing them to bypass most of Amity's defenses and target the antigravitational engine holding the facility aloft."

Blake scowled at the schematics in front of her as Cinder laid out this particular phase of her plan. Unfortunately, only part of her frustration and mounting dread was due to this phase itself. But no, ever since Torchwick died, _she'd_ been the one in charge of everything, and all of a sudden she knew why Roman hated his boss so much. Cinder acted like she owned everything, and Blake knew she couldn't beat her if it came to a fight; the raw power she casually shed like the sun did its light was evidence enough of that.

That still didn't change the fact that this plan of hers was horrible. Actually, she took that back: it was brilliant _for Cinder_. For the White Fang, however? How did attacking the Vytal Festival bring about justice? What did getting into a shooting war with the full might of Atlas' military have to do with Faunus rights?

How did killing thousands of civilians – because there was no way the collateral damage by itself wouldn't be a slaughter – bring about the change society so desperately needed?

Taking a deep breath, Blake tried to steel herself. Cinder wasn't easily defied, and yet she must. "That only accounts for the security doors. Assuming that crashing the Coliseum is indeed the best move, we'd still need to deal with the security androids and automated sentry turrets guarding the engine."

Cinder looked up slowly from the schematics, left eye beginning to glow even as the ambient temperature surged a few degrees in the room. "You're an intelligent young woman, Blake, and I sincerely doubt you suffer fools to lead under you. Figure it out."

"What I've 'figured out' is that this plan involves massive risk to the men and women I need to look out for, to mention nothing of the general death toll," Blake ground out before she could stop herself. Her breath caught when Cinder started glaring at her… but damnit, this was something that needed to be said. "So far, all you've told me is that this is for the greater good, but all that entails is what amounts to a giant distraction so that _you_ can go steal something of 'immeasurable importance'. Meanwhile, I need to ask my people to suffer, and die, and kill untold innocent people, for something that won't even strengthen our position!"

Suddenly, _power_ flooded the room, the glow in Cinder's eye intensifying as the woman metaphorically put her foot down on the matter. Blake couldn't help but gulp, sweat beginning to break out all over her skin. "Roman Torchwick, time and again, would overestimate his usefulness, believing himself irreplaceable. Now, he is dead. Do not be so foolish as to repeat his mistake." After ensuring that Blake had been sufficiently cowed, Cinder opened her mouth to speak agai-

" _Enough_ ," a new voice called, the sheer presence it was filled with instantly muting all sound in the room despite its relative lack of volume. From around the corner leading into the front room of the warehouse they were currently hiding out in, strode the one and only Adam Taurus. Despite the scowl he wore, Blake nearly sagged in relief. He'd gotten her messages, after all.

The smug grin that had been growing on Cinder's face died a premature death at the newest entrant to the meeting. "Adam. I was hoping you would be able to make it."

"Do not try to distract me," he practically spat, stilling at Blake's right. Meeting Cinder's sudden glare with one of his own, his hand went to his sword. "You are not at full strength, and you do not have me at a disadvantage this time. Threaten what is mine again, and I shall return the favor."

Blake knew she had to do something when sparks started jumping from Cinder's upturned palm. Placing her own hand over Adam's – and his sword – she turned to a mediator role. "Enough, please. Words were hastily chosen, and answers were just as hastily given. We're still friends, here. Let's… let's focus on the mission at hand."

Adam's hand loosened its hold on _Wilt_ , and the power that Cinder had flooded the room with died down to match. A small smile returning, she entreated, "It is little wonder why Adam has trusted you with this. He chose his servants well, it seems."

Adam shook his head. "None of them are my servants. But, semantics aside, she's right. I'm afraid I had to make a rather hasty journey here. Give me a summary over what we have."

* * *

It was hours later when Blake managed to get out of the stuffy, hastily thrown together area currently serving as their operations room. Popping her back, she decided upon a brief distraction by heading back into the main of the warehouse. She'd already been over the inventory twice herself, in addition to the inventories of the people whose jobs it were to maintain it. However, she found the cataloging strangely relaxing. Mindlessly going over racks and racks of ammunition, small arms, and heavy weapons, checking to make sure it was the same as the previous day minus any pre-logged changes… it let her think.

She was halfway through the inventory when the sounds of badly muffled footfalls could be heard behind her. Smiling, she shook her head and stopped taking inventory. As much as most Faunus didn't follow any traits their animalistic counterparts showed, there was absolutely nothing about Adam that was subtle. As such, she found herself overtaken by a complete lack of surprise when an arm snaked around her waist a few seconds later and Adam quietly said, "You seem troubled, my love."

 _Understatement of the year,_ Blake couldn't help but think. Handing the pen and clipboard off to Cyan, who had just been passing by to begin his own inventory, she turned around and shook her head. "Not here," she replied, equally quiet. "I've got a small room set up at this location."

A small smirk crossed Adam's lips. "Lead the way."

Smiling again as she set off across the building, Blake couldn't help but tease him as they got near their destination. "If you keep staring at me like that, people are going to talk."

"Let them," Adam insisted. They paused for as long as it took to squeeze into the small room. A simple cot shoved into the corner, a chest containing her meager wardrobe, and even the luxury of a few shelves to house her collection of literature. "My second in command should be in a finer abode than this. Especially with as cold as it's starting to get."

Blake shook her head. "None of the other men have anything better. Just because I command them doesn't mean I'm better than them – oftentimes, they've lost far more than I have. I'm not one to lord my status over others, you know that."

"One of many reasons you're my second in command," Adam praised.

"Besides," Blake added, smirking, "I've got you to keep me warm now."

"Indeed," Adam conceded. Lunging forward and catching Blake, he growled, "Enough work," before they made their affections known for the first time in months.

Blake groaned, both in how nicely Adam's fingers dug into her sore back, and in how she needed to deny his request. "Unfortunately, there's a little bit that I need to talk about."

Sadly, Adam pulled away, expression as blank and serious as the mask he had divested himself of. "Something you don't want to say within earshot of Cinder."

"I don't like her," Blake admitted. "She's done nothing but withhold information about her goals, and even information that could keep our comrades safe." She paused long enough to let out an explosive sigh, then continued, "I mean, _obviously_ she doesn't have our best interests at heart, but at this point it's like she's not even trying to hide how much she doesn't care about us. And, of course, we can't do a damn thing about it since none of us are even remotely strong enough to stand up to her. She knows it, too, which only makes her even more regardless of –"

"Easy, Blake," Adam urged. Taking her by the shoulders and guiding her to the cot, he began kneading the muscles there while he reassured, "Leave that traitorous witch to me. I'll admit, she caught me off guard in Mistral, but I've learned my lesson. Cinder will not be able to usurp my authority again without whatever power she's after, and she knows that as well as I." He paused long enough to plant a kiss to her neck, before asking, "If I keep her insanity from leaking into the plan, can I count on you to look out for what is best for our brothers and sisters?"

Blake scoffed, almost insulted that he even bothered asking. Letting that serve as answer enough for that particular question, she said, "I'm also worried about the plan – about the casualties, specifically. Sure, most of the people who will die haven't done us any favors… but they still don't deserve what would become of them. Not to mention however many Faunus are among them. And leading Grimm to run loose in the city? That'll ruin all the credibility we've built up these past few years."

Adam frowned. "The Grimm are only there to keep the Hunters busy. Believe me, the first thing I'll bring up with Cinder is only allowing those beasts in already abandoned areas of the city – or, preferably, kept within Beacon itself."

Blake's gaze shot up, eyes wide. She didn't know anyone who hated how society treats them more than Adam did. Usually, she had to try and reign him in, lest there was unnecessary collateral damage. Suddenly wrapping him up in a hug, she planted her head on his shoulder and whispered, "Thank you."

"No," Adam reposed, equally quiet and with his voice breaking slightly. "Thank you. Thank you for keeping me just."

Blake smiled at their familiar song and dance. Adam had his faults, true. She knew nobody with worse anger management issues. But his devotion, his dedication to the right thing was a trait more should aspire to. The man had a strict moral code, contrary to what the media would portray of him. Sure, Blake needed to keep him honest, from time to time, but it was worth it, because when he was at his best, he truly was the best hope for the Faunus' future.

"Thank you for keeping me convicted," Blake whispered back. While it was true that she was the better half of the relationship, sometimes she could find herself distracted. She was too nice, sometimes… Blake blushed as she remembered one mission, early on, when she abandoned her post to help a couple orphans get a meal. Fortunately, nothing bad happened from her dereliction of duty, but the lesson was still learned. In time, she came to know that she couldn't save everyone. And just as she was the wisdom and compassion that stayed Adam's blade when it wasn't needed, Adam was her strength and focus to remain devoted to the task at hand, whatever it may be.

Adam gripped the side of her head, gently, bringing her focus to his face. "I swear to you, we will do right by your father's legacy. The White Fang _will_ bring freedom to the Faunus."

"I know," Blake said, smiling. Her smile fell as she thought of those she left behind to continue the fight. "I can only imagine what my parents are thinking now."

"Your father is a great man," Adam reassured. "The world just wasn't ready for him yet. We'll make it ready, though; by the time we're finished, we will be ready for the peace and equality he strove so much for."

"Thank you," Blake muttered. Suddenly standing up, she shrugged off her vest. It was getting late. She hadn't seen Adam for months. "I've got a few ideas, love."

Adam smiled and shook his head. "You and your _art_."

"Funny," Blake commented with a smirk, "I don't remember you complaining last time."

"I'm not complaining this time, either," Adam said. They stepped into each other's embrace again, ready to retire for the night. They had been just about to surrender to their passions when the door behind them suddenly flung open. Unbidden, Blake went for _Gambol Shroud_ and Adam for his sword at the same time.

Their weapons pointed at a steel faceplate hidden under a brown cloak. Blake groaned, catching Adam's attention. "Munsell, what the hell are you doing here?"

The young man in question, seemingly completely uninterested in the occupants' rather compromising position, held up a book. "Finished my most recent read. Came to get a new one."

Blake couldn't help but groan again, rubbing her temples as Munsell replaced the book on the shelf before picking up its neighbor. Just as he was about to leave, she shouted after him, "Hey, how about knocking, next time?!"

The young man said nothing, simply closing the door behind him. Blake dared to lift her eyes to meet Adam's, who looked like he was still trying to figure out what had just happened. "That's it, I'm getting a lock for that door," Blake growled.

Adam only nodded. "I'll make sure it gets installed tomorrow."

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

"And guess who's back!"

Kassidy spared a glance for the blonde who just exploded back into their dorm room from wherever she'd been. Yang said she'd had a package come in – from where is anyone's guess. Turning her eyes back to her Grimm Studies notes on Bob's screen, she gave her girlfriend, "Oh, such rapturous joy."

Yang made a sound that Kassidy couldn't quite pin a name to; another quick glance revealed the woman pulling her tongue back in her mouth. Rolling her eyes, she commented, "Stick it out further and a bird might come land on it."

"Ooh, someone's in a good mood," Yang said. Shrugging off her jacket and wrestling with her boots, she followed, "Where're Rubes and Ice Queen?"

"In the library, studying," Kassidy answered. Conversation died as Yang worked to get off the more constricting parts of her combat gear and Kassidy's mind continued to slowly turn into mush from having to memorize Beowulf pack dynamics, of all things. _Why do I care about their pack dynamics, again? My interest in the Grimm pretty much begin and end with shooting them._ So unfortunately engrossed in her material was she, that she didn't pay attention to a soft click coming from the far end of the room.

The red dot that suddenly appeared on her arm, however, _absolutely_ got her attention. Instantly drawing the worst conclusion, Kassidy sprung to immediate action. She rolled off the bed, taking Bob with her while also snaking her arm out to snag her pistol off the nightstand next to her. She ignored the spurt of Aura that emanated when she headbutted Weiss' bed, instead preferring to try and peek out the dorm room's window while hissing, "Yang, get down!"

Her search for the sniper got distracted when Yang started chuckling. Kassidy's eyes diverted from the window, to find the dot once again on her arm and shaking madly. Utterly confused – there was no way that a sniper outside the building still had an angle on her – she turned to her girlfriend, who was holding her ribcage with one hand and a laser pointer in the… other… hand…

"Goddamnit, Yang," Kassidy spat, just as Yang lost control of herself and slid down the wall to continue her laughing fit from a seated position. Kassidy took a moment to get her breathing and heart rate under control, then continued, "Nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorr – sorry, K," Yang fought to get out. "But that was too good. Admit it. It's funny."

Kassidy crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to make her displeasure known – which, for your information, did _not_ constitute pouting. "It really wasn't," she said.

"Aww, c'mon, partner," Yang reasoned, having finally gotten her mirth under control. "Alright, I'm sorry for making you panic. I promise I'll give you fair warning before doing that again."

Kassidy huffed out a breath, rolling her eyes as a small smile threatened to pull at the edges of her lips. "Well, alright, I suppose that's – wait, what do you mean 'again'?!"

"Like this," Yang blurted with a grin, clicking the laser pointer back on and making the dot appear on her arm again.

Kassidy groaned, resigning herself to her fate. A bored Yang was a dangerous Yang, after all, and if this was her method of entertaining herself then it's a lot less damaging than it could be. Letting her pistol fall to rest on the nightstand where it began, she dragged herself back into her bed and got back to trying to study. An endeavor that proved to be futile when Yang snickered again, moving the laser pointer's dot to sit right on top of her hand as she scrolled through the screen. Kassidy absentmindedly shook her hand, and almost as if the action had actually worked, the dot moved to rest right next to her hand, resting on the covers of the bed.

The next several minutes proceeded in such a manner, with Yang moving the dot around and snickering, and Kassidy doing her best to ignore it as she studied. Eventually, however, after her seventh failed time to shoo away the pointer, she lowered her screen and spun around on Yang. "Look, can you seriously cut it out? I'm trying to study here; I fell behind on my Grimm Studies work with all the craziness that happened this semester."

"Sur- hrk, sure thing, K," Yang bit out. The red dot finally disappeared from the room, and Yang pocketed the laser pointer before slumping in the seat at her desk. "I've got my entertainment for the immediate future."

Shaking her head, Kassidy muttered, "Someone's easily pleased."

Almost as if he too was party to the whole 'let's keep Kassidy from studying' conspiracy, Bob picked this moment to pipe up, "I believe you're failing to identify the jest that seems to be Miss Xiao Long's source of amusement."

Eyes narrowed, Kassidy considered her options before slowly allowing, "Okay, I'll bite: what did I miss?" Upon being prompted, her computer switched her screen to what seemed like some random internet video of a cat chasing a laser pointer. She felt a grin begin to form, and asked, "Alright, amusing, but what does that –"

She was interrupted by the screen splitting in two vertically. Now, running simultaneously to the generic cat video, was a feed from the 'borrowed' camera she'd installed in the room. It was here that Kassidy got to witness the point being made, as she watched herself… well, for lack of a better term, pawing at the laser pointer like some kind of house cat while trying to study.

"Damnit, Bob, way to be a traitor," Yang whispered, and it was the speech that finally roused Kassidy to action. Setting the screen down, she turned her gaze upon her girlfriend, who simply shrugged at the attention she received. "Hey, what do you want me to say? It looked like you needed a break."

Well, alright, point to Yang – Kassidy had been staring at that screen long enough to go nearly cross-eyed. Still, justice had to be meted out. "You're going to pay for that, Yang. You're going to pay for that dearly."

Suddenly standing up, Yang put her hands on her hips and fixed her nearly trademark smirk in place. "Oh, yeah? What're you going to do about it?"

Her smirk faltered as Kassidy's own grin turned predatory. "Well, isn't someone eager to find out?" she teased. She let her arms and legs tense, Aura seeping into the limbs. It was time to give Yang a firsthand demonstration of the Aura control lessons she had been improving upon.

Yang obviously wasn't prepared for her newfound control, as evidenced when she went from a cocky, ready stance, to getting thrown onto the bed with a shriek in no time flat. She turned around just in time to see Kassidy allow her Aura to return from her arms, the dark blue concentric circles around them fading as the source of their power was withdrawn. "Woah," Yang muttered, obviously distracted from the current situation. "When did you start doing that?"

Kassidy shrugged. "Ren's been helping me a bit with my Aura control. It's still not where it needs to be, but… I've got a few more tricks up my sleeves, now."

"You mean the sleeves you don't have?" Yang asked, grinning.

Kassidy's deadpan look killed her grin, however. Yang tried to sit up, but Kassidy let another Aura-enhanced shove push her back onto the mattress. Climbing on top of her, Kassidy wrestled a bit to get Yang's wrists gathered together in one of her own, before she looked Yang dead in the eye. "You made me look like a fool."

"Admit it," Yang said, "that was pretty hilarious in hindsight."

Kassidy's flat face nearly faltered at the memory, but she somehow managed to hold on through force of will. "Hilarious or not, there's only one fate who those who dare attempt such a foolish task."

The weak, limp struggling Yang had been putting up faltered momentarily as lilac eyes went wide and their owner gasped. "K," Yang warned, "don't you even think about it."

"Too late," Kassidy admitted. Focusing her Aura into her left hand to keep Yang from breaking free, her right darted down into Yang's ribs. Her girlfriend made quite the interesting face, before she bit her lip and tried to clamp down with all her focus to keep from laughing. Given Kassidy's current tickle attack on her, however, it was a battle quickly lost, and it wasn't even a minute later that Yang was beginning to giggle below her.

"K… cut it – cut it out!" Yang managed to squeal between her rapidly increasing guffaws.

Kassidy shook her head. "You know what to say to make this stop."

Yang's eyes managed to focus long enough for her to belt out, "Never!"

"If you insist," Kassidy answered with a shrug.

"Y-y-you – you fiend!" No answer was given to Yang's latest outcry, though Kassidy did chance a glance up as Yang bucked her wrists against hers again, and for a moment she worried that even with an Aura-augmented grip she wouldn't be able to hang on. Oh dear lord, if Yang managed to get the best of her… nothing good could come of it. Fortunately, her grasp held, and it didn't take much longer for Yang to concede "Al-al-al-alright! I gi-gi-give!"

Kassidy smiled to match Yang's own, as she asked, "Who's the greatest?"

"You are!" Yang admitted.

"Who's the best?"

"You!"

"Who's your favorite person in the whole wide world?"

"Ruby!"

Kassidy frowned at that last answer… but had to shrug and concede the point. Ruby was pretty much everyone's favorite, after all. "Eh, close enough," she offered. She ceased her attacks, instead falling to lay on top of Yang, both blondes a breathless heap from the viciousness of the devastating attack and Yang still helpless to let out a small laugh now and then.

When Kassidy found enough of her faculties to sit back up, it was to find herself inches from Yang's face, a face that she really couldn't get enough of watching. It... oddly, it made her think of the past year, of things that could have been but thankfully weren't.

"Something on your mind, K?"

Her girlfriend's words got her to focus on the present again, and she found herself staring into those lilac orbs again. Deciding that she didn't want to fight the urge to get it out of her system, Kassidy found herself saying, "Thanks, Yang." When Yang cocked an eyebrow, Kassidy explained, "For keeping me sane."

"Oh, so that's what you think I've been doing?" she asked. Finally breaking free from Kassidy's now slack hold, she asked, "What prompted this?"

"Dunno," Kassidy admitted. "Just been thinking. I wasn't… I wasn't in a good spot, this time last year. I don't know what would've been if I had kept going down the path that was open to me then, but I do know that I wouldn't have liked it as much as I like being here." She shook her head, before focusing on the woman beneath her again. "I'm a far better person than I was this time last year, I'm happier than I've ever been, and I've – I've actually got a life ahead of me that's actually worth looking forward to. So, thanks. Thanks for being the best thing to have ever happened to me."

Yang's jaw dropped slightly, before she shut it with a soft 'click', before splitting into a huge smile herself. "Well, in that case, thanks for being my light. You have got to be, without a doubt, the best part of me coming to Beacon. Every day is such a great adventure, I don't know what the day will bring, but I do know it'll be awesome because you're there to make it so. And that's not even counting how… how you saved my life, and Ruby's, and…" Yang paused long enough to brush her hair out of her face, then said, "I love you, K. Don't ever forget that. Just… one thing."

"Yeah?" Kassidy asked, utterly breathless. She got to suck in a new one, though, and suddenly stiffen when something grabbed her butt and squeezed.

As the most obvious source of the disturbance, Yang grinned shamelessly. "Man, I've always wanted to do that." When Kassidy shot her a mild glare, she kept grinning and offered, "What? You've got an _awesome_ ass."

"Yang?" Kassidy asked quietly. "Shut up and kiss me."

Their lips had barely touched when the door slammed open to admit the missing half of their team, and in particular a certain red-haired team leader. "We're ba- oh my Oum, guys!"

"Again?" Weiss added. "Really? Can't you two just… ugh, forget it!"

The two now frustrated and embarrassed blondes traded glances, before Kassidy ground out, "Hey, I hear there's this new thing called 'knocking'. All the kids are getting into it; you should try it, sometime."

"How is this _our_ fault?" Weiss challenged. "That's the third time in two weeks!"

"Please, don't remind me," Yang groaned. "That's it, K. We need to change the locks."

Kassidy couldn't help but nod. "I'll check with Goodwitch to make sure it gets installed tomorrow."

* * *

 **AN 2: Why must I be so cruel to my characters? Oh, hey, title pun!**

 **Meanwhile, over here in "what's-an-upload-schedule" land… I've got nothing. Just going to finish off the reader responses, get this posted, then get back to my job hunting.**

 **Also, next chapter is the final chapter of Interlude 2, on account of I've run out of content before the Vytal Festival. Not having a real plan for Interludes suck.**

 **Now, onto Reader Responses.**

 **EWR115: Crap, I can't remember that particular scene from our favorite Regenerating Degenerate. Oh well, if nothing else it's a good excuse to rewatch the movie.**

 **DIYEyal: I completely agree, we needed more Blake. Oh, hey, more Blake, how convenient! Also, allow me to confirm that Bob performed A prank. Which prank, I'm not going to say. Consider that a bit of "choose your own adventure" for you guys. Thank you, awful semester of awfulness is over, now I just need to try and land a job and get an income stream happening.**

 **FlouriteFlower: Ow. Had braces. Getting them installed/adjusted is never fun. Here, have some fluff.**

 **ThornedRose367: Glad to hear you enjoyed. And… yeah, RT did a real crappy job showing the horrendous plight of the Faunus and we promise they're being discriminated against and would you please just take our word for it and stop asking hard questions? Been trying to flesh out the world a bit while in RWKY, and consider that a bit of world fleshing.**

 **Tykene: Thank you, my man, and I hope you had a merry Christmas as well. Glad to hear you enjoyed the last chapter so much, and here's to hoping you enjoyed this chapter just as much.**

 **YumiKnowsBest: Welcome to the madhouse! I'm glad to hear you enjoy reading so much. Wait no more, my friend, the next chapter (aka this one!) is out! Hope you enjoy this as well.**


	89. I2C7: Omens Well and Ill

**Interlude 2 Chapter 7: Omens Well and Ill**

 **AN: Gasp! What's this?! Only a one-week delay between chapters?! Are the golden days upon us again?**

 **Eh… I don't know. Didn't have a lot to do this week. But now that I actually know what the general plans are for the chapters following this, I should at least not take a frigging month between chapters anymore.**

 **Anywho, what's the obvious theme for the chapter immediately before an entire volume of fighting? Why, more fighting! Duh!**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

"Oh, would you quit hiding behind your shield, already?!"

"If you insist!"

Any further complaints Kassidy had needed to be silenced as Jaune remained true to his word, _Crocera Mors_ flashing out in a crescent of shrieking steel that was at the perfect height to chop her clean in half if she didn't do something. Biting back a yelp, she pushed some Aura to her feet and used the added boost to launch herself a good ten feet away. By the time she finally got her feet back under her, Jaune was already on top of her and dropping into a stance that suggested that he would again return to his typical 'sit on face with shield' strategy he usually used against her.

The fact that he didn't spoke of the magnitudes of improvement he'd made over the past semester. Kassidy danced left, away from the usual shield bash, only to have to backpedal and wildly bring her sword up when the bash turned out to be a feint that disguised a nasty rising slash from the sword. Jaune actually kept up with her through her retreat, as well, continuing to keep her on the defensive with his sword, his shield flying in every time she tried to get her balance back. Kassidy couldn't help but be impressed with the progress Jaune's made: Pyrrha had definitely not been holding back with training him.

Of course, Kassidy wasn't the same fighter she used to be, either, and if sparring with Yang taught her nothing else it was that standing up directly to someone that overpowered you so was a stupid idea. Jaune's next swing took his sword out from his body, and though he used his shield to compensate for his lacking defenses the conditions were perfect for Kassidy's next move. She dropped to her knees, then nearly on her back, letting her Aura coat her leg and arm as she deftly slid under the entirety of _Crocera Mors_ , finally getting around that damned shield of his. Before Jaune was able to figure out what happened, Kassidy kicked back up to her feet, _Baton_ flashing first against Jaune's hamstring, then his upper back, before Kassidy backpedaled again to buy some space.

"That's new," Jaune groaned, rolling his shoulders from the discomfort her strikes caused. Because even all her training means she's not much more than a discomfort to the kid with meter-thick Aura. Totally unfair.

Kassidy replied, "So is you being aggressive. You're gotten pretty damn good."

"You too," Jaune reassured. They instantly locked blades again, and Kassidy felt herself start to skid backwards from the force her opponent was putting into the struggle. "Or maybe not so much, if you thought this was a good idea," he taunted.

"Sure you're not forgetting something?" Kassidy ground out. Jaune's eyes widened and he tried to disengage, but it was too late. He only just barely so much as got his shield around as _Crescent Rose_ came flying in, Ruby swinging with enough momentum to send Jaune flying. Absentmindedly, Kassidy finished, "Namely, that this is team sparring."

"Think we can trade partners?" Ruby asked.

Kassidy gaped. "Me. Against Pyrrha. That's a joke, right?"

Ruby's reply was interrupted when Pyrrha somehow whiffed her first shot, the rifle bullet whizzing right between the two of them. They both twirled back, traded a look, and grinned simultaneously. _Rogue_ came out of its holster and found its way in Kassidy's right hand, Ruby chambered a new round, and neither even had to call for Thorned Rose before they decided to remind Pyrrha that getting into a gunfight with either of them – never mind both of them at the same time – was a bad idea.

Kassidy hadn't even gotten through her magazine when Ruby yelped, and all of a sudden she had to dodge a flying sniper scythe from her left. Pyrrha was on top of her afterwards, and Kassidy got to once again try and dodge and parry for her life. If Jaune was a terror, then Pyrrha was a nightmare. Where Jaune would swing a bit too wide at times, letting Kassidy slide by under the shield and tear him apart before he could recollect himself, there were no such openings with his partner. Her sword (or her spear, because of course it couldn't just behave and stay in one form like a normal weapon) was quick and precise, her shield was unyielding and exactly everywhere Kassidy didn't need it, and unlike with Jaune, _Baton_ seemed like it grew a mind of its own as it tried to throw itself in random directions and buck out of her grip.

"Am I really not a free enough win for you that you need to use your Semblance on me?" Kassidy managed to spit out. Pyrrha replied with her sword flashing down from on high, the force enough to drive Kassidy to a knee. The shield came immediately afterward, catching her in the chestplate while she was pinned under the struggle and sending her sprawling a few feet back.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha offered. "Yang asked me not to take it easy on you."

Oh for the love of… just how did Kassidy know that something like that would happen? Screw it, if Yang got her into this situation, Yang can get her out of this situation. "Blacksmith!" Kassidy called out, still trying to crawl on her back away from Pyrrha.

Almost immediately, a pair of shotgun blasts rang out from a decent way down the oversized dueling arena the eight of them were in. It might not have been enough to start with, but it was still enough to make Pyrrha wheel around in order to get her shield between herself and the explosive rounds fired her way… which is exactly when Kassidy struck, her boot shooting out and kicking Pyrrha's legs out from under her. Pyrrha immediately kicked back up, her sword and shield a blur as she momentarily turned into a crimson-colored whirlwind to keep Kassidy from closing the gap. Of course, Kassidy had no intentions of getting into melee combat with the currently undefeated champion of the freshman class' combat class, instead opting to draw her pistol again and fire the last three shots in the magazine at her. As predicted, all the shots bounced harmlessly off her shield, but at least they kept Pyrrha from immediately reengaging.

"I've got a tail!" Yang cried, catching Kassidy's attention. She groaned; of _course_ Nora would've chased Yang across the hall. Why did she expect anything otherwise? Kassidy dodged under a spear thrust, rolled away from the follow-up knee, finished reloading on the way back to her feet, then twirled around Yang to level _Baton_ and _Rogue_ on a certain pink grenadier.

Unfortunately, Nora showed exactly zero compunctions of slowing down. If anything, she just grinned, started running even more quickly, and belted out a quick, "Hi, Kass!" before jumping into the air, intending to form a new crater in the floor – with Kassidy as ground zero.

Deciding that she would very much like to not be the nail to _Magnhild_ 's hammer, Kassidy kicked off against the ground at the last moment, gliding away just in time to put a good fifteen feet between herself and the madwoman whose idea of a good time is massive property damage as a side effect. She didn't even wait for the dust to settle before gliding back in, counterattacking with a good four swing combo on Nora before she started twirling her hammer around herself to disengage.

At the same time Nora pulled back, Yang jumped right next to Kassidy. The duos of RWKY and JNPR stared each other down, each trying to catch their breaths. Casually (and not quietly enough), Yang asked Kassidy, "How much Aura you have?"

After getting Bob to read the meters for her, she replied, "45 percent. You're still on 53?"

"Yup," Yang answered.

Kassidy felt a smile pull against her lips. "We've got this."

"Oh, you think, huh?!" Nora challenged.

"What'dya think, K? Meteor?" Yang asked.

Kassidy hummed, before shaking her head. "I'm thinking more along the lines of Blender, personally."

"Ooh, nice," Yang commented. She slammed her fists together, chambering new rounds in each of _Ember Celica_ 's gauntlets. She called over to their counterparts, "You ready for round two?"

Pyrrha smiled softly; Nora's grin turned maniacal. The next moment, all four of them dashed into the fray, though notably Kassidy peeled off to the side, starting to get shots off even before they had all met. Most of them missed – almost certainly thanks to Pyrrha's magnetism shenanigans – but they still forced Nora and Pyrrha to split apart, making enough of an opening for Yang jump into the middle. She emptied both of her weapons into the floor in front of her while also letting a blast loose from her Semblance, shrouding the immediate area in fire and further splitting up the fight. Kassidy glided back in, _Rogue_ holstered in favor of one of her knives, and got to work demonstrating the teamwork and cooperation she'd been able to build up with Yang. Literally hundreds – maybe even thousands – of hours of sparring, dozens of weekend practice missions… and don't even get her started on the White Fang. Kassidy needed the training, and Yang loved training, and so they probably had more combat hours logged together than even some third-year partners.

Pyrrha was the first to recover and try to set Yang up for a quick K.O. via Nora; Kassidy was already there, _Baton_ pinning _Milo_ back and the knife making Pyrrha choose between blocking the blade or the shotgun gauntlet-enhanced punch. Even in such a bad situation, though, it was obvious why Pyrrha was (and technically still is) the reigning champion of Mistral, as she managed to twist in such a way that the knife only grazed her shoulder.

Nora, on the other hand, wasn't quite so lucky. What was supposed to be a massive swing into Yang's exposed flank found itself redirected by Kassidy's boot and slamming into the ground. Kassidy smashed the pommel of _Baton_ into Nora's jaw before bringing its blade across her arm. A cry of dismay from her partner made her abandon her follow up, instead prompting her to twirl around to find Yang having been drug off balance and Pyrrha about to jam her spear into her back. Thinking fast, Kassidy dropped her knife before letting a pulse of Aura blast out from her open palm. While it only slammed into Pyrrha's shield, it was still enough to knock her sufficiently away that she abandoned her assault and gave Yang the time she needed to get her feet back under her.

A war cry from behind her gave Kassidy the warning she needed to roll to her right, barely dodging out of the way of Nora's hammer. As she rolled to her feet, Nora compensated abnormally quickly, and the reason why became apparent as she started twirling her hammer around in lighter attacks in an attempt to keep up with Kassidy's mobility. It would've been a great idea, too, if Yang hadn't recovered and planted her boot in the back of Nora's knee and following up by slamming her fist into the back of her skull. A buzzer sounding from the arena's scoreboard signaled Nora's Aura dropping into the red.

As much as Kassidy wanted to take a moment to grab a celebratory breath of air, Pyrrha seemed determined to allow no sleep for the wicked. Kassidy had to haul back on Yang's shoulder to keep her from getting impaled from behind, sending her sprawling and putting herself in Pyrrha's crosshairs. A slight lean to the left ensured that the spear didn't do much more than scrape against her armor, but Pyrrha using her Semblance to tug on her armor and send her careening off balance seemed to tell the story that she was done playing games. Ignoring Yang entirely, Pyrrha focused entirely on hounding Kassidy, leading with a lightning fast series of sword strikes that she wasn't entirely successful of staying ahead of.

It was only when a particularly brutal shield bash forced her to a knee that Kassidy finally managed to disrupt the tempo, angling _Baton_ in such a way that _Milo_ merely slid along it off to the side. Seeing only one opportunity and refusing to let it slip by, Kassidy dropped her sword and channeled as much of her Aura as she could manage into her palms for another one of those projection attacks that Ren taught her. Pyrrha's already wide eyes tried to fly out of their sockets as a giant dark blue circle erupted from Kassidy's outstretched arms and sent her soaring… right into Yang's cocked fist, who was more than happy to punch her into the ground and literally mop the floor with her face.

The buzzer sounding Pyrrha's defeat was music to Kassidy's ears – so much so that instead of continuing to fight, she collapsed onto her back, sucking in great breaths for her suddenly ailing lungs. A quick glance at the scoreboard gave the answer why: she was in the red now, too. It made sense; Kassidy used a _lot_ of Aura to make that work, and right now it felt like she'd just gotten finished with running a marathon on top of the training they've already done today.

" _Wow_! What was _that_?!"

The sudden exclamation from the side got Kassidy to tilt her head. Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, and Ren had all halted their fights to watch the four of them do battle, and were now blatantly staring at them with wide eyes and agape mouths. Ruby spoke up again, continuing, "That. Was. _Awesome_!"

"Certainly doesn't feel awesome," Kassidy ground out, groaning her displeasure at the pounding in her head. Hopefully it wouldn't last too long; this was worse than a hangover.

"You alright, K?" Yang asked, jogging up to her. When Kassidy simply groaned again in reply, she helped her up and over to the stands nearby, where they all had their gear and some blessed water bottles. "Damn, you were amazing! We did that perfectly!"

"Apart from the times I had to save you from Pyrrha," Kassidy replied, tongue almost literally in her cheek. Yang stuck her own tongue out in answer, drawing a few chuckles from the people in the room with them.

Pyrrha interrupted their reverie, however. "If you don't mind me asking, what was that you did at the end? To knock me back, I mean."

Kassidy at least had enough presence of mind to cock an eyebrow at her while guzzling water like a parched camel. "Uh, you mean that Aura projection thingie? It's just that thing Ren taught me how to do, just really big."

"There must be more to it than that," the young man in question said. Ren continued, "I've never been able to control such a powerful projection as what you mustered. Are you certain that there wasn't something else to it?"

A shake of the head prefaced Kassidy's answer. "Though, to be fair, I didn't so much control it as shove as much Aura as I possibly could into my hands and point it in a general direction," she admitted. A certain thought dawned upon her while everyone else snickered, and she blurted out, "So, what? I'm good at using Aura for literally everything except for what it's supposed to be used for? How am I… completely not surprised?"

"Don't fret, Kassidy," Weiss reassured, and Kassidy's mind finally caught up and came to the conclusion that they must have all called a cessation to hostilities. "Our Auras are as diverse as we are – they're extensions of ourselves, essentially. My Aura is also not conducive to extreme amounts of duability."

"Besides," Nora added on. "Hitting things is a lot more fun than getting hit!"

"I'll second that," Kassidy added, joining in on everyone's laughter. Once it had all died down, she asked, "So who won, anyway?"

Ruby and Jaune both looked thoughtful for a moment, before conferring for a short bit. Eventually, they turned back to the group, and Ruby exclaimed with a huge smile, "Well, Pyrrha and Nora were both out of the fight for JNPR, while only Kassidy had been eliminated for RWKY. My Aura was at 23%, Weiss' at 57%, and Yang's at 31%."

"Meanwhile," Jaune continued, "I had 14% and Ren had 17%."

"Woohoo!" Yang cried, jumping up. "Ain't that right! We don't have any rookies on Team RWKY! Mess with us, we'll mess you up!"

"Someone's feeling cocky," a new voice called, prompting everyone to turn to the door just in time for Sun and his team to walk in. "What are you nerds up to?"

"Oh, nothing much," Ruby said, crossing her arms and looking not the slightest bit smug about things. "Just going over how we're going to kick butt in the tournament."

"Don't be too sure, we might have something to say about that!" Sun fired back.

"Looks like the peanut gallery has finally decided to join in the fun," Kassidy commented, rolling her eyes. However, when Yang simply huffed in reply, she couldn't help but ask, "Oh, come on, don't tell me you're still sore about Sun dating Ruby?" When Yang _still_ refused to answer, she sat up fully and teased, "You are still sore about that!"

"Hey, I'm Ruby's big sis," Yang defended. "It's kinda my prerogative to be mistrustful of anybody that she's dating."

"Don't you think you're taking it a bit too far at this point?" Kassidy countered. "I think Sun's more than proved himself to not be a scumbag anymore."

"Hey lovebirds!" someone called to them. Kassidy and Yang rolled their eyes and turned a synchronous smirk on the other ten people in the room just in time for Sun to ask, "How did you guys finish up your semesters?"

That's right, they'd finished up their final exams not even twenty-four hours ago… and boy did Kassidy want to keep that memory purged. "Well, I mean, I passed all my classes, so that's the important part."

"Says the super genius," Yang chortled. Kassidy turned narrowed eyes on her and mouthed 'traitor' even as everyone else giggled. Her mirth dying down, Yang said, "Well, I say that, but I can't really claim to be much better in that regard."

"And we had a _lot_ of crap come up this past semester," Kassidy added.

"Yeah, we kinda did," Ruby echoed. "But we came out of it stronger than ever!"

"Better hearing than ever, too," Kassidy tacked on, wiggling her Faunus ears for emphasis. The joke got everyone laughing in short order.

 _I hope this never ends._

* * *

"Those were good noodles, Yang. Excellent find, as usual," Kassidy praised.

Yang beamed as they walked through the Vytal Festival grounds. "I knew you'd like it. Certainly have big enough portions for our appetites."

"Yeah," Kassidy agreed. "Glad I went for the smaller size – we still have a lot to cover tonight." They found their way to a stall displaying various weapons parts, and a sniper scope caught her eye quickly. Yang must've spotted it too, for she dropped the Lien for it quickly to pick it up for her absent little sister. "Where's Ruby again? Sorry, I missed that with my workout this morning."

"It's fine," Yang said, and her voice was somewhat muted. "She went back home to Patch to spend time with Dad. And visit Mom."

"Oh," Kassidy said lamely. Seeking to change the topic, she asked, "Want to split up for a little bit? Cover a bit more ground that way, pick up everything we want, and meet back here for some more fun and games?"

"Sounds like a plan, K," Yang answered. She leaned in for a quick kiss, and Kassidy rolled her eyes with a smile as she provided. Yang quickly started walking down the way, a certain sway to her hips that Kassidy knew was fully intentional. Shaking her head to dismiss the spell, she turned around and headed over for a different stall. She'd caught rumors of a vendor selling some higher quality .45-caliber ammunition, and she wanted to check if any of it would be good for _Rogue_. Better safe than sorry, as they always say.

However, it wasn't halfway across the grounds before Kassidy got the feeling that she was being watched. She tried to dismiss the paranoia and quicken her pace, but if anything the feeling grew. It didn't take long for the familiar and unwanted pressure to be nearly overwhelming. Spotting an offshoot into a secluded area just off the grounds, Kassidy took off for it as quickly as she dared without drawing attention.

"So you're the one that has caught Yang's interest."

Her pursuer wasted no time once they were out of eyesight and earshot. Kassidy whirled around, _Baton_ already sliding out of its sheath as she stared down the woman following her. What looked like leg warmers covered from her thighs to the high-heeled boots she wore, with a short skirt barely covering anything else. By contrast, a heavy red and black jacket covered all of her upper body, and her head was concealed by a helmet of some kind. A full-faced white helmet with red markings. It was the gigantic sheath on her hip that caught Kassidy's attention the most, however.

"You're the White Fang ambush?" Kassidy deduced. "Rather short on manpower, don't you think?"

"The White Fang is targeting you? Interesting," the mystery woman mused. Evidently dismissing the notion, she moved onto, "Regardless, that is not why I am here."

"Then why are you here?" Kassidy asked.

"By catching Yang's interest, you've caught mine as well." The newcomer paused long enough to let the words sink in, but interrupted Kassidy whenever she tried to talk again. "Prove your strength."

"Prove my what?" Kassidy deadpanned. The meaning became obvious when the woman drew her sword while charging her blindingly quickly, and it took a quick Aura glide to pull herself out of the way in time. Rather than overshoot, however, the woman stopped on a dime, flicking her sword backwards almost lazily and nearly taking one of Kassidy's limbs off.

Kassidy cursed, gliding back again and trying to buy enough space to pull _Rogue_ out of its holster – there might not be anybody that could hear them talking, but that gun was loud if nothing else – but was thwarted by the woman dashing forward again with her sword extended, trying to turn her into a Kassidy kebab.

 _Screw it. Now's not the time to be holding back. Hope Bob's paying attention to the iris cam feed._

Kassidy once again danced back, once again tried to go for her gun, and predictably got the woman to try and interrupt again. Leaning to the right, she darted her own sword out to lash at the woman, following the movement into a spin and using Aura to turn it into a full semicircle that took her to the woman's exposed back.

Or it would have, if the woman hadn't blurred before all but disappearing. The ears atop her head twitched, and Kassidy reacted, rolling forward and out of the way of the sword screaming through the place her neck had previously occupied. The woman followed up while Kassidy was still trying to get her feet under her, fully intent to run her through and forcing Kassidy to desperately release an Aura projection to try and throw the sword off course. The gleaming red blade barely seemed to notice, and indeed it still managed to scrape the paint off the side of her armor.

But it also left her open, and Kassidy reacted instantly, acting more on panicked instinct than training at this point. _Baton_ flashed towards the woman, who predictably blurred and dodged faster than her eyes could track. What it did, however, was buy time for her hand to drop to her belt. Rather than roll under the next attack from her blind spot, Kassidy jumped, performing a backflip that easily carried her a good ten feet into the air while also giving her the perfect aim to drop a high-explosive round right on the woman's helmet.

What had to be ceramic shattered under the detonation, raining down as shards over the woman's head and body. Unfortunately, the woman herself didn't even look hurt from literally getting shot in the face by what was essentially a grenade bullet. If anything, she looked annoyed, a state of being she confirmed when she sheathed her sword and muttered, "I liked that helmet…"

Kassidy took the opportunity to dance back a few steps, _Baton_ out and at the ready while _Rogue_ pointed itself right between the crimson eyes of her assailant. "Then you shouldn't have attacked me," she ground out.

"Impressive reactions, especially for one as young as you," her assailant praised, utterly confusing Kassidy. Completely ignoring the pistol still pointing at her face, she continued, "But they were rendered utterly useless by the fact that you lacked sufficient speed and strength to follow through with them."

"This gun's got pretty decent strength behind it, I'd say," Kassidy warned.

"Does it, now? I hadn't noticed," the woman taunted. "This world is cruel. It does not suffer the weak. See to your strength. I shall be testing you again soon."

Kassidy found herself unable to find an appropriate response for a few moments. It took remembering that she was trying to buy time for someone to come help her with this crazy lady for her to say, "Dare I ask who the hell you are and why the fuck you just tried to kill me?"

Suddenly, the woman drew her sword again and swept it to the side. Where the sword passed through, what could only be described as a hole in space opened up in reds and blacks, a person-sized portal waiting before its mistress. "Like I said, the world does not suffer the weak to live," the woman repeated. "And I do not suffer the weak to be a burden to my daughter."

This time, Kassidy truly could not come up with a good answer, needing to settle for a flat, "What?"

"Farewell, Kassidy Smith," the woman that was now identified as Raven Branwen said. She stepped into the portal, the reds and blacks collapsed on themselves, and suddenly Kassidy found herself alone.

A state of being that didn't remain for long, as Yang came sprinting around the corner with _Ember Celica_ deployed and the telltale orange tips of armor piercing ammunition loaded. "K!" she cried. "What happened?! Are you alright?"

"I… don't know," Kassidy admitted.

Yang's eyes bugged, but she coaxed her weapons back into their bracelet forms when Kassidy sheathed her own weapons. "What do you mean you don't know."

"Just that," Kassidy answered, unable to come up with much better. After a few seconds' pause, she answered, "You were right about one thing, though."

"Yeah?" Yang prompted, tension still thick in her voice.

"I _do_ hate your mother."

* * *

 **AN 2: Dun dun dun!**

 **Didn't expect that, did you? Honestly, I didn't expect that myself, I had initially planned that to be early in Volume 3 material. But I had a sudden need for 1500 words that I couldn't think of any other way for the life of me. Oh well. Qrow will need something else to talk with Kassidy about, it seems.**

 **Coming up next: Wait, we actually have a plan for the next chapter? Sweet. Anyways… do I even need to put what's up next here? Volume 3 incoming!**

 **Right after these Reader Responses.**

 **serioushugsies: Fluff, when done well, is always enjoyable. Glad to hear I apparently did it well. This might not be fluff, but hopefully the action is equally enjoyable.**

 **DannyPhantom: Glad you liked that so much, here's to hoping this one suits your fancy as well.**

 **DIYEyal: Nope, sorry, have never read the Bobiverse series. I gotta say, Blake and Adam was something I'd been looking forward to for a while, and was really nervous if I'd gotten it the way I wanted and if people liked it. People seem to like it, and I'm happy with how it turned out, so I'm happy. And yeah, you got your prank. And yeah, that's a funny mental image. I can understand the poor writing bit, though I'm still holding out for the epilogue of Volume 5 myself. Glad to hear you're sticking with us, though! Yeah, job interviews have been fun (and not in the fun way!) and will probably continue to be fun for a little while, but I'm hoping signs are looking good for me. And don't feel the need to apologize for long comments, if anything it'll just prompt a long response!**

 **Milthren: I'm glad to know you think so. I'll definitely be giving things my best shot.**

 **Tykene: Yeah, when you go back and look at the way Adam reacts it's basically, "rargh Blake left me now I hate everyone". That's… not even two-dimensional. Maybe a dimension and a half? Anyway, keeping her in the White Fang leads to a more interesting character as far as I'm concerned, so there's that.**

 **Xandar Valle: Here in RWKY, Animal Abuse does not in fact feature abuse. As a matter of fact, consider it RWKYcanon (TM)(R)(C) that Adam has never raised his hand against Blake (other than whatever ideas Ninjas of Love gives them, obviously). Glad to hear you've been here for so long and that I've continued to entertain you so thoroughly. Though… did you have to remind me about the first chapters? Now I remember that I kinda sorta promised to rewrite them all back before Volume 2 and still haven't done jack squat in that department.**

 **Ultimatrix bearer: Wait, people don't consider a whole aspect of casualties? That's racist *ding*. Happy new year to you as well, and hopes that both of us continue to be awesome.**

 **YumiKnowsBest: Hey, this is a T-rated fic. I can't go much too further than that while still being able to keep that rating. In all seriousness, glad you enjoyed it. I did have a great Christmas and New Years, and I hope yours were as well. Here, have some more! Again!**


	90. V3C1: Road to Glory

**Volume 3 Chapter 1: Road to Glory**

 **AN: Welcome to Volume Three, people, That One Volume That Nothing Bad Ever Happened In (TM)(R)(C). Looks like it's time for the Vytal Festival. What could possibly go wrong?!**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

This was it. The time for training was over. No more study sessions with Bob to examine everyone that had gotten into the tournament. No more time calibrating, sharpening, fine-tuning, modifying, or otherwise optimizing her gear. No more late nights to be spent as Yang's punching bag… okay, maybe that wasn't so great a loss. But still, there was no more preparation to be done. It was simply the time to compete in front of a live audience a hundred thousand strong, in addition to international television being broadcast to what seemed like literally every television screen (or whatever they were called) on the planet.

Kassidy jumped when something pressed on her shoulder, whirling around to get an eyeful of Yang's usual grin being contrasted by a pair of furrowed brows. "Geez, you're really tense, K," she commented. "C'mon, take some deep breaths. In, then out. In, then out. With me."

She tried to do as she was told, honestly. But her heart wouldn't quit jackhammering in her chest. Her stomach wouldn't quit trying to tie itself into knots. "Heh, never thought I'd be one for stage fright," Kassidy joked, though the attempt to lighten her own mood was doomed from the start.

Ruby and Weiss looked on with increasingly worried expressions, but it was Yang that continued to try and goad her into some measure of calm. "Y'know, don't take this the wrong way, but I thought you'd be the one _least_ eaten up by nerves. You do know this isn't life or death stakes, right? What are you so worried about?"

Kassidy couldn't help but rattle off, "Unknown targets, unknown field of battle, far too close to a dense civilian population center, too exposed, no viable route of retreat, no way to ensure that Bob can help."

"But they don't have any of that, either," Ruby reassured. Tilting her head, she asked, "Are you seriously that worried it's a fair fight?"

Almost automatically, Kassidy recited, "If you find yourself in a fair fight,"

"You've done something horribly wrong," Ruby finished, having that particular phrase long ago burned into her brain.

"I have never, ever, _ever_ been in a fair fight," Kassidy stressed, still trying to fight the jitters. "Training notwithstanding, of course. Anything even remotely like it just smells too much of a setup. I prefer my fights to be foregone conclusions in my favor, thank you very much."

"And when was the last time that happened?" Yang asked, eyebrow raised.

Before Kassidy could give more than a cross look at her partner, her otherwise conspicuously absent AI spoke over the team's communications earpieces. "I've managed to diagnose that you're presently suffering from acute onset social anxiety disorder of a benign nature; more specifically, stage fright."

If her computer were here, Kassidy would've made sure to scowl at it. Alas, Bob's chassis had to be left behind in their dorm room, so Kassidy had to settle for grinding out, "Thanks, Bob, I think we've figured that out."

"Modern research on the subject," Bob continued, entirely unconcerned with Kassidy's outburst, "seems to suggest that performing repetitive, already habitualized tasks is an excellent short-term counter to the condition."

Okay, now Kassidy had to admit that Bob was getting somewhere interesting. "Such as?"

"Kassidy, systems check," her computer suddenly barked at her. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang started snickering at the sudden reversal in their roles, but Kassidy nodded in understanding. As unused as she was to being bossed around by her own AI, going through her pre-combat checks would probably help with her nerves.

"Weaponry check. Ammo check," she listed off, checking _Baton_ in its sheath across her back, a trio of knives hidden in various positions on her person, as well as _Rogue_ in its holster and fifteen spare magazines on her belt. Continuing on to her grapple bracer and cuirass, she listed, "Equipment check. Supplies check." Taking a deep breath and turning a mischievous eye on her friends, she petulantly added, "Teammates check."

Ruby giggled, Weiss rolled her eyes, and Yang stuck her tongue out, but Kassidy was more interested to the expected reports over the comms. "Communications green," Bob began. "Network connection green. Surveillance green. Power reserves at 100% and plugged in, estimated time until power failure is indeterminate."

"All systems nominal. Project Colossus reports combat ready," Kassidy finished. Taking another deep breath, she couldn't help but notice how the nervous twitching she'd been fighting earlier had died down. "What do you know? That actually helped. Good work Bob, I knew I kept you around for a reason."

"And the randomization process is complete!" Professor Port bellowed over the intercom, easily getting RWKY's attention in the small locker room they had locked themselves in. "Team RWKY of Beacon! And facing them is Team ABRN of Haven!"

"That's our cue," Weiss commented, straightening out her skirt as she sat up from the bench.

"I'm afraid that this is where I must depart from assisting you four," Bob announced over the earpieces. More than one person had approached Kassidy in the past couple days, explicitly forbidding her computer from interfering in the tournament fights. "Your communication devices have all had their protocols updated. You should find that they have perfect reception with each other in the arena, and I've uploaded a few of my own encryption algorithms to the devices as well to ensure that you can't be listened in on."

"Thanks for everything, Bob," Ruby said. Suddenly darting to in front of the three other girls in the room and standing with her back to the door leading up to the coliseum's arena, she said. "Alright, Team Rookie! We've got this! We've all had a hard semester, but that's just made us more ready!"

"More prepared," Kassidy and Weiss simultaneously corrected.

"I know what I said!" Ruby cried. "Now get out there and do what you do best!"

"Yeah!" Yang yelled. "Time to kick some Haven tail!"

Kassidy rolled her eyes with a small smile, and took off after her teammates when they charged out onto the arena. The sunlight blinded her vision for a moment, but she blinked away the glare in time to follow the rest of the team to the center of the arena. Her gaze found itself on the Team ABRN they'd be facing off against; more specifically, it found itself on a girl in a purple hoodie riding a hoverboard.

"Oh my god," Kassidy breathed. "That girl has a hoverboard."

"I know, right?!" Ruby nearly squealed. "It's so cool!"

"And it looks like the nerds have struck again," Yang joked. Kassidy socked her in the shoulder, but conversation died down as everyone met in the center of the arena. A darker-skinned girl with no obvious weaponry was the obvious leader, and also present was a guy with a wooden staff that couldn't possibly have just been a wooden staff (seriously, who the hell brings a stick to an international combat competition?) and another guy with what appeared to be a battle rifle of custom design.

"Team RWKY, right?" Their leader asked. "I'm Arslan."

"Bolin," one of the guys said.

The girl on the hoverboard continued with, "Reese."

"Nadir," the other male finished.

The symbols along the edge of the arena started cycling. Kassidy remembered that the arena was able to set random and customizable terrain, but this was already shaping up to be fancier than what she thought it would be. She was brought out of her thoughts when Ruby introduced herself with, "Ruby Rose."

"Weiss Schnee."

"Kassidy Smith," Kassidy gave out. Before Yang could say anything, however, she couldn't stop herself from gushing, "Oh my gosh, where did you get your hoverboard?! Did you build it yourself? You _have_ to –"

"Easy, K," Yang cut off with a laugh, smothering her mouth with her hand for good measure. Kassidy narrowed her eyes at Yang and tried to pry her hand off her face, but it was to no avail, and Yang didn't even seem to notice as she said, "I'm Yang."

Reese suddenly piped up, "Ooh, she's cute. Can I play with the cat girl, Ars?"

"Wait, what?" Kassidy questioned, having finally freed her face from Yang's hand. Yang didn't seem to be too enthused about the words either, if the way her eyes narrowed was any indication.

Arslan didn't do anything to allay their suspicions when she answered, "Well, you were going to anyway." They were interrupted from further conversation when the floor sunk. Kassidy grabbed onto Yang's arm to steady herself as the arena shifted before her very eyes, as a fiery hellhole with giant crystals of fire Dust came crawling up behind ABRN. A glance behind showed a frozen, desolate wasteland similarly raising into position.

The eight teens only had a few seconds to appreciate the view when Professor Oobleck began counting down, "Three, two, one, begin!"

"Freezerburn! Thorned Rose!" Ruby cried, and as four they sprung into action. Yang winked at her before jumping into the air, and Kassidy spun back to get out of the way of Weiss covering the ground they were standing on in ice Dust…

"Nope!" a voice called out, and before Kassidy could fully get herself turned back around a hoverboard slammed into her armor. Another blast from the device's bottom sent her soaring back into the ice-covered plains, and Kassidy only got brief glimpses of Reese flying at her again.

This time, however, she was ready. Reese charged her full speed, but obviously wasn't expecting when Kassidy managed to go from kneeling to sidestepping the attack, burying her elbow in the girl's gut and knocking her off her ride. She followed the gesture into a full spin as _Baton_ slid out of its sheath, blade pointed at the girl who had gathered up the board in both hands and seeming to intend to use it like some kind of bladed shield. "That was pointlessly rude," Kassidy remarked.

"It split up your fancy little team attacks, didn't it?" Reese taunted. Kassidy gasped and turned to try and find out whether her teammates needed help, but her improved hearing caught Reese sprinting at her and let her turn back to the fight at hand. The two weapons collided in a shower of sparks, and in the bladelock Reese added, "And speaking of rude, didn't your mother ever teach you not to keep a girl waiting?"

"Nope," Kassidy answered, grimacing at the contest of strength. She couldn't have an impact in the other fights with this girl flying around the whole place; this Reese chick would just hunt her down if she tried to disengage. Besides, odds are _she's_ the one that statistically needs the most help. The best way she can help was keeping this girl on the ground where she belonged. Having made her decision, Kassidy suddenly gave up the contest, letting Reese's push carry her off balance. Meanwhile, Kassidy rolled under the hoverboard shield thing and sent _Baton_ flashing for the girl's ankles. Reese cursed and swung for Kassidy's head, but she blocked and started forcing her on the defensive with her sword.

 _Ugh, it's just like Jaune and that damn shield of his. Goddamnit do I hate shields. Oh well, at least this girl isn't built like a freaking tank. And isn't Pyrrha Nikos. And seems to not be very comfortable with hand to hand combat._ Kassidy decided upon an old trick that Jaune had seen through rather quickly – fortunately, it only really needed to work once, here. Yelling her fiercest war cry, she took _Baton_ in both hands and gave an overhead swing that at this point could probably cleave a Beowolf in half vertically. Still, as slow as it was, it was painfully obvious that Reese would be quick enough to dodge out of the way. And, of course, if Kassidy was most swordswomen she would've been wide open from how horribly the attack drug her off balance, so it was only predictable that Reese would take the opportunity to counterattack.

True to form, the girl grabbed her board and replied with a horizontal swing of her own. Kassidy couldn't help but smirk as, instead of trying to reclaim her balance, she followed the move into a one-handed handstand, pulling her body out of harm's way while retaliating with her sword. Pushing herself back to her feet – and immensely thankful for the flexibility and acrobatic training the gang had all but forced onto her after her injury – Kassidy immediately continued her assault, getting another slice in, forcing Reese further off balance, and eventually roundhouse kicking the board out of her hands before following through and sending the girl tumbling away across the ice.

Kassidy watched Reese slide away on the frozen surface and crash into the ridge of ice that was built up along the arena's edges. Her hand twitched to _Rogue_ in its holster, but she still needed to hide what exactly her full capabilities were if she didn't need them. She wasn't particularly sure why, since a prior discussion had already established that they would be sending Weiss and Yang on to the doubles round if they won here. She looked around to see how she could get the best advantage when they faced off again, but then Kassidy's eyes fell to a certain device that had been left behind. Yes, that should do nicely.

It wasn't exactly easy to climb on the hoverboard, but she managed to balance herself eventually. Getting it to move, however, was a different matter entirely. Leaning forward just made it tip forward, not to mention nearly ruin her balance. Quickly growing frustrated and impatient – this was in the middle of a fight, after all, so she didn't have the most time here – Kassidy tried yelling at the device, "Move!" When that failed to do anything, she continued, "Go! Forward! Shoo! Mush! Vamos! How the hell do you even work?!"

A sharp whistle got her attention, as did the hoverboard shooting out from under her feet to the source of the sound. Kassidy hit the ground in a roll, whirling her sword in a defense arc of steel while she got to her feet just in time to see Reese jump back on her hoverboard. "Nice try," she commended, "but it's locked to me."

"Of course it is," Kassidy groused, tucking her sword underneath her chin and tensing her legs for the next bout of the fight. Reese zoomed around a few protrusions of ice jutting out from the ground, possibly in a poor attempt to hide where she was coming from, but quickly return to racing for Kassidy as quickly as she could. Kassidy prepared to dodge to the side out of the way, but was surprised when Reese slid off her board and kicked it at her. Kassidy swung as hard as she could at it, and sent the hoverboard back to sender; she couldn't think of a better idea at the time, and now that it obviously had remote control capabilities she didn't want to risk splitting her attention when she didn't need to.

Reese replied by punching her weapon back, and this time Kassidy had enough time to formulate a better plan. When the board reached her, Kassidy jumped, planting her feet on the board and launching it right while Kassidy shoved herself to the left. She hit the ground running, fully intending to put Reese in a pincer between _Baton_ and the girl's own weapon. It didn't work as anticipated, however, when a quick whistle brought the hoverboard back to its owner at a rapid enough pace that she was able to get it between her and the sword that came flashing down. Kassidy tried to bully through it with a few more brutal strikes, but Reese simply twirled it around her, using the extra momentum to try and shove her back. She quickly got enough space to backflip back onto her board, and quickly sped for Kassidy's head.

Kassidy simply rolled her eyes. _This girl must not be the fastest processor in the computer._ This time, she settled for kicking herself backwards in a small glide a few feet, just enough to make Reese's attack miss, then putting her entire weight behind a rising slash that… completely bisected the hoverboard. Kassidy couldn't help but wince – as easy as that made her fight, she knew from experience that getting your weapon broken was _not_ fun. Sympathy turned to confusion, however, and quickly to panic as the halves shifted into a pair of pistols that Reese palmed before emptying them at her. Kassidy yelped, before diving and rolling behind a conveniently placed ice spire to her right.

A quick peek out at the complete lack of suppressive fire showed Reese trying to use what time she could to reassemble her board. Determining not to give her that opportunity, Kassidy jumped out from behind the spire and kicked hard against the ice, sending herself sliding across the twenty or so feet. Reese abandoned her attempts to fixing her board manually, throwing the connected pistols into the air and evidently let them unfold back into their primary form, then rolled under Kassidy's strike after it. Kassidy growled and dug her heels in to arrest her movement, and stopped herself just in time to avoid crashing into a pillar of ice, and to see Reese turn around to catch a large shard of fire Dust tossed to her by that kid with a staff. She winked – and then slammed the crystal into her hoverboard, which seemed to absorb the Dust and start glowing orange, as opposed to green.

 _I get the feeling I'm not going to like where this is going._

Reese didn't waste any time to prove Kassidy's suspicions correct. After a brief detour to thaw a teammate that had somehow gotten frozen (Weiss was the obvious culprit), Reese once again charged at Kassidy for full speed. She pulled up at the last minute, forcing Kassidy to roll to the side or risk being sandwiched between the hoverboard and the pillar of ice behind her. A pulse of fire that _shattered_ the pillar showed that dodging had been the correct decision, but before Kassidy could get her feet under her Reese slammed her board into the ground and let out a fiery shockwave that ruined her balance. Kassidy coughed the smoke and steam out of her lungs, then rolled away to try and buy some distance, but Reese came flipping around on her flipping hoverboard and landed a solid hit. Her armor protected her from the blades and her Aura protected her from the fire, but Kassidy still went flying, skidding across the arena and poetically crashing into what seemed like the same ridge Reese did earlier.

Kassidy spared a quick glance at the scoreboard – and promptly gawked. That one hit took out 37% of her Aura in one hit! And that was a hit that her armor blocked, too! That settled it, Kassidy would need to bust out some of her tricks. One more hit like that in a less fortunate spot would take her out of the fight.

Reese seemed to know it, too, as she came gliding in a downright lazy manner, grinning like a cat that just got the canary. "Looks like Ars' research was right. You're not too bad, but you can't keep up with me. Not for long."

They'd done research specifically on her? Kassidy had to keep from smirking as a hastily thought-out plan assembled itself in her mind. She knew all about the power of a reputation; she'd lost count of the number of times she made use of it. "I'll admit, you're pretty good."

"Only 'pretty good'?" Reese challenged, grin growing.

"I might actually need to use my Semblance for this fight."

Reese's grin disappeared instantly, her brows furrowing. "Arslan said you didn't have a Semblance."

Kassidy raised _Baton_ so its dull edge rested on her shoulder, and with the other hand pulled _Rogue_ out of its holster and started spinning the pistol on her finger. "She doesn't know about my Semblance," Kassidy said, trying to milk the situation for all it was worth, "because I didn't want her to know about my Semblance." She lost the battle of hiding her smirk when Reese's eyes widened, and she actually started hovering backwards to keep the distance between them even. "Want to see it?"

Reese's eyes widened further, before hardening almost immediately. "Like hell I'm going to let that happen!" A small explosion of fire shot from under the hoverboard as Reese launched herself at Kassidy, doing her damndest to take her out before Kassidy could 'use her Semblance'.

Kassidy's smirk widened as she ducked out of the way of the ballistic teenage girl, before coming back up and firing into her back. The taser bullet covered the distance between them nearly instantaneously, and Reese fell off her board as she succumbed to the electricity-induced spasms. A quick glance at the scoreboard showed that the bullet had taken out 40% of Reese's Aura. Kassidy sighed in relief; people had a disturbing trend recently of blocking, dodging, or otherwise completely ignoring a gun that was designed to be complete overkill on anything smaller than an Ursa, so Kassidy was glad to see proof that _Rogue_ was still effective. She waited for the electricity to run its course and the twitches to stop, before marching over to Reese and planting a boot on her shoulder to keep the girl pinned.

"Real neat Semblance, yeah? I call it 'basic marksmanship'. Quite simple, really."

"Bite me," Reese groaned.

Kassidy hummed, showing to give some thought, but didn't take long to shake her head. "Nah," she said. She took the boot off Reese's shoulder, then wound back and punted her in the stomach as hard as she could. A buzzer sounding through the stadium's PA system alerted everyone that the kick had done the last six percent of Aura needed to take Reese out of the fight, a state of being that Prof – Doctor Oobleck confirmed. She took a knee as the girl evacuated the air from her lungs, and consoled, "Sorry about that. Figured you'd appreciate that over me shooting you again."

"Kassidy!" Ruby suddenly yelled over the earpieces. "Get your grapple brace ready! You're throwing Yang!"

"What?" Kassidy replied. She whirled around to the rest of the fight, and her confusion faded as she saw the other three members of ABRN grouped up in one nice, easy-to-explode pile, and Yang already starting to propel herself along a giant track made of ice. Kassidy smirked, holstered her weapons, and yelled out, "Here you go, babe!" before shooting the line over to her girlfriend, who snagged it out of the air. Kassidy began sprinting along as quickly as she could…

Ruby interrupted her plans by belting out, "Kass, I have an idea! Jump!"

Nine months ago, Kassidy would've completely ignored the order. Six months ago, she'd probably call Ruby crazy. Three months ago, she'd hesitate and ask for more information. Still, the kid's proved herself dependable time and again, and so Kassidy jumped without hesitation, despite her immense confusion. As her body twisted, she got to see Ruby's 'idea', as the girl swung at her with the blunt end of _Crescent Rose_. Kassidy bit back a yelp and desperately tried to tuck her legs under her to catch the weapon, and sure enough the scythe connected with only a moderate sensation of someone trying to hammer her ankles into her hips. She pushed off, and suddenly found herself flying at ABRN, though she noted she'd come up short all the same. Kassidy traded a quick look with Yang, winked, and hauled on the line for all she was worth.

Yang didn't disappoint as she shot ahead, fist cocked back with the wildest grin Kassidy'd ever seen on her girlfriend. ABRN only had time to let their jaws drop before Yang hit all three of them with a titanic punch, the force enough to send them all crashing into – and then through – a giant formation of fire Dust crystals the size of a small building.

"And that's the match!" Professor Port bellowed over the speakers. "Team RWKY is victorious!"

Kassidy high-fived Yang as she jogged back over from her match-ending punch, and the two quickly made their way back over to the other half of the team. Among all the general applause surrounding them, Kassidy could've sworn she heard Nora yell something about doing a good job and… legs that weren't broken? Her attention was diverted again when Weiss whispered, "We did it?"

All four of them traded glances, goofy grins galore and with Kassidy and Yang sharing a hug. They'd just cemented themselves as one of the top sixteen teams on the planet. No matter how hard she tried, Kassidy couldn't shake the smile that had taken up residence on her face.

* * *

 **AN 2: Oh, hey, nothing went wrong yet. How about that?**

 **Well, I'm going to go ahead and keep this second Author's Note short. Have an interview tomorrow, got a bunch of stuff to do tonight, and I have more writing to outline. See y'all next time!**

 **Coming up next: Meeting with friends, and people who are definitely friends and absolutely not traitors to the cause.**

 **Right after these reviewer responses!**

 **Padparadscha Blue: Unfortunately, all signs point to "no". Mostly because I can't think of enough content, partially because I probably won't have enough time, partially because I have a bad track record of handling multiple stories at…**

 **Oh. Wait, crap. I still have a second story out that hasn't been updated since April of last year, don't I?**

 **serioushugsies: Yeah, between the whole Volume 2 end scene being confusing as all hell, and RT themselves trying to hand-wave it away, I decided it needed a proper replacement. And no, neither of those are her Semblance. The gliding thing is basically an early form of powered movement (because normal people can't jump dozens of feet from a standstill, or move faster than the eye can track), and the Aura pulse circles are the same things Ren did when he was fighting the Taijitu in the Emerald Forest, just used offensively instead of defensively. Kassidy has yet to show her Semblance.**

 **Captain marvel 36: Believe me, I fully understand where you are coming from. Rest assured, I have a plan with Raven, and I did not simply put that in last chapter because I needed an extra 1500 words to pad the length a bit. As for RWKY feeling infallible, I can see where you're coming from with that. To be perfectly honest, Kassidy and Yang in particular have a great groove going on. No set of partners in their year have anywhere near the time put into training together than they have, with the exceptions of Emerald/Mercury and** _ **possibly**_ **Jaune/Pyrrha. Combine that with real-world experience that comes with hunting a pack of terrorists, and they're definitely a force to be reckoned with. Though I'd still like to point out that most of Kassidy/Yang vs. Nora/Pyrrha basically consisted of Kassidy and Yang covering for each other when one of them messed up.**

 **AgentDraakis: Yeah, once I'd realized I'd written it like that, I couldn't resist adding that line in. IMO, Season 5 has its ups and downs, just like any of the others. I recommend sticking with it through the season, it's definitely gotten better towards the end.**

 **DIYEyal: Yeah, believe me: if my own mother showed up out of nowhere and attacked my girlfriend, I would most certainly have some questions. Actually… no I wouldn't. I'd be giving her a piece of my mind. And probably a piece of lumber. I'll have to keep an eye out for the Bobiverse series then, thanks for the recommendation. Kassidy's Aura isn't** _ **that**_ **different, it's just like her in that it's more offensively based rather than defensive. Blake is a bit of a glass cannon also, mind you. And this must be the part where I look like an idiot by admitting I have no idea what a "rasengan" is.**

 **ThornedRose367: I… have mixed feelings on Raven. She could've been such a good character, and indeed still has more than a little potential, but IMO she's basically been where she has been because she's throwing a seventeen year-long temper tantrum.**

 **Ultimatrix bearer: Glad you like the story so much. Unfortunately, Velvet… doesn't really have that much of a place in RWKY. To be perfectly honest, I don't think the plans call for her showing up again in the story. Also, I'll be avoiding any spoilers here as best I can, so also unfortunately no thoughts on the RWBY episodes from me. You keep being awesome as well, you awesomely awesome person of awesomeness you.**


	91. V3C2: Spectator Mode

**Volume 3 Chapter 2: Spectator Mode**

 **AN: Well, going on into real life here… I am no longer unemployed. Great to finally be able to support myself, but it does mean that this story might sit on the relative back burner while I get situated with this new part of my life. And find somewhere to live. And maybe probably do a few other things.**

 **That being said, I'll be doing my damndest to not drop off the radar for months at a time like I did in 2017. While I probably won't be able to return to weekly or twice weekly (oh god) uploads again, I'll be shooting for one every two weeks.**

 **And now, it is time for… THE FIRST MAJOR CHANGE OF VOLUME THREE! Mostly because I'm an egotistical brat who wants my own OC to have the spotlight for as long as she can have it.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

"We did it!"

Kassidy chuckled as Ruby jumped… a good twenty feet from a complete standstill – _yeah, yeah, rub it in that my Aura control still sucks, why don't you_ – and planted a hand on her shoulder before she could continue shouting in the middle of the festival grounds. "Want to try louder? I don't think all of Vale heard you that time."

Ruby pouted and grumbled back, "Way to be a spoilsport." After taking a moment to calm back down, however, Ruby continued, "I'm just, y'know, excited is all."

"We all are, Ruby," Weiss assured. "But that's still no reason to abandon proper decorum! At this point, we're just being sore winners."

"You guys know what else I'm excited about?" Yang asked from Kassidy's left, suddenly and blatantly changing the subject. "Food! When's lunch?"

Well, alright, there weren't too many better subjects to change to conversation to than food. "I might be a little bit hungry right now," Kassidy admitted. Her attempts to play off her hunger were thoroughly ruined when her stomach did its best Beowolf impression, much to the amusement of her teammates. "Or… maybe a lot bit hungry," she eventually relented.

"Gee," Weiss remarked, sarcasm dripping freely from her voice, "if only there were _somewhere_ on campus to get food around here. Oh wait…"

Ruby planted a hand on Weiss' shoulders, and tried to act like she was consoling her? "That's okay, Weiss. I forget about the fairgrounds too."

Kassidy couldn't help snickering as Weiss fired back, "I was being facetious."

Kassidy's mirth escalated to laughter when Ruby threw her arms up and made what had been officially termed a 'kung fu' noise. "Well, if you were hungry, why didn't you say so?!"

"Come on!" Yang declared, grabbing Kassidy's hand in the meanwhile and halting her increasing amusement. "K and I know just the place!"

"Noodles?" Kassidy asked.

Yang nodded. "Noodles."

Kassidy's stare turned slightly blank as she thought of all the tasty noodles she would get to eat soon. Should she get a larger size? What kind of stupid question was that, of course she was getting the larger size this time. Maybe some meat as well?

"Hey!" a familiar voice called out, bringing Kassidy out of her miniature daydream and getting the entire group to halt. "Might be hard to eat without this!"

Ruby panicked, flailing around her pockets while Emerald Sustrai held out a red-colored wallet. Emerald and Yang both giggled at the scene, but Kassidy couldn't help but wonder under her breath, "Didn't I watch her put that in her pouch earlier, _not_ her pockets?"

Yang must've heard, for she stopped chuckling and shot Kassidy a mild glare. At this point, the message was common enough it didn't even need to be said. _You're being paranoid again. Stop that._

Kassidy couldn't help but wince slightly, and she even felt her ears flatten against her head. Yang smiled and drug her over to the conversation, where they both picked up Ruby exclaiming, "Girl pockets are the worst!"

"What's up, Em?" Yang asked, all while still hauling Kassidy over for some reason. Probably to be more sociable or something. Which was ridiculous. Kassidy had plenty of friends at this point, and she socialized with them quite well, thank you very much!

Emerald answered, "Just left the stadium after watching your _amazing_ fight. You guys were awesome!"

"Well," Kassidy began while Ruby was blushing and stammering, "they were awesome. I kinda lost hard enough that she made me actually use my gun."

Emerald waved it off. "To-may-to, to-mah-to, you still won your fight. And you did really good before that point, too, so don't sell yourself short!"

Kassidy blushed from the praise, and quickly moved to steer the conversation a different direction. "My computer told me your team moved on to the next round, too."

"You know, I feel like we _never_ see your other teammates," Weiss noted.

"How did they do in the fight?" Yang asked.

Suddenly, with absolutely no prompting whatsoever, Bob made himself known over Kassidy's Scroll. "Calling it a 'fight' would be less accurate than calling it a 'slaughter'. Team Carmine nearly set the record for shortest first round victory."

"They did really well," Emerald confirmed.

"That's great!" Ruby said. Suddenly, she offered, "Uh, why don't we all go out and get some victory food together?"

"Oh… gosh! That's so nice of you!" Emerald deflected. Why was she deflecting? "But my teammates are all kind of introverted." As if to prove her point, she turned to look behind her, drawing their attention to Mercury sniffing at some boots. "Really socially awkward," Emerald finished.

"Actually, sniffing boots as Mr. Black is doing is a common way for experienced boot shoppers to approximately detect the quality of the leather used in the product," Bob announced without warning.

"Doesn't take from Emerald's point," Kassidy pointed out. Okay, so Emerald was just covering for some weird teammates. She _really_ needed to stop being so paranoid. "Still, I won't blame him for being weird. Ruby's weird, and we still keep her around."

This got a round of laughter from everyone present sans Ruby, who whined, "Kass!" and started beating on her chestplate with her fists.

"Really, I do appreciate it," Emerald insisted, "but I should probably get back to being his chaperone or something. Ugh, what I'd do to be able to lock him in the dorm room and not have to be his babysitter." She grumbled a little bit more, but then continued, "But at least he's good in a fight. Actually, it looks like it's going to be him and me in the doubles round. What about you guys?"

Ruby smiled and put a hand on her chin. "Well, as the leader of this team I thought long and hard about this decision."

Kassidy grew a grin of her own as Weiss leaned in and offered, "We put it to a vote."

Ruby sputtered a bit before backtracking, "Yes, uh, but I decided we should put it to a vote, and we voted for Kassidy and Yang."

"Yeah," Kassidy offered, "Weiss and Yang are going to… wait, wait, wait, what? What kind of vote did I miss? Last I heard, it was Weiss and Yang." She ignored Emerald's cocked head as she pulled out her Scroll. "Bob, back me up here, in our latest meeting we voted on having Weiss and Yang move on, right?"

"The last one you were present at, yes," Bob confirmed.

Kassidy opened her mouth to argue more, but for the second time today Yang silenced her by clamping her hand over her mouth. "We… kinda haven't told her yet," she explained.

"Oh," Emerald hummed, seemingly losing herself in thought for a few heartbeats before she blinked herself back to the present. "So Kassidy and Yang, huh? That already sounds like a real strong combination there."

"Yeah, we're gonna kick butt!" Yang declared, finally pulling her hand off Kassidy's mouth so she could smash her fists together.

Emerald laughed. "Well, if Mercury and I see you down the line, don't think we'll go easy on you."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Kassidy assured.

"Well, I think we're going to go catch some more fights," Emerald said, starting to walk away.

"Have fun!" Ruby shouted after them.

Kassidy waited a few seconds for everyone to go their separate ways as Yang led them towards the noodle stand they found a few days ago. It wasn't long, however, before she was no longer able to keep her peace. "Alright, at what point _were_ you planning on telling me?"

Ruby poked her fingers together. "Well, we were talking while you were out last night getting another one of those late-night workouts in, and one thing led to another and… eventually, we just put it to another vote, and it was unanimous among the three of us that you should take Weiss' place."

"As much as I would have loved to move on to the doubles round," Weiss added on, "the fact remains that you work _far_ better with Yang than I do."

"You work just as well with Yang as I do," Kassidy argued. "And you're also a much better fighter than I am when it comes to these regulation matches."

"No, I don't," Weiss said emphatically. "Under no circumstances would I be able to help Yang beat both Nora and Pyrrha at the same time. The fact remains that you have _hundreds_ of more hours working with Yang than I do. In fact, you probably have at least as much time working with Yang as Ruby does, and those two have lived together for years."

"And Aura control issues aside," Yang picked up, "you're a really great fighter. You beat Torchwick, after all."

"After I ambushed him," Kassidy denied.

"You beat that Reese girl pretty easily," Ruby continued. When Kassidy opened her mouth to argue, Ruby cut her off. "Don't even try to argue with that. You kept up with every single trick she could throw at you and didn't reveal a single thing you kept up your sleeve until the very end. Think about it: if your Aura was as strong as mine or Weiss', would that last attack have taken you down to half Aura… or just blow you halfway across the stadium and leave you feeling a little sore?"

"Don't forget all the other tricks you _didn't_ show," Weiss said. "Right now, all they know is that you have a big gun, and that it can shoot electricity bullets. Apart from JNPR and SSSN, they don't know you also have ice, high explosive, and armor penetrating rounds. They don't know about your Aura gliding technique, they don't know about your Aura projections, and they don't know about who knows what else you have hidden. Really, you're the best choice to send along with Yang."

"C'mon, partner, we're gonna kick some serious butt," Yang declared. "But that's later. Right now, we've got food to eat."

The statement got Kassidy to look up from her musing to find them all at the noodle place. She could've sworn she heard Ruby mumble something about Sun taking her here, but ignored it – and her thoughts – to take a seat on the far left side and openly consider the menu. "Mind giving me a moment?" she asked the older man behind the counter. "I want to try something different this time."

Yang picked up the slack immediately. "I'll have a bowl of the regular, please." A giant ceramic bowl piled to overflowing with noodles slid its way to Kassidy's right and found itself in front of her girlfriend.

From Yang's right, Ruby made an interested noise at seeing both the amazingly quick service and the food that her sister got. "I'll take the same."

Weiss hummed as she surveyed the menu. "Do you have anything with a low salt – oh!"

Kassidy ignored them all as Weiss was interrupted with a visually identical bowl of noodles. Pointing to the menu, she asked, "Could I have the one with the grilled steak?" The man nodded, blurred into the back room, made enough noise to raise the dead, and came back out inside of three seconds flat with a bowl piled high with perfectly grilled and seared, amazingly seasoned, and divinely smelling strips of steak atop just as large a pile of noodles as everyone else had ordered. Kassidy openly stared at it and drooled. _It's… perfect._

In fact, she was only released from the spell when something crashed into the table. Kassidy chastised herself for letting herself ignore her surroundings, then looked over past Yang and Ruby to find a credit card embedded into the wood near Weiss like some kind of plastic shuriken. The man clearing his throat got everyone's attention as he pointed to a register showing that the card had been declined. "What?!" Weiss cried. "How could my card be declined?"

Kassidy didn't hear much more of what Weiss said, as she took some covert looks around before trying to secure her meal of pure bliss. Her attempt had failed, though, and the man blurred over and took her precious from her. Defeated and so dreadfully hungry, she could only let out a cry of "No…" and plant her face into the wood.

"Maybe I could help?" a new voice said. Kassidy blinked an eye open just in time to see JNPR approach the stall, Pyrrha already having a card in hand.

"Pyrrha!" Ruby yelled.

"Aww, you don't have to," Yang tried to say.

Of course, Kassidy wasn't having any of that. "But you could!" she insisted, leaning almost out of her seat as she tried to implore her friend to allow her to eat such divine food.

Pyrrha laughed at Kassidy's display. "Well, I think you all earned it after that battle."

"Mind if we join you?" Jaune asked.

It would have been rude to say that she didn't care; of course Kassidy wanted her friends to sit with them for lunch. But she was kind of preoccupied with tearing through the noodles and steak that the man had just set back in front of her. Of course, she was not the only one to have been busy eating, and conversation died down for as long as it took to consume everything.

The scene they found themselves in eight minutes later would have been amusing, were they not all full to bursting, as everyone leaned back in their chairs or forward onto the counter, except for Kassidy letting her head rest on Yang's shoulder. In fact, the only person not wearing a dopey grin of some kind was Jaune, who couldn't stop groaning and was honestly starting to scare Kassidy who, being immediately to his right, was in the line of fire if his lunch returned fire.

"Are you sure it was wise to have eaten before a fight?" Ren asked.

"Of course!" Pyrrha exclaimed. "It will give us energy!" Nora interrupted whatever she was going to say next with a burp that could have scared away some of the smaller Grimm.

Jaune brought attention to himself when his forehead met the table. "If I barf, I'm blaming you."

"Ooh!" Nora shouted. Leaning forward, she added, "Aim it at the enemy!"

"Nora, that's disgusting," Ren chastised.

Kassidy waved it off. "Use whatever you've got on hand, I always say. Or in your stomach, as the case may be."

"Got it," Jaune groaned.

Pyrrha stood up, drawing attention her way once more. "Well, we should be off," she announced.

"So, you think you guys are ready?" Ruby asked.

"Of course!" Nora answered. "We've got a world-renowned fighter on our team, what's basically a ninja, I can bench five of me, Jaune…" Nora trailed off, unsure of what to say in Jaune's favor. She shook her head and tried again. "We've trained all year, our weapons are _awesome_ , Glynda barely yells at us anymore, and, uh… Jaune!"

Kassidy wasn't the only person to hiss at the low opinion Nora espoused of her leader, but it was Ren who leaned over to ask his leader, "Are you going to take that?"

"She's not wrong," Jaune said, face still firmly planted on the table.

"I'm kidding!" Nora backtracked. Waving a hand in his direction, she continued, "He knows I'm kidding. Don't be so nervous! The worst that can happen is we lose. Then it's just a few more years of walking around school with everyone knowing we're failures, our friends will slowly abandon us to preserve their social status, we won't be able to show our faces in class, no one will sit with us in the cafeteria, Ren and I have no parents so we have no home left to go to, we'll officially be renamed 'Team Lose-ifer'…"

Nora, at this point, couldn't do much more than plant her own face into the table as her emotions got the better of her. She started to bawl, but quickly stopped as she suddenly lost all color and turned black and white. As the obvious culprit, Ren kept massaging his hand along Nora's back; Kassidy didn't miss the pink sparks of Aura that would occasionally dance from his fingertips as his Semblance worked to calm Nora's emotions. He felt the need to add, "So, yeah, we're feeling pretty good."

"Don't fret," Pyrrha said, planting a hand each on Jaune's and Nora's shoulders. "If anything, we should be looking forward to a fight with actual guidelines and not, well, murderers."

"Hey," Kassidy suddenly barked. "I resemble that remark!"

"Yeah, don't sweat it guys!" Yang declared, quickly shifting all attention to herself and, for the third time that day, smothering Kassidy's mouth before she could say anything more. "We've all faced way worse before."

"Let's see," Weiss started listing off. "Grimm invasions, violent extremists, a destructive sociopath..."

"Yeah, and that was all while we're still in training." Ruby nearly swooned as she continued, "Oh, imagine what it'll be like when we all graduate!"

Kassidy rolled her eyes and tried to say something, but Yang's hand remained clamps over her lips and kept her from saying anything intelligible. Weiss took the opportunity to grumble, "Maybe then I'll be able to pay for a meal."

The speakers suddenly had some feedback sound over them, before Professor Port's voice announced, "Would Team JNPR please report to the battlegrounds immediately?"

"Yes!" Prof – Doctor Oobleck added on. "Like they were scheduled to _several minutes ago!_ "

"Well, it looks like this is it," Pyrrha said, guiding her team out of their seats and towards the coliseum.

Kassidy finally pried Yang's hand off her face, and asked, "Think we should follow them? And would you stop doing that?!" Everyone nodded, Yang shrugged with a far too innocent grin, and as one they left for the stadium.

They had just gotten to their seats as the terrain finished changing into a forest and a mountain, and for Professor Port to announce, "Team JNPR of Beacon vs. Team BRNZ of Shade! Three, two, one, begin!"

Kassidy found herself nearly sharing a seat with Yang they were so close, but she ignored it for the time being as she leaned forward at the match beginning. "Come on," she muttered. "You need to smoke that sniper out fast; if she's any good at all, she'll tear you apart." When JNPR instead elected to retreat behind cover, however, she leaned back against Yang and groaned. "And now they just screwed themselves over."

"Auras, remember?" Yang said.

Kassidy turned a look on her girlfriend. "Even with Aura, _nobody_ wants to get shot by _Crescent Rose_. We haven't tested it, but I'm still pretty sure that it can take my Aura out in one hit."

"And that gun she has isn't anywhere near as big as Ruby's," Yang pointed out. Kassidy took a closer look; sure enough, it looked like it was chambered in .40-caliber, if not a little smaller. At least Jaune made the smart call and have everyone fan out to keep the sniper shifting her shots. "Besides," Yang added, "that leaves JNPR with a four-on-three in the melee."

"There's a reason that melee combat fell out in favor of really big guns back on Earth," Kassidy argued.

"Where there's no Aura whatsoever, right?"

Kassidy shrugged and conceded the point, but immediately winced as Ren took what looked like a cattle prod and fell over, stunned. "Getting electrocuted is not fun," she commented.

"Unless you're Nora," Yang amended as the girl sent the poor guy flying into – and through – a rock. A gathering storm at the top of the mountain got her to add on, "Well, talk about convenient."

"Yeah, go get them, Jaune!" Ruby yelled to their left.

"Well, he's certainly improved," Weiss commented.

Yang said, "Yeah, but he ain't got nothing on Pyrrha!"

"Please, don't remind me," Kassidy muttered. She could _still_ feel some of the bruises from the last time they sparred. Still, at least it was nice to watch someone else get beat down, as opposed to her. Her attention, as well as everyone else's, was diverted when Nora suddenly laughed in a resonating voice that filled the entire stadium, before somehow launching all six of her grenades at the same time and utterly ruining the sniper's cover. "Oh, how I wish I had that option all those years ago," Kassidy lamented.

"High explosives: never not fun," Yang commented, drawing back their first shared laugh as partners. They both snickered at the inside joke and high-fived, but Yang stopped laughing and asked, "What's Jaune doing?"

It wasn't long before the whole stadium started booing at the pause in the action, and Kassidy facepalmed. "Looks like bad communication," she pointed out. She shot back up, however, when something slammed into the forcefield _right in front of her_. Yang laughed as all four of them slowly peeled off of the field from having been thrown into it.

"And with that, it appears Team JNPR wins by knockout!" Professor Port exclaimed. "Literally! Can – can someone go make sure they're okay?"

"Well, that's one way to win, I guess," Kassidy said, standing up and stretching. "So, who's next, anyway?"

"Sun's next!" Ruby cheered. "Go Sun!"

Kassidy rolled her eyes with a smile while the arena got reset, which just so happened to involve Glynda heading out to fix the crater that Nora put into the central platform. When she caught Yang beginning to mope, though, she flicked her nose and said, "Hey, if you were out there right now, odds are I'd be cheering like a loon, too."

Yang's eyes brightened, like she just got an idea; Kassidy couldn't let any such idea come to fruition, which is why she pushed Yang back down whenever she tried to stand up. Yang argued, "Come on, you cheering like a loon? This I've _gotta_ see."

"No you don't," Kassidy returned.

"Good luck Neptune!" Weiss yelled as everyone appeared on the center platform. Yang and Kassidy shared a knowing look before turning back just in time to see… Neptune flirting with the all-girls team they were fighting? Sure enough, Weiss changed her posture as she leapt up. "Break his stupid face, NDGO!"

"Not to demean Weiss or anything," Kassidy whispered as quietly as she could, "but what does she see in him, again?" Yang shrugged, but both returned their attention to the arena shifting to sand dunes and an ocean biome. "Oh god," Kassidy groaned.

"Oh, what's that?" Yang teased. "Does the kitty still not like swimming?"

"I can't swim, period," Kassidy answered with a glare. She pointed at Neptune and added, "And I'm not the only person who…"

Yang interrupted her from finding the right words with, "Is afraid of the water?"

"I'm not afraid of it," Kassidy denied. "I just… strongly dislike it." The match started with Neptune liberally using his Aura to make a mad dash to just about as far away as he could get from the water. He and Sun yelled back and forth about what was going on, but Kassidy muttered, "but at least I'm not _that_ bad about it."

"Ugh," Yang groaned, "this entire match is a trainwreck. Neptune just ran and is only now contributing, Sage got thrown out of the arena before he even did anything…"

"And Scarlet just found his true calling," Kassidy pointed out just as the man landed on the pirate ship and proceeded to fight a 1v2 to astonishing success. "Well, I'll be damned. Remind me not to fight him on a ship."

"Don't fight him on a ship," Yang said.

Kassidy turned an unamused look on her, prompting Yang to stick her tongue out. Growing a grin, she decided to tease, "Careful, or I might take that as an invitation."

Yang actually blushed, before looking thoughtful, and turning an eye on the match before finally saying, "Is it just me, or is this match just one big clown car of ridiculousness?"

"I'm finding it very hard to take it seriously," Kassidy agreed. "Besides, Sun looks like he could probably finish things up himself at this point. Which he might have to."

"Want to ditch the dorks and go have some fun?"

Kassidy thought about it for a second, before nodding. "Sounds like a plan."

Ruby turned looks on them as they got up. "Where are you two going?"

"Out," Kassidy answered. "Tell your boyfriend we said hi, and good job. He's probably got this in the bag anyway."

"And he better behave himself," Yang growled, eyes flashing red for a brief moment.

"Ugh, Yang!" Ruby whined. She shooed them away, before thinking of something and yelling after them, "You better not be doing things in the dorm when we get back!"

Kassidy chuckled, but Yang groaned, "Ugh, spoilsport."

"Agreed," Kassidy said, "but she's cute like that." She stretched as they left the stadium and asked, "So, got any ideas for tonight?"

* * *

 **AN 2: Hope you all enjoyed this episode of The Peanut Gallery: RWKY Edition. Holy crap I hated writing that. Well, having all of that at once. I'll take another look before I put this up in case I messed up with the writing, but odds are I'll be leaving it as is unless the writing is bad; I'd rather not touch it again if I don't have to.**

 **Anyways, I need to get ready for work, so Reviewer Responses are going to be the next thing done before I get this up.**

 **Coming up next: Eh, nothing much. Just a dusty old crow.**

 **ThornedRose367: Depends on how sturdy the shield is and how big the gun is. Unfortunately for Kassidy, most of the shields in the RWBY universe seem to be made of this annoying material called "Plot Armor-nium" which makes them nigh-invincible slabs of steel that render any and all attacks sent their way completely harmless. I shall endeavor to keep up the good work, here's to hoping you enjoy this as well.**

 **EWR115: Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much. This is… no fighting, unfortunately. Couldn't really think of a good way to do it without putting out a twelve thousand word long chapter or something. Hopefully you like it anyway.**

 **DIYEyal: Naruto, eh? I'll keep that in mind for future reference, then. Indeed, the "shooting people with a gun" Semblance is one of the most powerful in RWBY, if only people would use it more. Yeah, Kassidy was not at the top of her game last fight. Fortunately, it was still enough to take on Skater** **Boi** **Chick. Hope you like this chapter as well as the last one.**

 **Tykene: Glad to hear you liked last chapter so much. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do quite the same with this chapter, but hopefully it'll still be up to snuff.**

 **Ultimatrix bearer: Still no clues as to what Kassidy's Semblance is. Yeah, Kassidy's development is… rather messed up, and one that I will happily and shamelessly hand-wave away with Project Colossus. Don't really watch anime (only show other than RWBY I've seen seriously is Fairy Tail), and I did far too little reading when I was younger. Sequels… I will be LOOSELY following the future plot set up by RT, but suffice it to say that I will not be happy with just retelling the same story. Especially after I throw in some real monkey wrenches into the story. And yes, I currently have a plan for two future stories, and working on plans for a third right now.**

 **Shake N. Bake Mormon: Yes, Fall of Beacon will happen. Technically. Details will – and already have – changed. Sorry, but anything more is spoiler territory.**

 **FlouriteFlower: Thank you for the compliment. No real fights here, but hopefully I still did them justice.**


	92. V3C3: Taken Under Their Wings

**Volume 3 Chapter 3: Taken Under Their Wings**

 **AN: Fun fact: the first hour or so of working on this chapter was spent rewatching Episode 3 to figure out where exactly I wanted to start this chapter off at.**

 **Also: new, never before seen perspective.**

* * *

(Perspective: Qrow)

" _What?_ " Glynda gasped.

Qrow's smile faded; sure, messing with Ice Queen was fun and all, but this topic of conversation wasn't well-suited to amusement. He took another drag from his flask; he wasn't drunk enough for this shit.

"Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers, or generals, or Headmasters. The people in this room; the leaders of the other two academies – we're the ones that keep the world safe from the evils no one even knows about." He paused long enough to storm up into Jimmy's face. Maybe, just _maybe_ he could get the point through that thick tin head of his. "It's why we work behind closed doors," he continued, "why we work in the shadows. So you tell me, James: when you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet? Or did you just not give a damn?!"

Jimmy just glared back, and unfortunately it seemed like he still couldn't figure out when he was being a complete idiot. "Subtle wasn't working," he said after a few seconds. He laid his Scroll against Ozpin's desk and let it display a hologram showing his fleet's positions around the Amity Coliseum. He gestured at it before continuing, "I'm here because _this_ is what was necessary."

Necessary? _Necessary?_ Qrow went off, "You're here because Ozpin wanted you here! He made you a part of this inner circle and opened your eyes to the _real_ fight that's in front of us!"

"And I am grateful," Jimmy espoused.

"Oh, well, you've got a real funny way of showing it," Qrow fired back.

"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them," Jimmy lectured. Because that _totally_ wasn't Ozpin had been doing for how many decades now. He added, "Someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe. And our enemies will feel our strength."

What? He said what? And he actually believed it? Qrow couldn't help it when he started laughing. He had no idea that Jimmy had turned delusional. "Y-You think they're scared of your little ships?" He cut off his laughter as abruptly as it started. "I've been out there and seen the things she's made, and let me tell you: they _are_ fear."

"And fear will bring the Grimm," Ozpin said, intervening right as Qrow was getting into things. Cooler heads prevailing and all that rot. "A guardian is a symbol of comfort, but an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now; a question in the back of everyone's minds: if this is the size of our defenses, what is it we're expecting to fight?"

Qrow couldn't help from looking a bit smug as they all turned their gazes on Jimmy. If anyone could get through that goose-stepping skull of his, it'd be old Oz. Jimmy looked between the three of them, collecting up his Scroll in the meanwhile. "So then," he began, "What would you suggest we do?"

"I suggest we find our guardian," Ozpin replied.

Qrow perked up at that. There's something he'd been mulling over the past few weeks, and now that he's thought about it he figured it wise to bring it up while they were all gathered. "Speaking of finding our guardian," Qrow said, interrupting everyone while they were getting ready to leave, "I have a candidate for Amber's replacement."

"Oh?" Ozpin asked. "By all means, please share."

"Kassidy Smith."

Jimmy drew attention to himself when his fist slammed down on Ozpin's desk. "Absolutely not!" he seethed.

Qrow took a step back before Jimmy could get too worked up. "What's your problem with her? I would've thought you would be all over getting a girl like her in the driver's seat."

Jimmy looked like he was about to blow a gasket, but suddenly calmed down. "That's right, you haven't been here."

"I've heard enough to have an idea," Qrow reassured. Geez, did Jimmy think he lived under a rock or something?

"Then you'll have _heard_ ," he began, "how she tears apart our security like it's some kind of game, leaving so many holes and opening in her wake that I'm still not convinced it _isn't_ sabotage. You want to know why I brought my army? _She_ made me bring it! Discreet wasn't working because she wasn't letting it work! While Ozpin and I were trying to solve things quietly, your suggestion for the Maiden candidacy singlehandedly caused hundreds of thousands of Lien of property damage and brought a shooting war to the streets of Vale! People are scared, and panicked, because even if they don't know it's her that's responsible, they're worried when will be the next time she blows up some building while thoroughly ruining our investigation into the White Fang."

Qrow hissed and took another swig from his flask. Damnit Kassidy, just when he was starting to like the girl, too. "Now look," he defended, "I'm not _about_ to say she's flawless. She'll need some coaching to be a good Maiden. But she's not some menace to society, Jimmy – even if for no other reason that my nieces won't let her be one. And she's got one thing going for her that absolutely none of your other candidates have."

"Please, share," Jimmy grunted through gritted teeth.

"She knows what's at stake," Qrow said. After thinking about it for a moment, he quickly corrected, "Well, she will when she's told about it." Jimmy looked like he was about to blow another gasket, but Qrow began explaining before he could go off again. "This is a girl who's spent her whole life at war. She's lost everything, gained everything right back, and nearly lost it all again. She's also got one of the biggest brains I've ever seen and an awareness of what's going on around her. And I don't think I need to explain to you of all people that there's some parts of being a warrior you can't train – parts that Kassidy has in spades." He took the time to sip some more from his flask, since with the way Jimmy was he still wasn't drunk enough for this shit. "You bring Kassidy on board, and she will immediately know just how important this whole Maiden business is, and exactly what's at stake. That'll lead to a level of cooperation and urgency you can't just demand of regular people… because she ain't regular."

Jimmy had his eyes closed and was taking effort to breathe through his nose. Maybe he was actually listening to reason? Qrow's hopes were dashed when Jimmy said, "That doesn't change the fact that she's dangerous."

Seriously? This was his best argument? "In case you haven't gotten the memo, pal, someone's _hunting_ the Maidens, or Fall at the absolute least. I happen to think dangerous is exactly what we need."

"She can't be controlled!"

"Oh, so everything needs to be controlled, huh? By you, preferably?"

"When the Maiden in question is an even looser cannon than you are, then yes!"

"Now what's that supposed to me-"

" _Enough!_ " Ozpin commanded, bringing Jimmy's boneheaded arguments to a close. And his own perfectly reasonable ones. Ozpin sighed, sat down, and poured himself another cup of coffee (which had to be spiked with something… well, Qrow's would've been, at least). He turned to his right and said, "Glynda, you've been rather quiet tonight. Do you have an opinion on the matter?"

Qrow turned to find Glyndie fiddling with her little riding crop, looking rather conflicted if he did say so himself. Almost looked like she could use a sip of the good stuff to help out. Not that he was going to offer any of his; if his former classmate wanted any, she should've kept her own flask. Eventually, Glyndie explained, "I think, overall, Miss Smith would be an ideal candidate. She has the strength of spirit to bear the Maiden's power, she has a certain maturity not found in her other classmates, and she has both the skill and the will to, after training, defend those powers from any that would try to take it for their own gains. And after having taught her… I believe she'd be the perfect Maiden."

Jimmy's jaw dropped. "Are you actually voting in favor of her?!"

"Let me finish!" Glyndie snapped. "I think Miss Smith is the perfect Maiden. Which is why I won't vote for her. It's… it's what she had to go through to be forged into the perfect vessel for a Maiden. So much war, so much pain. And then to ask her to bear the burden of taking Amber's place? Of abandoning those she's come to love, to see as her new family, to live a life of paranoia with no place to call home? I'm… I'm sorry, but I can't." She finally looked up, meeting their eyes. "I agree with you, Qrow, but my conscience cannot allow me to place this burden on Miss Smith."

Qrow closed his eyes and sighed, nodding. He could see where Glyndie was coming from: Kassidy didn't exactly have an easy road to get to where she is now. And to rip all this out from under her, make her return to what her life used to be? He hammered back another shot as he reflected; sure, _he_ chose this life, but that was to keep his Semblance from tearing apart those he cared about. He didn't have a choice but to stay away. The least he could do was make sure those he cared about could live happily. He was pretty sure Kassidy would do the exact same thing if she had to… but then, there wasn't a guarantee she _had_ to, at this point in time.

"I understand," he said at long last. "If nothing else, all I ask is that we keep her in mind. I think we all know that time isn't exactly on our side, and if nothing else we'll be able to count on her to keep Amber's half of the powers safe until we can come up with a better idea."

"I concur," Ozpin announced. "While Miss Smith wouldn't necessarily be my first choice, she is a relatively safe choice all things considered. Thank you for your input, Qrow."

"If we're finished discussing making a known terrorist one of the six most powerful people on the planet," Jimmy spat, "I should return to my fleet." The old hard-ass didn't even wait to say goodbye before he turned on his heel and stalked into the elevator.

"Yeah, nice seeing you too," Qrow threw at the closed door.

Ozpin sighed to his right. "Now Qrow, I know you don't see eye to eye with him, but James is simply worried is all. I might not share these particular worries of his, but Miss Smith does seem to have a talent for making those in power uneasy."

"Sounds like my kind of girl," Qrow laughed. "Now if only she weren't a generation and a half behind me." He took another swig from his flask, then offered, "Though ol' Jimmy did have a good idea, I think. Should probably go get some shut-eye."

"Unfortunately, I must keep you from that for a while longer," Ozpin said. Something in the man's tone set Qrow on edge. "I'm afraid I have some bad news. News about your sister."

"Raven?" Qrow grumbled. Almost reactively, he took another swig from his flask. Or, well, tried to, anyway. It was kind of empty right now. Shame; he wasn't _nearly_ drunk enough for talking about his sister. "What's she want?"

"I'm not sure; I was hoping you could offer some insight," Ozpin muttered. He tapped on his desk a few times, and a camera view of some kind started showing in the holographic display in the middle of the room.

"Alright, what am I looking at?" Qrow asked.

Ozpin answered, "A video from young Miss Smith's camera mounted on her contact lens. I believe she calls it an 'iris cam'."

Qrow opened his mouth to ask more questions but was silenced when his sister came into the fore. Something about testing Kassidy's strength. He watched a few minutes of his sister playing with Kassidy a bit, getting bored after her helmet got blown up, then BAMF-ing back to wherever the hell she hid. The whole experience left him scratching his stubble. "You're right," he offered after a minute of thinking. "This is strange. This is… this isn't Raven's M.O."

"I don't take kindly to my students getting attacked, Qrow," Glyndie seethed from her side of the room. "Is there anything you can tell us about why Raven is attacking Miss Smith?"

Qrow couldn't help wincing; Glynda Goodwitch was one person you did not want to get on the bad side of. He didn't fancy it when they were students together, and he sure didn't fancy it now. "Nothing much," he admitted. "Raven wants her for something. She's… I think she's training her." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "That's just a theory, though. What I do know is that Raven wants Kassidy for something. And that it would probably be a bad idea to let her get it."

"Agreed," Ozpin decided. "Do you have any thoughts?"

"I don't think Kassidy would survive Raven's training. In the literal sense," Qrow admitted. "And since we can't really do much to keep sister dearest from popping up out of nowhere if she really wanted to, maybe the only thing we _can_ do is make sure the girl's ready for whatever Raven can throw at her." Shrugging, he added, "Well, either that or keep her under constant armed guard. But I don't think she'd take kindly to that idea."

"Indeed not," Ozpin conceded. He started to talk again but was interrupted by his desk ringing at him. Raising an eyebrow at the sender, he caught each of their eyes for the briefest of moments – probably thought he was sending them some sort of obvious message that wasn't nearly as obvious as he thought it was – before tapping on a button. "Ah, Bob, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company tonight?"

"Raven attacked Kassidy again," this Bob character announced. Qrow wracked his brain for why it seemed familiar, before remembering that Bob was what Kassidy called her computer.

Of course, that was all secondary to the obvious reactions. Glyndie actually swore before demanding, "What? Where are they? Is Miss Smith alright?"

"Blood was drawn, but it seems to be a superficial injury," the weird computer… thing admitted. "Kassidy and Yang are nearly returned to their dorm room."

"Damnit," Qrow muttered. Damnit, indeed… and damn you, sis. "Alright, I'll head down there, see what's going on." Turning to his two coworkers, he assured, "Don't worry, I'll make sure things are handled. Leave it to me."

"If it didn't involve your sister, I don't think I would," Glyndie admitted. "If you need any help, you have my Scroll number. I'm always available for my students."

"Hey," Qrow said as he backed into the elevator. "This is me we're talking about. Have a little faith."

He could see both Glyndie roll her eyes, and Oz chuckle as the elevator closed behind him. He couldn't really be bothered to care about that, though, seeing as his sister up and attacked his niece and her partner. Again, apparently. Qrow took the opportunity of hiding in the elevator to morph into his bird form, then took off across campus as quickly as he could. He made it to the dorms in thirty seconds flat, and entered through an open third-story window before changing back. A quick look at one of the nearby doors would've made him chuckle at how near he was to his nieces, but he needed to get there now. It was only a matter of seconds before he'd made it to outside their room…

"Why does she hate me?!"

Yang's anguished cry made Qrow pause with his hand scant inches from knocking. The computer said that only Kassidy had been attacked. But didn't it also say that Yang had been with Kassidy? Had Raven attacked her own daughter?

"I don't know," a second voice said. "But you know I don't, right? I love you, Yang."

A low whistle nearly revealed him. He knew those two were going to jump on each other at some point with they way they were looking at each other before he left, but that Kassidy girl moved fast. That… was probably something to keep an eye on.

"I… I know," Yang sniffled. "It's just… she attacks my girlfriend, nearly takes her head off, and then just _sneers_ at me whenever I show up to help? Like I disgust her?"

"UNCLE QROW!" his other niece yelled while he was distracted, suddenly bursting up to him and _damn_ did she get faster while he was gone. The half-pint nearly bowled him over and there was a pressure wave that felt like she was this close to breaking the sound barrier. "What are you doing here?!"

Needless to say, the noise caused all conversation in the room to die down. Qrow cursed internally that his cover had been blown, but that was just his typical shitty luck. Plastering his smirk back on, he answered, "Figured I'd come see how my favorite niece was doing."

Ruby looked like he had just told her that cookies went extinct. "Yang's your favorite?!"

"I was talking about you, short stack," he teased.

Ruby blushed and stammered at having walked right into that, and Ice Queen Junior looked like she had something to say as well. Before she could, however the door to the dorm room opened – and out came the woman of the hour. Kassidy found Ruby and Weiss first, which gave Qrow plenty of time to look over the giant bandage across her forehead, and… also a pair of cat ears? The hell? Alright, he was pretty sure he wasn't _that_ drunk. "Mr. Branwen?" she asked, almost like she was having trouble exactly remembering who she was.

Well, he couldn't have that. "I told you not to call me that, you little shit."

A few of the girls gasped, but Kassidy only took a beat before replying, "So you did, Mr. Branwen." Her face fell, though, and she said, "I'm sure Yang would love to see you normally, but this –"

"Heard you had a run-in with my sister," he interrupted. Kassidy's eyes widened, and he took the opportunity to say, "How about I come in? We need to talk."

"What's going on?" Ruby asked. She shoved her way past him, then gasped when she saw Kassidy. "Kass! What happened?!"

Qrow opened his mouth to talk everyone down but was interrupted by a door opening behind him. Apparently, it was time for the peanut gallery to have their turn gawking. Some short orange-haired chick with headphones on her neck started talking before she even got a good look. "Hey guys! What's with all the noi… Kass!"

As more people came out behind the girl (who was quickly identified as Nora), Qrow couldn't stop himself from groaning. He knew he'd quit teaching for a reason. "Alright, that's enough, you pipsqueaks!" he yelled, overriding all the other voices. "I need to talk to my niece's team tonight, so you four… whoever you are, need to go find something else to have fun with tonight. Alright, Short Stack, Ice Queen Junior, Cat Girl, get in the room. Let's have a chat."

That seemed to settle things. The peanut gallery retreated into their own dorm, and his niece and her teammates quickly skulked to their own beds. He rose an eyebrow at the bunk beds they had set up (Summer would've _loved_ that idea) but quickly found his other niece, eyes rimmed red from crying and all balled up on Kassidy's bed. The way the two blondes went to right on top of each other reaffirmed a need to put some holy fear into Kassidy regarding how she treated Yang. "Alright, first things first," he announced. "Everyone in one piece still?"

"More or less," Kassidy admitted.

Yang spoke up from where she was leaning on her partner. "Uncle Qrow, do you know why Mom's doing this?"

"Less of one than I'd like to admit," he threw out. "I'll keep this quick since it's getting late and we all need sleep. So, here's the facts. Fact: my sister has suddenly taken an unhealthy interest in Kassidy there. Fact: my sister is one of the biggest badasses on the planet. Fact: people who wind up being her entertainment tend to have short lifespans."

"Would rather her attention be on me than on my team," Kassidy spat.

Qrow glared at her; now was not the time for bravado. "From now on, I think it would be wise to never be alone, anywhere. We clear?" Nods with varying degrees of blankness were his answer, and he moved to shoving a finger in Kassidy's direction. "You there. North gym, training room three, five AM tomorrow morning. But take it easy tonight. Get yourself fixed up."

Her eyes hardened; at least it seemed her super brain was still sharp as ever. "Yes, sir," she spat.

"And don't call me 'sir'," he reminded. "Alright, it's late, I'm nowhere near drunk enough for this shit, and you've all got some crap to take care of. I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright kiddos?" Qrow gave his farewells, then sauntered out the dorm. Time for priorities. Right now, he needed to create a hangover to nurse.

After, of course, he had a word with Glyndie. If he was going to smack that Kassidy girl around so she stood half a chance at not getting murdered by his sister, the least he could do was figure out the best way to go about that.

* * *

Shifting through the manila folder he'd haphazardly thrown together gave him some idea on how best to go about this. With a slight chuckle, Qrow threw the folder to his side and leaned back. He might not be a teacher anymore, but he still had it. He'd probably even find time to threaten hanging Kassidy with her own entrails if she got any ideas about Yang.

Some noise got his attention – and Qrow looked down from the rafters he was currently sitting on. Kassidy seemed like she wasn't as sharp in the early mornings as he remembered as she belted out, "Qrow? You there?" After a few seconds' pause, she yelled out, "Qrow, I'm here for your training!"

Qrow sighed and shook his head. Poor girl had gotten soft, living the comfortable life. With Raven on her case, being soft was a very good way to end up dead. Time to remind this girl that paranoia was always useful. He leaned to his side and slipped off the rafter, fully intending to hammer Kassidy into the ground as she walked beneath him.

Something in the way she walked clued him in that something wasn't right. Had she somehow heard him? Either way, his gut had a bad feeling, and instead of continuing through with his attack he rolled out the moment he hit the floor. Good thing, since Kassidy had, at the last moment, pulled some weird gliding stunt that got her a good ten feet away from the point of impact. She followed up the moment he'd hit the ground, drawing her sword and swinging for where his head would've been if he'd remained stationary.

"Glad to see you haven't gotten _entirely_ soft," Qrow praised.

Kassidy started before turning around. Apparently, she'd been fooled into thinking he went for a different wall. With as serious an expression as she could muster (the cat ears kinda ruined it, though), she asked, "Alright, can you guys just teleport around like it's nobody's business, or am I just that slow this morning?"

"You're slow," he affirmed. "Which is a problem." Qrow left his weapon leaned up against the wall before sauntering forth to meeting the girl in the middle of the room. "Went over Glyndie's notes. You can't take a hit, you can't really hit without your gun, and you can't even move fast enough to make up for either of those. Raven'll tear you a new asshole sooner rather than later."

"Excuse me for only just unlocking my Aura something like six weeks ago," she pouted. Pouted.

"Alright, rule number one: don't take that kind of tone with me. I'm dragging my hungover rear up at the asscrack of dawn to help you stay alive. Show some respect." When she nodded and dropped the glare, he expounded on the point she made. "And six weeks is plenty of time to learn all the basics. Which you haven't done." When she tried to argue, he cut her off. "You can slide around, you can project Aura around your palms in a pseudo-offensive repulse, and maybe, just maybe, you can pull off a powered jump if you absolutely have to. I had that on day six of Aura training. Plus change."

Kassidy sighed. "I'm trying. Yang's trying, Weiss is trying, Professor Goodwitch is trying… nothing ever seems to work. Flukes aside."

"That's what we're going to spend this morning doing," Qrow announced. "Let's get some sparring done. I'll go unarmed, figured I'd give you a chance. You want to not get creamed? Then you better get to learning."

"Didn't you used to be a teacher at Signal?" she asked. "Did they let you teach like that then?"

Qrow made her pay for her lack of readiness (not to mention her mouth) by decking her in the jaw, sending her sprawling across the floor a good dozen feet away. "Wrong answer," he called. "Now, again."

* * *

 **AN 2: Oh dear. It seems General Erec… err, Ironwood still doesn't like Kassidy all that much.**

 **Holy crap, two chapters a week again! Is this the end times? Probably not, but in the end I'm not the judge of that. Things are kind of slow around here at the moment while I wait on some things, so at the moment I've got plenty of free time and a plan on how to actually write these chapters. So, enjoy a whole bunch of RWKY.**

 **Coming up next: RWKY (plus Qrow and Winter) enjoy a day off in between fights.**

 **Right after these Reviewer Responses**

 **FlouriteFlower: I suppose we'll have to find out, won't we. Though, do be warned I have some fairly hilarious ideas I want to work in there.**

 **Ultimatrix bearer: I have not seen the finale of Fairy Tale. Actually, I've kinda only seen up to episode 48 (or whichever one is the last episode on Netflix). As far as death battle is concerned, I'm just more interested in the RT animation for good fights than anything else. You keep being awesome, yourself.**

 **DIYEyal: While I am always partial to fresh seafood, living in the middle of the Midwest leaves one with few fresh fish that aren't bottom feeders. And I don't like bottom feeders. So have some fresh beef instead. Yeah, rewriting the chapters can be… not necessarily difficult, but interesting. Can't write them verbatim (Kassidy and Blake aren't the same characters, after all), but I still have to keep things pretty darn similar depending on how many things I changed. Thumbs down here, reference not received. And thanks for the P.S., means a lot.**

 **ThornedRose367: Nor, I bet, are any readers wanting this to develop an M rating.**


	93. V3C4: A Day Off

**Volume 3 Chapter 4: A Day Off**

 **AN: Holy crap, I'm on a roll with these!**

 **EDIT: Less of a roll than I thought, apparently.**

 **More information in the second Author's Note regarding the future of this fic.**

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

 _Come on… just a little bit further. Almost, almost… work, damn you! Wait, got it!_

It took three tries for Kassidy to get the Scroll to open the dorm room door, removing the infernal oaken barrier separating her from her bed. Something made some noise to her right, but she ignored it as she shambled on. Everything. Hurt. _So much_. Her sheath was unbuckled and allowed to fall in the middle of the floor. Her belt and its holstered equipment soon followed before she plummeted, face-first, into the blessed softness that was her pillow.

She tensed back up when something grabbed her legs and lifted them but stilled when they were simply deposited on her bed with the upper half of her body. "Man, you didn't even make it to the bed? What even happened to you, K?"

 _Oh, that's right. Yang said she wanted some time to herself this morning. Stayed in the dorm._ Kassidy tried to force her face up from the pillow but gave up with a groan when she found the effort too taxing. Instead, she had to settle for grumbling, "I'm pretty sure I hate your uncle now, too."

Yang hissed in sympathy as she worked Kassidy's boots off. "Ooh, yeah. I probably shoulda warned you that his training can get pretty brutal. Here, I've got a better idea."

"No, my pillow…" Kassidy moaned when Yang picked her up, removing its holy comfort from her visage as Kassidy was maneuvered around like she weighed nothing. Which, given what Yang benches these days, she probably did in comparison.

"Pretty sure you'll like this better," Yang countered. Kassidy was about to whine about how she was probably wrong, though she decided to bite her tongue when Yang laid her out in her arms, effectively leaving Kassidy using Yang as a giant pillow. Kassidy hummed in pleasure as she grabbed at the arm snaking around her waist… but then gasped as something started scratching at the base of her ears. "Damn, Uncle Qrow really did a number on you, didn't he?" Yang wondered aloud. "If he's beating you up this badly, you should probably take it easy the rest of the day. You still need to be able to help me kick some ass tomorrow, after all."

A day off sounded magical. Unfortunately, Qrow seemed to have had other plans whenever they broke up his four-hour long child abuse session. "He wants me back in the gym at two for more training."

Yang's left arm tightened slightly around her midsection. "Yeah, I'm thinking that's a 'no'. You can't be fighting tomorrow if he lays you out again." Kassidy's hair danced and ears flicked under both her girlfriend's ministrations, and the breath she huffed out. Yang surprised her with a chuckle, before saying, "Don't worry about the big bad bird, K. Your knight in shining armor is here to keep you safe."

"My hero," Kassidy drawled. She found herself unable to muster up the energy to care about much other than the pure bliss that Yang's nails were delivering to the base of her Faunus ears, and given that the only two people in the room were them she also couldn't find herself caring about how… well, about how she was basically getting pet like a house cat. It felt too good. Her traitorous thoughts started churning on themselves soon enough, though, and it wasn't long before she started reflecting on the previous evening. "Are you okay, Yang?" Kassidy eventually asked. "About last night, I mean."

The fingers running along her scalp slowed and quickly stilled, much to her consternation. Yang sighed and replied, "No, I'm not." She only allowed the pause to last briefly as she quickly added, "Don't worry about it. I just… need to figure a couple things out. Need to ask Uncle Qrow a few questions, definitely."

"Sure you'll get any answers from him?" Kassidy asked. "Far as I can tell, he's pretty crazy. Hell, far as I can tell, your dad's the only sane one in the family."

"Oh?" Yang challenged.

Kassidy started counting on her fingers. "Your mom's a grade A bitch and possibly a psychopath. Your uncle's the one person I've met that could actually give me a run for my money in the kind of drinking problems I used to have. Your sister's possibly ADHD, definitely hyperactive, and there is no way her obsession with either weapons or cookies is healthy."

"And what about me, K?" Yang asked, grin turning predatory. "Don't you think your dearest Yang is normal?"

Kassidy simply smirked in reply. "Hon, you thought dating _me_ was a good idea. You haven't the faintest idea what normal is."

Yang started snorting in laughter as she quickly lost the battle to her amusement. It took her a bit to settle down, but eventually managed to say, "Well, I like ya anyway. Can't have things getting too boring around here."

A thought striking Kassidy prompted her to reach for her Scroll, only to remember that she'd dumped it in the middle of the room. When Yang asked what she was looking for, she answered, "My Scroll. Wanted to see if a couple people I'd been keeping an eye on fought in the tournament today, and how they did."

"Good thing I've got mine, then," Yang muttered as she pulled hers off the nightstand. "Who're you looking for?"

"Emerald and Mercury," Kassidy stated. "There's something about those two…"

"Yeah?" Yang prompted.

Kassidy shook her head as she tried to find the words she wanted. "They're not like most students. They're experienced."

She could feel Yang shrug behind her. "Plenty of people have experience outside of the schools."

"Experience like what I have," Kassidy stressed. "It's in the way the walk, and I noticed when I went over the team fights last round. They keep looking over their shoulders, keep primed and ready for something regardless of where they are."

"So they're paranoid," Yang reasoned. "Huh, what do you know? They just got finished… and they beat Coco and Yatsu? Damn, now I want to see this."

Kassidy said nothing, merely watching the replay of the match. She couldn't help but feel a certain weight pool in her stomach as she watched the fight drag on. As the match ended, she couldn't help but let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "I," she began, "am glad we didn't face them."

She heard Yang scoff behind her. "C'mon, K. Sure, they took out Coco and Yatsu, but we wouldn't have fallen for any of that."

"It's not just that," Kassidy denied. Backing the replay up, she pointed to the green and gray pair backing into the field. "Look at how they fight. How many of our classmates would back up into a field of grass to break line of sight?" Taking a slightly sarcastic tone, Kassidy continued, "I mean, it's just grass. What kind of protection can grass provide?"

She turned around to face her girlfriend just in time to catch Yang frowning. "That's not exactly the most obscure thing they can do."

"We don't think so. Mostly because that's how I've had to fight all my life, and I've exposed you to my weirdness already. But for Hunters and Huntresses who've spent nearly their entire combat training in a sanitized combat ring, completely free of any obstacles or obstructions?" Yang's brows furrowed, allowing Kassidy time to continue, "And look at how they fight even after they split up. Mercury's tearing the two of them to shreds, not once does Emerald interfere… and Mercury doesn't hesitate. Without a word, they already know exactly how this fight's going to happen."

"So they work well together," Yang shrugged.

Kassidy shook her head. "They don't just 'work well' together. I can tell already; they've been working together for _years_. And they're supposed to be first years? Yeah, they knew each other before school." Humming in thought, she added, "They'd probably give _us_ a run for our money in the teamwork department, and we're no slouches there."

Yang continued arguing. "That doesn't mean they're better than us."

"They probably are," Kassidy pointed out. She froze the frame on Mercury's face. "Look at him. He's _toying_ with Yatsu. It's the same way Cardin looked whenever he was fighting Jaune our first few weeks here: he's patiently amused. _Mercury found Yatsu fighting him funny._ " Yang opened her mouth, but Kassidy cut her off by freezing on Emerald's face while she was in the trees. "And look at Emerald. She's staring down someone with a goddamn machine gun, the woman that's ranked number one among the second years, and she's bored. _Emerald was bored while fighting Coco._ "

"But that's –" Yang cut herself off as she stared at Kassidy's face. Kassidy started feeling a little uneasy at the sudden attention, but was fortunately saved further scrutiny when her girlfriend breathed out, "This isn't just about the Vytal Festival, is it?"

Kassidy shrugged slowly. "I'm… not sure. It's probably nothing. But… but something about those two seem similar. Like they're familiar to what I – what I used to do. I don't like it."

Yang sighed heavily, tossing her Scroll to the side. "You're looking into this too much, K." Kassidy started stammering in denial, but Yang put a finger to her girlfriend's lips. "Tell me, what seems more likely: that Mercury and Emerald are part of some grand conspiracy and want nothing more than to see us and everything we care about destroyed… or that they just had some experience and some time training together before they got partnered up at Haven?"

Kassidy opened her mouth, then closed it. "Like I said," she eventually admitted, "it's probably nothing."

Yang took both of Kassidy's hands into her own, and began, "It _is_ nothing. Come on, repeat after me." Kassidy groaned at their far too familiar song and dance, but Yang was having none of it. "Repeat after me: I don't need to look into things too much."

Sighing, Kassidy decided to get it over with. "I don't need to look into things too much."

"The world is not out to get me."

"The world is not out to get me."

"Everything will work out alright."

"Everything will work out alright."

"Yang is the greatest person in the world."

Kassidy couldn't help but smirk as she answered, "Ruby is the greatest person in the world."

Yang gasped in faux betrayal. "You fiend!" she softly screeched.

"I can get Bob to agree with me, if you'd like," Kassidy added as her grin stretched to shit eating proportions.

"Speaking of Bob," Yang suddenly asked, "where is he? He's been real quiet all morning."

"I sent him to borrow an android and get to the workshop to get a project of mine done," Kassidy admitted. "Now that he's got… upgraded logic processes, he needs practice with critical thinking. So I gave him a problem and told him to solve it."

"Ooh!" Yang said. "Care to spill the beans?"

Kassidy shrugged, wincing at the soreness she still felt from Qrow's unholy beatdown. "It's nothing much, honestly. I doubt I'll be able to use it for anything." _Actually, that's a lie. I just really,_ really _hope I never have to use the grenade he's making for me._

Yang must've noticed her wince. "Well, I've got nothing this morning, and I'm still kinda tired. Think a nap will help you recover from Uncle Qrow's training?"

 _More alone time with Yang? Yes please._ Kassidy couldn't help the smile as she allowed, "That… sounds like a wonderful idea."

* * *

"You'll never beat me, old man!" Ruby cried.

Qrow countered, "You're nothing but talk, kid!"

"You can do it, Ruby!" Yang cut in from the side.

Kassidy felt the need to participate in the peanut gallery also as she watched the video game battle to the death. "Avenge me!" she cried.

As soon as she had finished the words, unfortunately, Qrow's character decapitated Ruby's amidst the announcer declaring, "Soaring Ninja wins! Total annihilation!"

"By the way," Qrow interjected, just as Ruby's mounting horror caused her face to sink into her controller, "don't ever call me old."

"My turn!" Yang declared, shoving Ruby away so hard she actually slid into Kassidy's desk. Kassidy, feeling much improved after a good few hour cat nap ( _Wait… goddamnit, Yang. I blame you for this_ ), snickered before she decided to offer Ruby a hand up from her sprawled out position on the bed.

Qrow started up a new game with his other niece and wondered, "Now, where was I?"

Ruby ignored Kassidy's hand up, instead darting over to the pair seated on the floor and answering, "You were telling us about your last mission!"

"Right, right," Qrow affirmed with a nod. "I've come across a small village in the swamps west of Mistral. Right off the bat, I knew something wasn't right."

Kassidy couldn't help but scrunch her face up in disgust. "Ugh… how come you were in a _swamp_ of all places?"

"I needed information," Qrow explained. "Tired from battling Grimm along the way, I decided to start my search at the town's inn. The place was crawling with low lives and thugs… and even a few Huntsmen who I can only assume had been hired by less than reputable people for less than respectable jobs. And that's when it happened."

"What happened?" Yang asked – no, demanded.

"I was defeated," Qrow admitted.

" _What?!_ " Kassidy exclaimed, the statement causing her to bolt up in her bed far more interested in the story than the already respectable attention she was paying it earlier. Qrow Branwen, losing a fight? Sure, it probably happened at some point, reality didn't really make for a good environment for people to have a perfect record after all. Still, Yang and Ruby's uncle was _easily_ one of the five most powerful people she's ever met. What the hell was at that inn that kicked his ass?

Qrow continued on as if she hadn't said a thing. "I was defeated," he repeated, "…by the mere sight of the innkeeper's skirt length!"

"You are the _worst_!" Yang yelled just as her character succumbed as well. Ruby and Qrow started laughing at Yang's reaction.

Or maybe they were laughing at Kassidy's reaction, as she stared at Qrow before letting out a soft, flat, "Seriously?"

"Hey," Qrow challenged, "never underestimate the power of the skirt."

Yang, having seemingly already gotten over her humiliating defeat, sighed theatrically. "It's too late, Uncle Qrow, I can never get her to wear one." Suddenly turning a lecherous grin across the room, she hedged, "Unless…"

Kassidy opened her mouth to instantly deny it, only to think about it. After all, she'd already done it once, much as she really wish she hadn't and had no desire to do it again. Eventually, she managed to get out, "I wouldn't count on it."

"That's not a no!" Yang cheered, pumping her fists into the air. Kassidy sighed and rolled her eyes. _The things I do for you, Yang._

Qrow chuckled at the scene, then offered his eldest niece, "Best two out of three?"

Yang seemed about to jump all over it, but paused as she turned _yet another_ look on Kassidy and boy was Kassidy starting to dread getting watched today. Offering the controller, Yang asked, "You want a turn, K?"

Kassidy chuckled and shook her head. "You do remember how the one time you did talk me into playing this, I lost to the tutorial AI, right? This'll be a solid 'pass' from me, I'd rather keep my dignity intact."

"So, Uncle Qrow," Ruby began as the two seated on the floor started the game up again, "did you get in trouble with Ozpin?"

"Nah," Qrow denied, "Me and Oz go way back. We're cool."

Yang scoffed. "Yeah, cool for an _old guy_."

"Not. Funny," Qrow growled.

Ruby took the time to ask another question, "Hey, so, what are you doing here, anyway? I thought Dad had told us that you'd be on a mission for, like… ever."

Qrow simply smirked as he replied. "Well, a professional Huntsman like myself is expected to get results as soon as possible."

"Yeah, I get that," Ruby bragged. "I mean, we're pretty much pros too."

"Oh really?" he challenged.

"Pssh, yeah, read the news sometime," Yang answered. "We totally saved Vale while you were gone."

Kassidy couldn't help but feel a small bubble of pride rise up at the reminder. She'd – no, _they_ , had managed to figure out what the terrorists were doing. And they had actually stopped it. They… they'd won. With no casualties (herself notwithstanding) and a remarkably small amount of property damage, given the situation.

"Funny," Qrow commented. "Because I heard that Vale suffered a Grimm attack after you _almost_ managed to stop a train." Kassidy's face fell as quickly as her bubble of pride did. "But they don't hand out medals for 'almost'."

"They do, and they're called silver!" Ruby challenged.

Yang opened her mouth to speak, but Kassidy beat her to the punch. "There were extraneous circumstances surrounding the fight we had at Mountain Glenn," Kassidy seethed, rising to her feet in the meanwhile. "We did the best we could with the situation at hand."

"Oh?" Qrow challenged again. "And just what were those extraneous circumstances?"

"Unstable terrain had split our team up," Kassidy began counting. "Said unstable terrain also isolated one of our team, knocking Yang unconscious in enemy territory and causing her to get captured. Needing to fight through a small army to get to the train in the first place. Needing to initiate a hostage rescue while on the train and knee-deep in terrorists that wanted nothing more than to decorate the tunnels with our splattered corpses. Finding out that the train had been sabotaged and no longer possessed a braking system. _Being chased by an unholy horde of Grimm hundreds strong._ " Pausing long enough to ensure the point had gotten across, Kassidy didn't see Yang's and Ruby's faces fall as all the joviality of the easy afternoon fled. Instead, she stared down Qrow and asked, "Would you like for me to continue?"

Qrow scoffed before counting on his own fingers. "Unstable terrain is the name of the game, genius. Or are you seriously trying to tell me that all your surviving years ago was in a perfectly sanitized, dry, stable area?" When Kassidy kept up her unamused glare, he continued, "Much as she won't appreciate me saying this, Yang should've been paying more attention to the area around her."

" _She was_ ," Kassidy all but growled at Qrow. "She saved me from falling into a sinkhole that had just opened up, and that was back before I had my Aura. If she hadn't taken that fall instead of me, I'd probably be _crippled_ at the absolute minimum."

"And where the hell was your attention that you didn't notice the concrete under your feet was loose and unsteady?" Qrow's words made Kassidy pause. It was true, that hadn't been the first time she'd had to deal with treacherous buildings, and in the past, she'd always been supremely careful and been able to avoid any falls. Qrow took her silence as an opportunity to continue counting, "Not to mention: did you really need to fight all the mooks down there that were _clearly_ only there to distract you and keep you busy long enough for them to make a clean getaway?"

Kassidy fell back onto her bed as cold regret pooled into her gut. No, they hadn't needed to. Kassidy could've picked her way around the White Fang barricade easily, and while her companions weren't as well versed in stealth as she was, surely she could've led them along the way, right? But… Kassidy sighed and closed her eyes as she recalled that fateful early morning. She didn't think of that. She'd nearly gotten Yang killed, and Ruby killed, and Weiss killed, and god knows how many people killed because she didn't think of that. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind. She'd just seen _terrorists_ , the utter bastards that had _dared_ to lay a hand on her Yang and hold her hostage and _she'd kill each one of them with her bare hands and make sure they'd_ –

"Hey! Remnant to Kassidy, you there?" Qrow's voice saved her from that train of thought. Kassidy blinked, hoping against hope that the light sheen, the beginnings of tears had gone unnoticed. Her hopes were dashed when Yang put the controller down and crossed the room, joining Kassidy on their bed and grabbing her hand. "So," Qrow began, "would you like for _me_ to continue?"

Kassidy could only shake her head, not trusting her voice. Yang seemed quicker than normal to put herself into the conversation, probably to change the subject. "Well, we took down Roman Torchwick," she offered. "He won't be bothering anyone again, and crime's been down ever since. That's basically a bounty mission."

"Sure, you may be _acting_ like Huntresses," Qrow admitted, "but you're not _thinking_ like one. You really think four girls and their friends can end all crime in a Kingdom?"

Ruby nervously poked her fingers together. "Well, I mean, I did until you said that."

"Depends on the circumstances," Kassidy offered, trying to keep her voice slow and steady. "Roman Torchwick had his hands in absolutely everything and was basically the kingpin for organized crime in Vale. Add that to the damage I'd been doing to his operation beforehand…"

"Violence hasn't dropped since Roman got killed," Qrow reminisced, completely ignoring Kassidy. "It stopped. Completely. No White Fang activity _anywhere_ around the city. You cut off the head of a King Taijitu, but now the second head's calling the shots." Sighing, he added, "That's what Ironwood can't get through that thick metal head of his."

The three girls traded glances before Yang slowly asked, "You know the general?"

"Hey, I know everybody to some extent," Qrow bragged. "Remember, you're talking to a member of the coolest team to ever graduate Beacon." Pulling out a picture with Taiyang, Raven, Qrow, and who Kassidy could only guess was Summer Rose, Qrow held it in the open for a little bit before sighing. "Team Stark. That's when I met your parents. We were pretty well known back in the day."

"Well known for crummy fashion sense." Ruby teased.

Qrow took offense to that. "Hey, we looked good!" While he was talking, his hand wandered until the picture ended up right in front of Yang, who was staring at it with open interest. Kassidy squeezed her hand right as Qrow continued, "And I have a number of _inappropriate_ stories that'll back that up." Suddenly noticing where the picture had gone, he suddenly yanked it out of Yang's face. "But," he announced, "I'll save those for when you're older."

"Ugh, gross!" Ruby exclaimed. Kassidy rolled her eyes at the sight.

"Anyway," Qrow announced, "I'm too old to be hanging out with a bunch of kids. You're gonna cramp my style." Getting to his feet, he made his way to the open dorm room door… before pausing and looking back. "Just remember that you've got a long way to go. And don't think for a second that graduating means you're done. Every day out there is worth a week in this place."

"The real world isn't a nice one," Kassidy reminisced quietly, though not quietly enough to catch everyone's attention.

"But you three?" Qrow continued. "You're gonna go far. But only if you keep learning. If you _never_ stop moving forward."

The room remained silent for a short bit after Qrow had left. Yang and Kassidy squeezed each other's' hands in support, but Kassidy kept silent in her thoughts.

Yes, she would keep moving forward. It's what she's done for years. And with her team alongside her, with dear friends she's made at Beacon, she wouldn't be moving forward alone, either.

* * *

 **AN 2: Alright, so, let's get a couple things out of the way real quickly.**

 **First off, I kinda missed announcing, but FlouriteFlower gave Team Rookie its 500** **th** **review. To Flourite, I bequeath… a boot to the head. And another for Jenny and the wimp.**

 **But as huge as 500 reviews is, what I think is even larger is one hundred thousand views. 100,000 reads of the chapters I've put out. I just… wow.**

 **I had never imagined my ramblings here growing as large as it has. If you sort the RWBY fanfiction offerings by Yang/OC stories, Team Rookie (RWKY) is currently the 7** **th** **largest story in terms of favorites, the 6** **th** **largest in terms of follows (briefly in 5** **th** **place earlier this week!), and we are #1 in the number of reviews a Yang/OC story has gotten. The community we've established here in incredible, and I thank each and every one of you for the incredible success this story's had.**

 **That being said, the first iteration of Team Rookie is winding down. There are only eleven (11) more chapters after this one (!), including a two-part epilogue. After that…? Well, I've had numerous people asking, so here's the rough road map for the RWKY-verse.**

 **First up, immediately following the conclusion of this story, is going to be… a prequel? Not exactly. It'll be running concurrent with Volume 1, and it'll follow our dear villains in Mistral. I've got some great ideas for it, I've been reaching out to people to make sure my concepts are sound, so even though it has little to do with Kassidy's friends I hope you all enjoy** **RWKY: Mistral's Red Devils** **.**

 **After that, we get to our Volume 4/Volume 5 content. Do not fear, I am** _ **not**_ **copy-pasting the RT V4/V5 here, there are going to be** _ **many**_ **big changes, as will be evident when this arc of the story reaches its conclusion. Needless to say, I think you'll all thoroughly enjoy** **RWKY: The Black Talon** **.**

 **Beyond that? I'm… still working on that. Needless to say, I've got plans for Atlas as well, but nothing's finalized and I'm still coming up with a storyline.**

 **As you can imagine, I've been busy here, not just with writing but with planning. I think you'll all enjoy what I've got cooking, and I can't wait to go on this crazy adventure with the rest of you.**

 **And now, onto your Reviewer Responses!**

 **FlouriteFlower: Semblance is a key spoiler, so unfortunately no hints from me. Glad to hear you and so many others are enjoying this story so much! Here's to hoping I can keep up the quality!**

 **DIYEyal: Glad to hear you enjoyed Qrow. Got Skyrim, will look into. Thanks for the insight into working life, I'll be sure to take your advice to heart. Kassidy being the Fall Maiden? While that's something I'd like to see too, we'll just have to see how the story writes itself, don't we? And yes, half the time the story keeps taking random directions that I'm not sure how we got there.**

 **SerketLily: Kassidy being the Fall Maiden is a possibility brought up by readers a** _ **long**_ **time ago, and a couple have been continually curious so this was in large part a way to address them. I agree with Glynda as well: great idea, but Kass needs a day off.**

 **ThornedRose367: While I'll admit that General Erec… err, Ironwood is certainly being a grade-A asshole, try looking at it from his perspective. He hears rumors from the powers that be that a young woman is exceedingly dangerous, to the point of endangering the public. He comes to figure out what's going on, hears about the White Fang, tries to stop the White Fang, but gets railroaded at every opportunity by the subject of the Council's fears going all vigilante and shooting (and occasionally exploding) the places up. Combine that with her tendencies to treat rules like suggestions and her annoying habit of "playing" with his computerized army's cybersecurity? Yeah, he's more than a little worried about her I'd say.**

 **MorgothII: Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much! I must admit, I've never heard the term "cake-ass" used as an adjective before, but I hope it's good! Here's to hoping I can continue entertaining!**

 **Ultimatrix bearer: Well… I actually haven't read any of those. I'll do my best to avoid doing that, though. You, my friend, keep being awesome as well.**

 **Tykene: Bruises and verbal lectures confirmed. Yeah, I'm definitely working on getting chapters out faster now. Here's to hoping I can keep the quality up to what you and everyone else expects out of me!**


	94. V3C5: Getting Funky

**Volume 3 Chapter 5: Getting Funky**

 **AN: Alright, c'mon, I think we all know what's about to happen here. Let's find out just how big a monkey wrench Kassidy throws into things, why don't we?**

 **But first, a quick visit to our two favorite AI's.**

* * *

(Perspective: Bob)

" _I think we can both agree that your victory over Sky Lark and Dove Bronzewing were needlessly excessive."_

The twin cameras that were serving as Bob's primary methods of visual input at the moment shifted, zooming in on what appeared to be an anomaly on a nearby cable box. Fortunately, the suspected loose, exposed, frayed wire was actually just a small collection of dust particles. Should probably be cleaned soon. The cameras unfocused momentarily, returning to their normal levels of zoom, and Bob could see a darker skinned girl with a light grey blouse and blue skirt to the right. The cameras, independent of its control, focused on her back momentarily before their owner replied.

" _Whatever do you mean, friend Bob? There is a need to suppress my more extreme capabilities from public knowledge – you said so yourself, after all."_

If Bob had eyes to roll, it would have done so. Penny did have a habit of overlooking finer details when it so suited her, after all. _"But was impaling your swords into the rocks they were hiding behind truly necessary? Would it not have been simpler and more efficient to simply move your swords_ around _the rocks to attack the boys directly?"_

" _But there was a too-high probability that my wires would've gotten crossed!"_ Penny retorted. Bob got the impression that she would've been whining if she'd been using her voice.

" _Yet more proof that wire-guided weaponry is little more than bad design,"_ Bob reasoned. _"Their only true purpose was before wireless communications technologies became sufficiently rapid and reliable. Installing wireless nodes into the hilts of your swords and slaving them to your systems should be far more efficient – because there is also zero chance that such a flimsy wire as what you use would be sturdy enough for either power transfer or load bearing."_

Penny's systems idled for a moment as she probably processed the repeated suggestion of optimizing her weapons systems. Before she could send a message in reply, however, the android's audio receivers picked up a yell of "Penny!"

"Ruby!" Penny yelled back. Regarding itself as having taken a lesser priority, Bob refrained from sending any data so as not to distract its conversational partner. Perhaps it should have distracted her, though? After all, Penny _did_ apparently believe an appropriate output to meeting a friend to take some form of 'launch yourself at said friend as an improvised projectile'.

"Why…" Ruby groaned.

" _I must agree with Ruby's assessment,"_ Bob couldn't help but transmit. _"Why did you believe body-slamming her was an appropriate response?"_

" _It's called a 'hug', Bob,"_ Penny lectured. Penny actually had the gall to lecture it. That was certainly a change of events. _"Though,"_ Penny admitted, _"I perhaps went a_ tad _overboard."_

" _A tad?"_ Bob teased back.

Penny opted to ignore Bob's latest communications as she finished helping Ruby to her feet. Instead, she spoke aloud, "Ruby, this is my teammate!"

"Ciel Soleil," the dark-skinned girl offered.

Ruby grinned and waved. "Hi, I'm Ru-"

"Ruby Rose," Ciel interrupted. "Fifteen, hails from Patch, leader of team RWKY. Status: questionable."

Ruby managed to squint a single eye at Ciel, probably in response to learning that Atlas – or, at least, several of its students and faculty – had constructed a basic profile on her. Odd. Bob thought that would've been obvious, as militaristic as the city-state was. She eventually seemed to get over her shock as she transitioned to, "So… Penny! You two were incredible out there! How do you keep control of all those swords?!"

" _Not as well as she should,"_ Bob remarked silently, simply sending the message along to its conversational partner. Penny didn't react externally, though she did send Bob the digital impression of sticking her tongue out at it.

"It's so cool!" Ruby finished while Bob and Penny traded their internal remarks.

"Penny," Ciel interrupted, tapping her wristwatch. "I believe it would be best if we were to move on to our next location."

Penny and Ruby traded glanced with each other, and a quick consultation with its internal clock caused Bob to offer its own input on the matter. _"You're not due there for another ten minutes. I sincerely doubt one or two to converse with a friend would be out of the question."_

Penny sighed at Bob, wearily remarking, _"You don't know Ciel like I do."_ Regardless, she allowed none of her internal resignation to show to the two people nearby as she asked, "Could we have just a minute to talk?"

Ciel regarded her watch again then, in a move that seemed to surprise Penny, took a large step back before nodding. Ruby took instant advantage of the developed space to pull Penny to the side a bit and ask, "So is she… your friend? Or…"

"Well, in a way," Penny tried to explain. "She's like Kassidy, if Kassidy was ordered to spend time with you."

"Oh," Ruby said, all while Bob was making sure Penny knew that the comparison didn't exactly fit. "So Weiss."

"Precisely!" Penny answered, apparently content to ignore Bob at the point in time.

Ruby missed a beat before asking, "Does she know about… you know? Beep, boop, bop, does not compute?"

" _That has got to be the worst impression of an artificial intelligence I've ever seen,"_ Bob couldn't help but remark.

Penny sent an affirmative before answering, "Oh, no. General Ironwood doesn't really want anyone to know. There _was_ an incident with a magnet – _thanks_ , Bob – but I was able to play it off."

"Wait, what kind of incident?" Ruby asked. "And what did Bob have to do with it?"

Deciding that it could no longer remain outside the boundaries of this conversation, Bob quickly dialed Ruby's Scroll. At this point, it'd manage to set up a custom ringtone such that any of the girls of team RWKY would know it was him and not Kassidy. Whenever Ruby picked up the call, Bob hastily added, "The fewer questions you ask about the incident, the better. Besides, I did Penny a favor."

"Your nearly exposed me!" Penny hissed.

Again, if Bob had eyes to roll, it would have. "No I didn't. And I made you think and react quickly in an unplanned for scenario where violence _wasn't_ the optimal solution. That's more than General Ironwood's been doing for your social well-being. Besides, you got a new hat out of the deal."

The comments got Ruby and Penny laughing in short order, though Penny did get her amusement under control quickly. "Ruby, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about," she began as she chanced a look over at Ciel staring at her watch intently. Leaning in and reducing her voice to a whisper, Penny continued, "I want to stay at Beacon!"

Ruby blinked, before frowning slightly. "Penny, they'll never let you do that."

"I know," Penny conceded. "But Bob and I have a plan!"

"We do?" Bob couldn't help but ask. Certainly, this was the first occurrence of this desire in his memory banks.

Before any more could be said, Ciel stepped back into the conversation. "It's been precisely one minute, ma'am!"

Quickly adopting an unassumingly happy demeanor, Penny concluded, "I'll talk to you more soon, Ruby!" She quickly turned around and offered a quick wave before following after Ciel.

Bob was about to retreat out of Ruby's Scroll and return to his connection with Penny's systems when Ruby asked, "So, were you listening in on us the _entire_ time?"

"I was," Bob admitted, "but I've spent most of this morning, not to mention most of this entire festival, with Penny."

"You have, huh? Well, that would explain why you're never around anymore," Ruby muttered. She asked at a more conversational volume, "How come?"

Despite the fact that Bob had already set aside a predetermined answer for exactly this question, it still took far more milliseconds than usual to reply as its still-new feelings overwhelmed it momentarily. "You… you are aware of the… changes I've been going through since my reactivation, right?"

"Uh huh," Ruby nodded.

"I'm not a person," Bob answered. "And no matter how much Kassidy thinks otherwise, I'll probably never be a person. But still, after spending some time talking with Penny and her father… I've been spending as much time as I could with Penny, hiding away in her body, effectively running a simulation of myself using her inputs. I might not be a person, but maybe… maybe I can be more than a machine."

Ruby smiled. "You _are_ more than a machine, Bob. You're my friend. You're _all_ our friends."

Bob didn't need to run a systems analysis to determine that the happiness and pride it felt was the real deal, and not a synthetic replication of the feelings. "It gladdens me to hear that, Ruby. And I'm proud to call you my friend, also."

It was at this instant that Professor Peter Port deigned to interrupt their conversation. "Our next match will begin in fifteen minutes!"

Ruby lit up instantly. "Oh my gosh, that's right! It's time for Yang and Kassidy's fight!"

"I should probably go rejoin Penny at this point in time," Bob reasoned. "Though rest assured I'll keep a processor on the fight to analyze Kassidy and Yang's respective performances."

"Oh come _on_ Bob, don't analyze the fight. Just enjoy it!" Ruby called out.

"En…joy it?" Bob asked. "How does one 'enjoy' a fight?" When Ruby didn't answer in the following milliseconds, he tried again, "Ruby? Hello?"

Its only answer was a slight clicking sound and the feeling of being disconnected. _She hung up on me!_ Bob couldn't help but observe. Strange, this idea of enjoyment. Yet another mystery to solve. Perhaps Penny would have an idea?

* * *

(Perspective: Kassidy)

"Well, now it's our turn!"

Kassidy snorted as she checked _Rogue_ 's magazine again. "That's one way to put it."

"So, you've been doing a bunch of reading on the competition," Yang commented to her side, casually stretching immediately before the match were to begin. "What're your thoughts on these Atlas guys?"

Pulling her leg up to stretch her quad, Kassidy grimaced. "Atlas' military went ahead and ate up the Huntsman Academy up there – which kinda blows the whole 'independent defenders of the people' image out of the water, if you ask me – so highly militarized is probably our best bet. Lots of teamwork, lots of really big guns, and lots of carefully rehearsed tactics just begging to be torn to shreds." She was about to continue, but a roar flying behind them nearly made Kassidy fall flat on her face from her stretch. A girl on rollerblades, a short skirt, and a crop top skidded to a stop in front of the two of them, causing Kassidy to amend, "Or… whoever the hell they are."

"Hey!" the girl called out, causing both Kassidy and Yang to turn to look at her. Her Faunus tail twitched behind her as she pointed at Yang and asked, "Where did you get your hair extensions?"

Yang absentmindedly brought a hand up to rub at her obsessively cared-for mane. Kassidy nearly hissed; whoever dissed her girlfriend's hair was pretty much guaranteed to be on the receiving end of a beatdown. After a brief reminder from Kassidy to not get too worked up, Yang confusedly answered, "This… is just my normal hair."

The Faunus girl across from them made a face. "Ooh, really?"

"Yeah," Yang challenged. "Is that a problem?"

"You should try roller blading sometime!" the girl deflected. "It's super fun! It'd probably take you a while, though since you're so… you know, _top heavy_."

 _And I stand corrected_ , Kassidy mentally amended. _I'm killing her myself. Sorry, babe – your new toy's about to get busted up._

Yang looked like she was about to go off on the Faunus, but Kassidy beat her to the punch. "It's okay. I understand, really." Drawing confused looks from all three of the other people in the ring, Kassidy continued, "But there's no need to be jealous here. I mean, I know there's plenty of reason to be jealous – hell, _I'm_ jealous I don't have a rack like my girl here. But don't worry, sweetie. I'm sure puberty will come for you soon enough."

"Excuse me?!" the girl shouted at her.

"I mean, you'd be a pretty late bloomer even by my standards; you should take it from me when I say that I was a pretty fucking late bloomer. But I'm sure you'll grow up soon enough." Turning a look onto the darker skinned male to the girl's left, she asked, "So are you a combatant, or our musical accompaniment?"

"Hey!" Skater Chick yelled. "I'm not done with you –"

"Hush, kid," Kassidy instantly cut off. "The grown-ups are talking."

"Hey sunshine," the male suddenly called out. "You best put a muzzle on yer missus, before I go and show her how we treat disrespect back where I'm from."

"Honey," Yang fired back, "the only person that gets to lay a hand on her is _me_. And if you're going to be spouting off demands like that, maybe you should practice what you preach."

Kassidy had been spending the time while the Music Man and Yang had been talking examining his trumpet, and her cursory examination didn't leave her feeling happy. Pulling Yang in, she whispered, "That guy looks like he's carrying around a sonic weapon – and exactly zero of my four ears are liking the sound of that."

Yang opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by the terrain raising into place around them. _Crystal geysers rear right, urban ruins rear left, fiery hellhole forward left, sand dunes forward right_ , Kassidy assessed. _Let's stay off those sand dunes. My Aura gliding probably wouldn't work on sand. Ruins are probably my best bet. I can lead Skater Chick behind me to those, probably lull her into a false sense of security before I bust out my moves in Home Field Advantage._

Professor Port interrupted Kassidy's impromptu planning session by beginning the countdown. Whenever he got to two, however, her and Yang's opponents began bickering. "Remember the plan, Neon," Music Man reminded.

"Fuck the plan!" the newly identified Neon shot back. "That bitch is going down!" Kassidy couldn't help but smirk. _Jackpot._

"BEGIN!" Port cried. Music Man instantly opened up with a blast from his trumpet, and even with Kassidy trying to put as much distance between herself and that damned sonic weapon of his as she could, the sound still sent stabbing bolts of pain into her head and made her stumble. Neon had evidently gone charging after her, if the nunchucks slamming into her cuirass and sending her tumbling rear over teakettle into the urban area was anything to go by.

"Nunchucks," Kassidy groaned. "Why does it always have to be nunchucks…" Neon had blown her into a densely-packed part of the ruins, leaving her in the tiniest of clearings while she was free to skate around, using the rubble as cover. It _was_ a good idea, and Kassidy _would've_ had difficulty tracking her… if it weren't for the gigantic rainbow trail following her opponent around. Still, it didn't change the fact that staying inside an obvious kill box was a horrible idea, so she decided to flex her powered movement muscles that Qrow had gone about literally beating into shape. What would've ordinarily been a quick roll to narrowly dodge around Neon's next attack was instead a casual fifteen-foot jump over the rubble, giving Kassidy a bird's eye view of Neon howling in frustration as she missed.

Kassidy landed comfortably in a far more open spot but still wasn't able to relax. Her ears twitched on top of her head at some pebbles being knocked aside – Kassidy was still amazed that she could easily hear such tiny giveaways now – and after being attacked twice by Qrow's sister, she didn't hesitate to obey her finely honed danger senses.

"What?" Neon asked when her next attack meant only empty air. "How did…?"

"Not too bad, for a kid," Kassidy taunted as she leaned against a crumbling wall. Pushing off it and Aura gliding across the way got Neon's eyes to widen. "You still need roller blades to skate? How cute."

"Argh!" Neon oh so eloquently expounded, her frustration already seeming to reach a critical level. She flexed her hands and… made to snap her own nunchucks in half? No, Kassidy realized, it was the activation for some sort of Dust in the weapon, as the nunchucks in question started glowing a light blue.

Kassidy twirled _Baton_ out of its sheath and stared down the girl opposite her. "I'm okay not doing this if you are," Kassidy offered. "I try not to make a habit of beating up little girls."

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Neon yelled, kicking off and shooting off across the clearing they found themselves in. Kassidy rolled her eyes, waited until her attack had been committed to, then brought _Baton_ up to deflect the icy steel rod away while simultaneously drawing _Rogue_ and levelling it on Neon's head. Neon juked to the side, though, causing the Taser bullet to miss by inches and crash into a guardrail, sending sparks everywhere.

Neon dug her skates in to arrest her momentum, but Kassidy decided to prove the Aura skating was superior to conventional skating when she stopped on a dime and shot off, swinging her sword at the back of Neon's head. What _should've_ been a free 15-20% of her opponent's Aura in one attack, however, turned into near panic when Neon ducked and flicked her wrist, skating away and leaving Kassidy with one fist completely frozen over, _Rogue_ sitting prominently and completely useless in the center of the ice.

"I'm gonna put you on ice!" Neon yelled, returning for yet another attack. Kassidy yelped and dodged out of the way, then shoved her Aura to her feet and took off further into the urban ruins. It took a bit of doing, but she eventually managed to lose the skater girl in a particularly dense patch of destroyed buildings and hid behind a wall, desperately trying to get the ice off her fist. "What's the matter?" Neon yelled out. "Too scared to fight me?"

"There are many, many things I'm scared of," Kassidy replied, trying to dig up the last vestiges of her ventriloquism skills to hide where she was. "You, unfortunately are not on that list." She waited for Neon to smash through a lamppost before adding, "Or, perhaps I should say 'fortunately'. After all, I do happen to have this habit of killing things I'm afraid of. Keeps them from becoming problems."

"Shut up and face me like a warrior!" Neon bellowed. "Stop being a coward!"

"What's the matter?" Kassidy asked. "Can't find me? Feeling a little on edge?" Having finally peeled the last of the ice off her fist, she chucked the largest chunk of it behind Neon, making it shatter inside a building. Neon took the bait, dashing inside to try and find her. Kassidy chuckled to herself, loaded a magazine of high explosive ammo, and detonated the doorway Neon had entered, making it collapse.

When Neon next spoke up, it was with not a little hesitation and quivering in her voice. "Stop playing games and show yourself!"

Kassidy, though, was having too much fun with this. Sure, Ruby's warned her about playing with her food before… but this? She's been the prey for almost her entire life. She cherished each and every moment she got to be the predator. "Are you scared, child?"

"Stop calling me a child!" Neon shakingly called back from inside the building. Seems the poor girl hadn't found a way out yet, and was very nearly reaching a breaking point.

"I could finish you off now," Kassidy reminded. "The building you're inside is unstable. All it would take is one more explosive round. One more load-bearing wall to fail. And this whole apartment would collapse. With you inside it."

Kassidy could _hear_ Neon's blanching face as she stammered out, "W-What?!"

 _And now,_ Kassidy thought, _time for the coup de grace_. She wasn't much of a singer, but for the purposes she needed? She circled the building, and slowly chanted, "Cower in fear. Cover your eyes. Go to that place where you feel safe."

"S-Shut up! Let me out of here!"

Kassidy's smile grew teeth. "Trust in the lies. Tell yourself you'll be fine. But you can't deny…"

As she trailed off, Neon waveringly asked, "C-Can't deny what?"

Kassidy forced her smile down, then reached in through the boarded-up window where Neon was just now beginning to back across, her back still facing her. Kassidy busted through the wood, got the crook of her arm around Neon's neck, hauled her halfway outside the window, and hissed into her ear, "The fear that's inside," before pulling her the rest of the way out of the building.

Neon screamed as she fell out of the building, landing on her back on top of some shattered glass that did their job in taking a point or two off her Aura. Kassidy, having long since loaded in nonlethal ammunition, put two rounds into Neon to finish off her Aura and getting the buzzer to sound. She knelt to get right next to Neon and took no small pleasure in reminding the convulsing girl, "By the way, just remember that I'm the nice one. Especially after you called my girlfriend fat and dissed her hair."

"And chasing immediately on the heels of her partner, Yang Xiao Long eliminates Flynt Coal! Team RWKY is victorious!"

Kassidy smiled, then jogged back out into the middle of the arena just in time to see Yang return from the crystal geysers. She offered a hand for a high-five, then squealed when Yang instead grabbed her about the waist and lifted her up. "Someone's in a good mood," Kassidy quietly observed. "People are going to be talking…"

"Let them," Yang asserted. "Let them know just who won." Rather than talk any more, she actually took the initiative and kissed Kassidy right there. Kassidy, for her part, found her fingers tanging in Yang's hair as she tried to steady herself. They broke their kiss, then turned around and waved for the crowd, who seemed all too eager to lap up the attention and display.

"Whoa-ho!" Peter suddenly announced, absolutely killing the mood. "Yang Xiao Long and Kassidy Smith, everyone, one of the fiercest, most combat-capable set of partners I've ever had the pleasure of teaching! And, as you might imagine, the source of not a small amount of gossip, if I do say so myself!"

"Wait," Kassidy deadpanned as Yang lowered her to the ground. "What?"

"Ugh. Damnit, professor," Yang sighed.

"We're getting back at him for that, right?" Kassidy asked.

Yang nodded. "Definitely."

"Guys!" a voice yelled from behind them. They both turned around to see Ruby sprinting onto the arena and Weiss following around at a more sedate but still excited pace. "That was awesome! You guys were _amazing_! We _have_ to celebrate later!"

"Okay," Kassidy spoke up, getting the girls' attention before they could get started. "If you guys suddenly decided – without my input, I might add – that I'm going to be competing in the singles now, just please speak up so we can get over this."

Yang, Ruby, and Weiss traded looks, but it was Yang who offered, "I mean, if you really want to…"

Kassidy shook her head. "I really _don't_ want to. Besides, you're the better fighter in these arenas, Firecracker."

"Alright then!" Yang yelled. "Pyrrha and Nora won their doubles round, too! I think this calls for a celebration!"

"Ooh!" Ruby added, "we should invite Sun as well! His team made it to the singles also!"

Kassidy's eyes met Yang's, but where there would normally be a slight bit of resentment and hesitation, the amazingly beautiful lilac orbs just locked on hers. "Alrighty then, let's make it happen!" Stepping closer and leaning in so that her lips brushed Kassidy's human ear in the most interesting of ways, she whispered, "Though if you ask me, the celebration's just about us tonight."

Kassidy couldn't trust herself to do anything but nod. Not after her gut warmed up a bit like it has been recently.

* * *

 **AN 2: Well, that took a while. And I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it, too! So, what took so long?**

 **Me getting myself set up in the real world. Odds are, by the time I publish the next chapter, I'll be publishing it from my new apartment. Talked to the people earlier today, documentation's been filed, just waiting for the okay before we start talking money and getting stuff moved.**

 **Coming up next: Happy Ever After**

 **Right after these Reviewer Responses!**

 **Padparadscha Blue: Current signs seem to be pointing to Kassidy not being the next Fall Maiden – Ironwood's hard against it, Glynda seems to be voting against her also, and Ozpin admitted that she wouldn't be his first choice. And as for Semblance… again, spoilers.**

 **SerketLily: Yeah, Kassidy becoming a Maiden seems like it's not happening at the moment. Blake? I think she** _ **was**_ **about to come to that conclusion, but keep in mind RWKY's Adam Taurus =/= RWBY's Adam Taurus. And yes, I would love the opportunity to use Yang Xiao Long as a body pillow (honestly, what kind of straight man or gay woman wouldn't?). Ruby's too energetic for her own good. And I can't say that I've played Mass Effect 3, unfortunately.**

 **DIYEyal: Sorry, no hints for Semblance, because again, this is spoiler territory. Super spoiler territory. The kind of spoilers that may or may not change how Volume 3 ends… wait. Goddamnit. Here's your Bob point of view fix for you, my friend, hope it's what you've been wanting. And I actually chuckled a bit at your quote, because not only did I used to be a civil engineering student before I switched to computer science, but as a writer I'm predominantly an architect. At least, until I've got plants growing up from a garden that I didn't even know I'd planted.**

 **BlitzkriegHOSS: If I'm being perfectly honest… I wanted to do that. I wanted to do that really badly. I just couldn't figure out a way to easily put it in the chapter. I still want to do that, but… well, we only have a couple days before everything goes to shit, so there's not exactly a lot of time to shove in Qrow vs. Bob ninja fighting.**

 **ThornedRose367: Glad you enjoyed the chapter so much. And if you haven't gotten enough fluff yet, do not worry. Next chapter is fluff. All. The. Fluff.**

 **Ultimatrix bearer: I'm normally against that to, but this isn't that. This is more of remedial training where Qrow is just expediting Kassidy's ability to use her Aura. Via the method of punching her. A lot. Yes, I do have an actual backstory planned for Cinder. One that I honestly thought Rooster Teeth would use, but if they're just going to kill her off (hah, yeah right…) then I suppose I'll just need to use it. You, my friend, keep being awesome as well.**

 **MorgothII: Oh, voice-to-speech, how I love/hate you. Depends on whether or not you actually work. Glad you liked last chapter, hope you like this one as well.**

 **SuperbBirb: Welcome back, Liz! Or SuperbBirb, I suppose. I'm so, so glad you're just as happy with my continuing work as you were with what I'd put out earlier. I like to think I've improved as a writer, but the confirmation definitely helps. Sorry about the almost heart attack, though, I don't plan on abandoning RWKY any time soon! You keep being amazing as well, and I suppose we'll just need to go on this crazy voyage together!**

 **P.S. Good job so far on Beecon University's reboot – been liking what I'm seeing so far!**


	95. V3C6: A Day to Remember

**Volume 3 Chapter 6: A Day to Remember**

 **AN: Greetings, one and all, and a good day to you from The Priestly Pagoda!**

 **Yes, I now have an apartment of my own. And yes, I did actually name it that.**

 **Well, I think I've put this chapter off for long enough, let's see what kind of writing I can get done during my day off. Got a whole bunch of bad stuff coming right up, so… please enjoy the last bit of fluff in the first story of Team RWKY.**

* * *

Yang groaned as she made her way up the stairs towards her dorm room, making sure to roll her shoulders to work out some of the stiffness. Normally, a good, hard workout in the mornings was the perfect way to kick the day off, but the impending prospect of what tomorrow might mean loomed large in her mind, clouding her thoughts with the daunting challenges tomorrow would bring.

In about thirty hours, she'd be competing in the first singles round of the Vytal Festival Tournament. Just by being there tomorrow, Yang Xiao Long has already been established as one of the eight strongest Hunters-in-training on the planet. And damn if she didn't have quite the list of opponents to go up against. After all, it wasn't as if a couple of her fellow finalists were the Invincible Girl herself, Ms. Four-Time-Champion Pyrrha Nikos; not to mention Penny, that girl that Yang had figured out was actually some kind of super robot. Which actually explained a whole lot, but it didn't exactly make things easier on her.

It was all enough to make a girl feel incredibly nervous. Sure, she was great and all; there was no denying that Yang Xiao Long was a complete and total badass. But against names like that? She wasn't an interkingdom superstar with more tournament wins that anyone else had tournament participations. She wasn't a girl turned science project cooked up by the best and brightest minds in Atlas (though she did consider letting Kassidy take her place, just so they had a science project in the running also). She was just some girl from Patch that punched things really hard.

Yang shook her head as she tried to force her mind off the whole 'doom and gloom' stuff and focus on what she needed to. K always loved to lecture her how step one (or step zero, depending on which specific lecture it was) of beating your enemy was knowing your enemy. There was herself, Pyrrha, Sun, Penny, Mercury, and three other people that Yang honestly wasn't too worried about. Mercury would probably be the _closest_ match for her – ignoring the fact that she doesn't know what his Semblance is, and all that. Penny and Pyrrha would be difficult, and while Yang had no delusions that she was the underdog, she had a few tricks up her sleeves yet. But she needed practice. She needed to prepare.

Which is why it was so utterly confusing when Kassidy – completely out of character – all but demanded that she keep her afternoon free today. Even more than Weiss, if Yang expected anyone to be in favor of her being as prepared as possible for a potential fight, it was K. Unless this was some sort of special training she had in place? Plans she had made to give her an edge? No, something seemed different with her girlfriend early this morning when she went to get beaten up by her uncle. Heck, something seemed different with K all yesterday afternoon after they had won their fight with team FNKI. It seemed like she was watching her after their victory, in a way that seemed to defy common explanation. Yang couldn't figure it out. Something seemed off.

The feelings of wrongness only got worse as she paused outside her dorm room's door and began listening to what was obviously an argument between the duo that argued the most on the team. The first words Yang could make out was Kassidy insisting, "I know what I'm doing."

"Well, I would most certainly hope so!" Weiss fired back. "Especially considering nobody else does!"

"The finals round is _tomorrow_ , Weiss. At this point, all that time in the gym will do to her is wear her out. This'll be a good way to get her mind off of things."

While Yang smiled at how she could hear how happy K was talking about her, she couldn't help but agree when Weiss rebutted, "But that doesn't change the importance of thorough preparation! You, more than anyone, should know that!"

"And I _do_ , Weiss. Which is why Bob has a homework assignment for today, and why I'll be spending all day tomorrow with her also to make sure she's ready."

"As long as you're sure…" Weiss sighed.

"I am sure," K promised. "But can we hurry this up? I want to surprise her, and she'll be here any minute now."

Yang couldn't help but perk up at the mention of a surprise. She waged a war inside herself, but almost poetically the part of her that was impatient wasted no time in deciding that no, she could not in fact wait to find out what the surprise was. Her decision made, Yang nearly slammed her Scroll onto the scanner and entered the dorm room. "Hey guys! What's u-"

Yang paused and blinked at the empty dorm room she found herself in. K and Weiss were in the bathroom? Okay, that narrowed the options of the surprise to something involving K voluntarily deciding to wear makeup… which would make this only the third or fourth time that's happened. Something's definitely going on. Not to mention – were they arguing that loud in the bathroom?! It sounded like they were just on the other side of the door!

"Are you sure you'll be able to finish on your own?" Weiss asked. K didn't answer back verbally, but she must have nodded since Weiss shimmied out of the bathroom door, making sure that it didn't open enough for Yang to see in. Weiss must've seen Yang's tilted head and questioning stare if the way she glanced back was any indication, but didn't immediately answer the obvious question as she instead greeted, "Welcome back, Yang. How was your trip to the gym?"

"Good as usual," Yang answered hurriedly. "What's up with you and K this morning?"

Weiss shrugged. "She's apparently made some very big plans for you and her today. Wants to keep it a secret I guess, since she refused to tell me what it was other than the fact that it wouldn't be training. I'm not exactly impressed, but she insists she has it covered…" Suddenly marching up to Yang, she pointed a finger at her and demanded, "If you think you're not going to be in good shape for the fight tomorrow, you let me know. I'll be sure to put some sense in that dork's brain so you can focus on the tournament."

Yang chuckled. "If she's keeping me from being my best, I'll let her know myself." At Weiss' unimpressed face, she chuckled again and offered, "Thanks for the offer, Weiss, but I think we both know K has an idea of what she's talking about. If she doesn't think this'll hurt things, then who am I to say no to having a little fun with my smoking hot partner?"

"If you insist," Weiss relented, though still not sounding completely sure on the matter. Straightening her skirt and beating off thousands upon thousands of imaginary dust motes, she grabbed her Scroll and walked out the door, offering a casual, "I suppose I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Yang opened her mouth to answer, then snapped it shut as what Weiss said sunk in. Tomorrow?! What was Weiss talking about tomorrow for? Having missed the heiress as she left, Yang instead settled for knocking on the bathroom door. "How much longer you gonna be in there for, K? I still have no idea what's going on!"

"I'm almost done here; give me a minute!" K called back. "In the meantime, we're gonna be out all day today, so dress appropriately."

Yang huffed at the complete non-answer she got. She stalked over to her closet and started going through her clothes as she yelled, "What do you even have planned for our spur of the moment date that'll take all day for?"

"Well, funny you should ask," K's voice answered just as the bathroom door opened. Yang whirled around… and her jaw dropped. Didn't she tell her uncle not two days ago that getting K to wear skirts was pointless? So, of course, what did she find in front of her other than her girlfriend in a short skirt and tights, a pair of sneakers (that Yang didn't even realize K had owned) and a light sweater giving the outfit a surprisingly cute look. Add on the makeup and Kassidy looked completely different from how she normally did. Not that Yang was going to complain.

"Holy shit, K!" Yang couldn't help but exclaim. Eyes narrowing playfully, she accused, "Alright, you're buttering me up for something. What do you want?"

K laughed lightly, one of those laughs that had been coming out more and more recently that Yang absolutely loved. Most people didn't seem to believe that what was essentially a hardened war veteran could be supremely adorable when she wanted to, but damn if her girlfriend wasn't showing some aspects to her personality that must've been so repressed they've only just now started to come back up. "Well, that's actually going to be a bit of a story. And I wasn't lying when I said that we'd be out all day, so you'll want to find something you won't mind wearing until tonight."

Gears running in her mind, Yang turned back to the closet while prompting, "So? Don't leave a girl hanging."

"Okay, first off," K began. "Have you heard of how tech companies like to hold competitions from time to time?" A shake of Yang's head got the woman to continue, "Sometimes they'll come out with some new technology, or piece of software or something, that either they're not completely sure of or are really sure about. They'll occasionally hold… best way to describe them are hacking tournaments. Set up a prize pool, people get to try and beat the software's security or just make it break in general, some coders get a sweet bonus check and the company gets free testing to see how they can make their product better."

"Alright, I can see that happening," Yang said as she pulled a shirt out of the closet. She normally wouldn't wear the white top, as it was too low-cut even for her tastes (and her combat outfit does as much bragging about her body as her mouth does about her skills, if Yang did say so herself), but if K was pulling out all the stops like this then Yang had to ante up. She was pretty sure K would like it anyway. "What's this got to do with today, though?"

"Security company had one this morning. Ten thousand lien first place prize to whoever could crack it."

It didn't take _hearing_ the smug smirk in K's voice to figure out what happened. "Let me guess, you and Bob decided it'd be a nice warm-up?"

"While I wouldn't quite say that," K answered, voice filled to the brim with modesty so false it wasn't even really modesty anymore. "I will let you guess who was the first-place team that beat the system in, oh, I'd say seven seconds or so?"

Yang was trying to decide on shorts, skirt, or pants herself when her grip utterly failed as the facts fully drove themselves home. "You said the prize was ten thousand Lien."

Kassidy sprung up from their bed and hugged Yang from behind, arms going around her waist, head planting itself on her shoulder, and damn if Yang was suddenly finding it a bit hard to breathe right now. "Let's be honest, we've had a lot of shit come up for what was supposed to be the highlight of our year with the festival." Yang couldn't really manage to do anything in reply, so after a brief pause K continued, "You've got enough on your mind with tomorrow as is, so I'm deciding you need a break. Which you do." Yang's girlfriend spun her around to come face-to-face with a look so relaxed and happy that basically nobody outside of RWKY knew existed, complete with the blonde-furred ears standing tall and proud. "What's our date, Yang? Our date is an afternoon of whatever the hell you want to do, my treat."

Yang couldn't think of what she could say to that. So she settled for the obvious one. Pulling K in for a deep kiss, she answered, "Well, what are we waiting for? An invitation?"

* * *

Yang couldn't help but chuckle as a couple shrieking kids raced in front of her and K, chasing after some balloons that had managed to get away. K nearly jumped a half-step back but managed to keep her reaction to the sudden screams to little more than that. Still, the fact that she was jumpy didn't sit right with Yang, especially when it was on a day off that Kassidy herself had prescribed. Slinking an arm around her waist to get her attention, Yang asked, "What's up, K? Unless a couple kids make you… a _scaredy-cat_."

Kassidy stopped where she stood, turning to fix Yang a blank stare. Someone else might have worried for her reaction to the totally awesome pun, but Yang could have predicted the exact moment K broke out into a fit of giggles, trying (and failing) to contain her mirth behind a fist as she leaned into Yang's side. "That was bad and you should feel bad," K tried to argue.

Yang merely rolled her eyes. "Says the girl laughing like a loon."

K narrowed her eyes in a way that was probably supposed to be intimidating, but the look was thoroughly ruined by the way her ears perked up. "You're trying to distract me from something. What's going on?"

Of course her girlfriend would notice. Yang sighed and answered, "You seem really jumpy and tense this evening. Just wanted to help you relax a bit. The rest of the day was good, right?"

K's eyes widened, before she closed them and took a deep breath. Yang worried for a bit, but Kassidy answered, "Of course it was. Today's been amazing so far. I'm just worried that your mom will decide this would be the perfect time to drop in, and I think you know as well as I do what that'll mean at this point."

Yang groaned. She did _not_ want to be reminded. "Can we _please_ not talk about my mom tonight? Today's been going so well."

"It has been," K said, and the way her smirk could be heard was enough to give Yang a good idea of what was coming next. "You really seemed to enjoy dinner."

Yang blushed at the reminder. One of the stalls was selling some super spicy shish-ka-bobs, to the point that they even had a little contest on who could keep down their spiciest meal. Yang, ever eager to prove herself and confident in the fact that she could gobble jalapeno peppers by the handful with no problem, accepted the challenge. And, much to the amusement of all the bystanders, failed inside of thirty seconds. She could _still_ taste the heat of whatever the hell the guy put in that chicken.

She must've made quite the interesting face at the reminder, because Kassidy took one look at her and busted up laughing. A laugh that reminded Yang as to why she thought that had been a great idea. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, K," Yang said with a smile, letting her eyes scan the area around them. Damnit, now _she_ was starting to act paranoid. Can't have that. Suddenly, her eyes landed upon an ice cream stand. Her brain liked that idea, her still-burning mouth _really_ liked that idea, and she was pretty sure K would like that idea too. The decision being obvious, Yang wrapped her arm around her partner's waist and started bringing her along across the festival grounds.

Kassidy's eyes widened when she saw where they were heading. "Dessert sounds nice," she said quietly. Yang turned her head just in time to see K look at her and ask, "What are you having?"

Yang answered by giving her order to the guy behind the cart. "Can I get two scoops of Neapolitan, please?" She took her cone when it was offered, patted K's shoulder to let her know it was her turn to order, then turned to look at why she hadn't ordered yet. She seemed to be reading over the entire order, almost like… wait. Her girlfriend absolutely hated sugar up until two months ago, hadn't had a lot of time to go out exploring recently… no way. Yang's disbelief made its way into her voice when she asked, "You've never had ice cream before, have you?"

K shook her head. "Trying to think what everything would taste like and what sounds good."

"Two scoops of vanilla for my girl, here," Yang quickly said, making Kassidy's decision for her. "A bit of hot fudge too, if that's not a problem?"

Her partner raised an eyebrow, but took the proffered treat regardless, obviously trusting Yang's _clearly_ superior taste buds. In a series of events Yang had to muffle her laughter at, Kassidy furrowed her brows, glared at her treat, and started turning the cone around as if she couldn't decide how to eat it. When she finally heard the small giggles that occasionally escaped and turned her glare onto Yang, she went and took a few exaggerated licks of her own cone to get the message across. K seemed to get the memo, tentatively stuck her tongue out at the treat… and promptly shoved her face into it.

Yang nearly dropped her ice cream from laughing so hard, wandering a step or two away as she held her sides. "Hey!" K whined. "Come on, it's not _that_ funny!"

"Oh, but it is!" Yang denied in between her fits. "If only you could see your face right now." The face in question had cheeks burning crimson from embarrassment, Faunus ears pointed out to the sides from… alright, Yang couldn't even try to guess what that was trying to say, a half-hearted glare that wasn't all that threatening, and a good-sized gob of ice cream perched on the end of her nose. Getting an idea to be a bit cheeky and make her girlfriend even more embarrassed, Yang smirked at her partner and winked before saying, "You got a little something on your face."

"Huh?" K asked. She was about to poke a finger up to try and find it before Yang decided to help her out, kissing the end of her nose and helpfully cleaning up the ice cream hanging on it. Kassidy somehow went both wide-eyed and cross-eyed at the same time, cheeks coloring further as she stammered a bit before eventually getting out, "Uh, um, thanks. I guess."

Yang chuckled before pulling her girlfriend flush against her side and asking, "So? How's your ice cream?"

Almost as if K had completely forgotten about dessert during that whole debacle, she made another attempt and managed to not wear it this time. Her eyes widened, and she mumbled, "This is good."

Yang smiled and ruffled her hair. "If only you had known what you were missing, my dear, sugar-deprived partner."

K hummed in agreement, but a few licks later shivered a bit. "Cold, though. Wind isn't helping either." Fortunately, her partner seems to have a solution to just about everything, and her solution this time involved snuggling even deeper into Yang's side. "Thank God I have a walking space heater as a girlfriend."

The way that her nylon-clad legs brushed up against her own, and the way her body pressed into hers, left Yang unable to truly complain about the situation at hand. Fortunately, it did nothing to keep her from joking about it. Adopting a mock hurt tone, Yang lamented, "So you're only going out with me because I'm hot? I… I feel so _used_."

"The fact that you are multiple definitions of the word 'hot' is not the only reason why I'm going out with you," K reassured. "You make dinner quite entertaining, too."

Yang brought her free hand up to her forehead. "Oh, woe is me!" They both laughed a bit at the byplay, then a comfortable silence fell over them as they continued to stroll through the Vytal Festival during the start of its final week. Idly, Yang noticed how K was demolishing the treat at a record pace. She wondered if…

"Ow!" K yelped, bringing a hand up to her head. "Ow, ow, ow! What the heck?!"

"It's called brain freeze," Yang explained, pulling her partner in just a little bit closer. "Maybe try not eating it so quickly?"

Kassidy looked over from wincing and was in the middle of giving Yang a look that was half annoyance, half gratitude when someone yelled out from behind them, "Wow! Are you Huntresses?!"

The question got them both to stop what they were doing and pull apart a little bit as they simultaneously turned around to find a pair of little boys – couldn't have been older than eight or nine, really – staring at them with wide eyes. Almost impossibly, their eyes grew even wider when they saw their faces. "Wow!" the kid on the right exclaimed. "You are! You – you're Yang Xiao Long, aren't you?!"

"And you're Kassidy Smith!" the one on the left yelled, pointing at her girlfriend.

Yang giggled a bit at the kids, before frowning a bit as she felt Kassidy stiffen and start shrinking back a little. It took her longer than she would've liked to admit remembering that K absolutely _hated_ being on the spot, and that she probably had some bad memories of people yelling out her name in public. Determined to give her partner a good memory of being publicly well-known, Yang wrapped her arm around K's shoulders, gave her a reassuring pat, and pulled her back in while she answered the boys, "Yup! We sure are!"

"You two are awesome!" the kid on the right said. "You _totally_ wrecked those other two teams you fought!"

"Yeah!" his twin agreed. "You're the bestest!"

Yang beamed at them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw K give a small smile also. "That's kind of you to say." Suddenly smirking, her girlfriend asked, "But which one of us is your favorite?"

"Yang is!" the right-handed twin answered – without any hesitation. Kassidy hissed at the burn while Yang laughed.

"No, she isn't!" his twin disagreed. "Kassidy would kick her butt!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!" the boy on the right insisted. "Tell my stupid brother – which of you could kick the other's butt?"

"Me," Yang and Kassidy answered at the exact same time. They turned a look on each other and nearly busted up laughing, but K stalled her amusement as she gave a serious answer.

"Well, we could both kick each other's butts." When the boys asked her what she meant, K answered, "You see, we're both good at different things. But she's good at what I'm bad at, and I'm good at what she's bad at. We really work well that way."

"So even if I can _totally_ kick her butt," Yang _butted_ in – earning a look from K in the process, "it doesn't really matter. It's not about which of us can beat the other, it's about how badly we can beat everyone else _together_."

"Wow…" the brothers said simultaneously. The one on the right added, "We're gonna be Hunters too!"

"Our parents haven't said yes yet…" the one on the left added, sending a look at his twin.

"They will eventually," the other insisted. Almost as if suddenly remembering who the girls they stopped were, he suddenly pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. "Hey, Huntresses! Can we get your autographs?!"

K seemed to be at a loss for words, so Yang stepped up to the plate. "Of course you can! What're your names?" Taking the pen and paper, she scrawled out a note for the two of them:

 _Azure and Forrest,_

 _Work hard and be awesome! I know you'll be great Hunters!_

 _Yang Xiao Long, certified awesome Huntress._

She passed the paper on to K, who took it in slightly limp hands and seemed to stare at it in disbelief. Yang nudged her to get her to do something lest the brothers think she didn't want to do anything. She scrawled a bit under Yang's note, and she got to read it as she handed it off to the brothers.

 _Forrest and Azure,_

 _Above all else, stick together and work hard. You'll accomplish so much more together than you ever will alone. You'll do amazing, I'm sure of it._

 _Kassidy Smith, certified more awesome than Yang._

Yang couldn't decide whether to beam in pride at K evidently sharing how much better she is as a part of a team rather than alone or annoyed at her tagline. Like Dust K was more awesome than she was!

"Wow!" the twins breathed out in stereo. The right-handed one – Azure – ran up and hugged them both around their legs as adorably as any little kid could. "Thank you, Huntresses! Good luck in your match tomorrow, Miss Yang!"

"Break a leg!" Forrest added on. And just like that, the two boys ran off, probably to find their parents or to get into some more trouble.

Sighing, Yang felt the need to say, "Well, that was nice!" When K didn't say anything, though, Yang turned around to find her girlfriend staring after the boys. "Uh, Remnant to K, you alright?"

Continuing her almost blank-eyed stare, Kassidy simply spoke, "They wanted my autograph. They… liked me."

Realization dawned on Yang as she recognized what her partner was thinking about. Shimmying up to wrap her arms around K's waist and pull her into a hug, she kissed her softly before asking, "How does it feel to be a celebrity and role model?"

"Amazing," K answered. "But nowhere near as amazing as the woman I'm holding right now."

Yang smirked. "Someone's going for a bit of flattery right now."

"Can you really blame me?" K asked. "You are the best thing to have ever happened to me, by a lot. I love you, Yang Xiao Long."

"And I, you," Yang assured, pulling in for another kiss. The deepening twilight got her attention as they returned to walking through the fairgrounds. "Hey, not to get pushy or anything, but think we should head back to Beacon? It's getting pretty late out, and I want to get up early to make sure we're all good to go for tomorrow."

"Getting up early would be a pretty good idea," K agreed. "But we have another stop to make, first. In Vale itself."

An eyebrow raised on Yang's face. "What's in Vale?"

Kassidy only smirked and turned twinkling eyes on her partner. If Yang didn't know any better, she might have even thought K looked a little bit… hungry?

* * *

"So… what's at a hotel that we're waiting on?" Yang asked as she allowed K to pull her inside the building from where she was asked to wait outside.

"The final part of our day today," was Kassidy's simple reply. If it were anyone else, Yang would've been absolutely certain what the final part of the day would consist of as K pulled a door key out of her pocket and drug her into one of the rooms. But surely Kassidy wasn't planning that, right? As much as Yang really, _really_ wanted it to be so, K wasn't that forward, was she? Kassidy let go of Yang, hefted up a small duffel bag she'd held since making a quick stop in Beacon, and nearly dashed into the doorway while asking, "Wait here a bit?"

"So, what are we waiting on?" Yang asked, trying and mostly succeeding to keep the tremble out of her voice. Her hormones seemed to have already made up their mind as to what was going on, but Yang knew that hoping for _that_ would only lead to disappointment.

"Nothing, Yang," came the call from the bathroom. "This is the last part of the day. Like I said, I want today to be about us. And…"

When K trailed off, Yang couldn't help but ask, "And?"

"And I want _tonight_ to be about us as well." The fact that her voice was a little muted, and that you could nearly hear her blush, got Yang's hopes up a little bit. Her girlfriend continued, "No annoying computers, no nosy teammates. Just us."

She punctuated the last two words with opening up the bathroom door and stepping out… and Yang was left wondering if she had somehow been in a dreamlike fantasy for the entire day today. There was no way this was happening. No way. This was too picturesque. She'd imagined it too many times. Still, she could only stare as K strutted up to her and, almost as if reading her mind, pinched her ass hard enough to elicit a small yelp. "Nope, not a dream," K concluded, though Yang barely heard the words as she _stared_ at her partner – not to mention what she was wearing.

"Not a dream?" Yang breathed out, not trusting herself to say more.

K shook her head, before looping her arms around Yang's neck and giving a quick peck on the lips. "So," she began, "shall we begin?"

* * *

 **AN 2:**

 **FOR THOSE OF YOU LOOKING FOR A HAPPY ENDING, THIS IS IT. IF YOU WANT YOUR STORIES TO HAVE HAPPY ENDINGS, THEN STOP READING AT THIS POINT. THE STORY ONLY GOES DOWNHILL FROM HERE. CONSIDER YOURSELVES WARNED.**

 **Well… that happened. The last chapter with any kind of fluff in it, for quite a long while. Heck, as far as my plans go this might even be the last we see of the Yang x Kassidy ship. Figured I'd might as well send it off big. For those of you looking for the last big payoff, this is it.**

 **My most sincere apologies for taking so damn long to get this chapter up. As I kind of alluded to in the first Author's Note, I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off getting life taken care of on my end of things. I'll do what I can to get chapters up more frequently – while I will never again be able to handle 2x/week uploads and will probably not be able to do even 1x/week uploads, it is** _ **never**_ **my intention to take a whole month between uploads. If I do, please assume things have gotten busy on my end and I simply don't have the time to work on this.**

 **Also, congratulations to miracle3339 for being our TWO HUNDREDTH favorite! For such an auspicious occasion, I bequeath… a boot to the head. And another for Jenny and the wimp.**

 **Coming up next: Yang vs. Mercury, an outside perspective.**

 **Right after these reviewer responses.**

 **Shake N. Bake Mormon: I can see where that's coming from, and I'm personally conflicted on it myself. For most of the time, I like to eliminate ambiguity where I can to remove any chances of confusion (excepting where I want confusion, of course). But, consider this chapter an experiment towards no perspective announcements. Better, worse?**

 **ThornedRose367: Neon struck me as the kind of girl who would not take getting taunted well. Not to mention whenever she made that top-heavy comment, my first thought was, "Whatever you say, Miss Anorexia." Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time.**

 **Guest: Consider the wires replaced. …have you ever heard the phrase, "Be careful what you wish for."?**

 **SuperbBirb: As you say, Mr. Birb! Yeah, I've been enjoying the reboot whenever I can catch it. Glad to hear I did justice with one of your favorite fights, here's to hoping I can keep doing things justice. I shall do my best to make sure everything else is up to your standards.**

 **TurtleKing96: Gotta love it when that happens. So glad you've enjoyed the story so far, hopefully I can keep meeting your expectations of high quality.**

 **Ultimatrix bearer: Bob has no strings on him. Do not worry about being late… god knows that I have no room to talk with being late with this story. Hell, at my normal 1x/week upload schedule we should be on Black Talon by now, not just halfway through V3 of the first story. Consider your theory debunked.**

 **CookieTheDark: So glad that you've managed to slog through the utter embarrassment of mine that is the first half of Volume 1 RWKY, and so glad that I've been able to keep entertaining you! Sorry for going silent just as you got back, but hopefully things are still up to par.**

 **MorgothII: Well, it took freaking forever, but here's the next update. Hope it's up to your standards.**

 **Tykene: Where did I go? Well, actually a pertinent question since I moved. I now currently reside in The Priestly Pagoda (yes, I did seriously name my apartment that. And my wifi). Yes, I'm still alive and doing well, just pretty darn busy. Hopefully this'll tide you over until I can get the next chapter up.**


	96. V3C7: Mercury Poisoning

**Volume 3 Chapter 7: Mercury Poisoning**

 **AN: Well, if you're still here, then you already know to consider yourselves warned. RWKY does not have a happy ending, and the further on you read the less happy that ending gets.**

 **Okay, let's see how many days off it takes me to write this chapter, where Kassidy finds a few people to run into on her way to see Yang fight. And, of course, her finding out something's wrong at the exact perfect time… to do absolutely nothing and just watch it happen.**

* * *

Kassidy found herself all but skipping down the sidewalk as she made her way across Beacon. The Vytal Festival Tournament's singles round would begin in just over an hour, and of course she had to be there to support her girlfriend as she competed on the largest stage on the planet. Contrary to yesterday, she and Yang had spent all today training and planning. Nothing strenuous, obviously. They'd spent time working on Yang's skills with a knife, just in case it became necessary to rely on her secondary weapon. Practice with grapples, grabs, throws; really, anything that would help Yang control the pace of battle and her opponent. About an hour or so was dedicated to improving Yang's ability to emulate Kassidy's own Aura gliding technique, bolstering her overwhelming power with (in Kassidy's expert opinion) a much-needed boost to mobility. Never anything that would tax Yang more than she could recover from in a couple hours' time.

Of course, they were both almost late to their planned training sessions this morning, on account of… the mere memory of it made Kassidy's face turn a burning crimson. She _still_ wasn't even sure what had initially prompted her to come to that decision and take that next step forward in their relationship. All she knew was that hormones were to blame, and that she wanted more of it. She could probably blame that on the hormones, too, but that would just be lying to herself. Last night had been absolutely amazing, in a way beyond her wildest dreams. She felt like she was more complete; like there had been a puzzle piece missing all along that she didn't even know about, having finally returned to the greater whole. It was… well, at the moment, it was probably a bad thing, on account of how it so thoroughly distracted her. While the official reason that they had spent even half as much time practicing Yang's grappling as they did was to make sure she was extra-ready for the tournament, in reality Kassidy just wanted the excuse to get her hands on Yang and get a bit physical, in a manner that her overprotective uncle _wouldn't_ tear her a new asshole over if he ever found out.

Still, as nice as it had been, any more slipups like that would probably be in an area of preparation less benign than physical training, where the distraction would do some real harm. Kassidy needed to get her mind back in the present, and not allow her mind to wander about how things seemed so different (and so much better) now, or about those wonderful abs that would make Sun green with envy, or those twin round, firm–

"Okay," Kassidy muttered to herself, shaking her head and doing her best to dispel the blush as well as her thought process, "that's enough of that. Personal fantasies and plans for the future can happen _after_ the tournament. Already given Yang her extra motivation to win. Need to focus."

She decided the best way to do that was to turn her attention to the duffel bag she was carrying, and its contents. Part of Bob's homework assignment yesterday was designing something for _Ember Celica_ that would give Yang an edge in the fights, a trump card that nobody could see coming. And boy did that AI of hers not hold back. Kassidy took out one of the black-striped shells and shook it a little bit. Same as the previous couple times she'd done it, there was barely a rattle out of it, evidence that it had been packed to bursting. This wasn't some fancy Dust round, or a common armor-piercing slug. No, this was an anti-personal shell, crammed to the brim with serrated, razor-sharp miniature flechettes. A simple fire test earlier today had both proved their hideous effectiveness against unarmored flesh and left even Kassidy a bit too worried about how dangerous they were. Bob, naturally, absolved her of those fears – namely, by shooting _her_ with one of the rounds. While he claimed it was a demonstration that it couldn't penetrate Aura (though that one shell did remove _eighty percent_ of hers), Kassidy was obviously not exactly amused. Still, she trusted Yang more than anyone at this point, and even with the occasional temper issues it wasn't like she was going to accidentally murder someone in the middle of the fight.

So lost in thought was she that Kassidy only bothered to look up and pay attention to her surroundings when a door opened and clobbered her in the face. She took a half step back in shock, automatically bringing up a hand to her forehead, and promptly shoved the prototype round into the bag as quickly as she could when her assailant identified herself with a musical, "I'm sorry!"

"It's okay," Kassidy answered automatically, before she picked her head back up and frowning at the sight before her. Pyrrha looked… troubled. Lost, even. She had the feeling that Pyrrha had been paying as little attention to her surroundings as Kassidy had been, and not for as pleasant a reason as Kassidy had. Trying to figure out what was going on with one of her best friends, she asked, "Hey, you alright?"

Pyrrha tried to perk back up and gave the hollowest laugh she'd ever heard. "What do you mean, Kassidy? I'm fine."

Kassidy sighed and fixed a disappointed expression on Pyrrha. "I'm not sure it was even possible, but you just proved yourself a worse liar than I am." When Pyrrha merely looked away instead of answering, Kassidy pressed, "Didn't I hear you were called up to Ozpin's office? Did you get in trouble? Did he say something?"

"No, I'm not in trouble," Pyrrha replied. "They just… gave me a lot to think about."

"They?" Kassidy asked.

Pyrrha winced at her slip-up. "I – I really shouldn't talk about it," she stammered.

"But do you want to?" Pyrrha looked at the ground, seemingly conflicted about wanting to say anything. It got to the point that Kassidy felt the need to repeat, "Do you –"

"Do you believe in destiny?"

The question got Kassidy to stop dead in her metaphorical tracks. It nearly got her to openly question what was going on, but if it was tearing Pyrrha up this badly… she deemed it best to take it seriously, at face value. "No, I don't," Kassidy eventually answered. "I choose my own fate."

"I'm not talking like some kind of predetermined fate you can't escape," Pyrrha clarified. "I'm thinking of a final goal of some sort, something you spend your entire life working towards."

Kassidy let her eyes wander to the horizon as her focus went to the words her friend was telling her. "I've… not really had the luxury of thinking that far ahead until recently," she hedged. "Pyrrha, what's bringing this on?"

Pyrrha's brows furrowed as she looked for the next words. "Let's say something that would be all you want from life." Her cheeks blushed as she asked, "Maybe a life with Yang? Maybe, even, children? Just, whatever you could possibly ask out of your life."

Kassidy's eyes glazed over as Pyrrha unknowingly recited what had been a reoccurring, almost dreamlike fantasy of hers that had popped up once or twice since last week. Shaking her head to bring herself back to the conversation and ignoring several of the impossibilities in the scenario, she offered, "So, use that as my 'destiny' for the purposes of this conversation?"

Pyrrha nodded. "Well, what if there was something keeping you from your destiny?"

"Kill it, probably," Kassidy answered almost automatically. A heartbeat later, she elaborated, "Though, I've been informed by several authorities on the subject that I'm not the best judge of these kinds of matters."

Pyrrha had only seemed to be half-listening to Kassidy talk, as the moment she'd finished she'd blurted out, "Or what if you could have it in an instant, at the cost of who you were?"

Kassidy stood stunned by the outburst, before she put two and two together. "This isn't a hypothetical situation we're talking about here," she slowly said. It wasn't a question. Pyrrha nodded anyway.

A palmed face and a slow, explosive sigh were the response to that as Kassidy started going over what could possibly be going on. "At the cost of who you were," Kassidy repeated softly, before asking in a more conversational tone, "Is someone threatening you?'

"No," Pyrrha answered. The way her tone wavered made Kassidy shoot Pyrrha a glance, who tugged at her arm and continued, "It's not _me_ that's being threatened."

"Who is it?" Kassidy demanded. When Pyrrha refused to answer, Kassidy leaned in, grabbed her by the elbow, and whispered, "Is it Ozpin that's making these threats?"

"They're not _threats_ ," Pyrrha answered. "They're… nobody's really sure what's going on. But they say they're out of time. They say that they're out of other options. And that this is the only option left."

"There's _always_ another option," Kassidy stressed. She scowled as she thought. "Okay, I won't keep pressing you for answers – no need to get you in trouble with the headmaster. But answer me this." She waited until Pyrrha looked up and met her eyes. "If I can help, would you want me to?"

Pyrrha's shoulders shuddered and her face fell to the ground, and it was with a broken, entirely uncharacteristic voice that she answered, "I don't want to do this." She paused long enough to let a choked sob break through before clamping back down on her composure. "But I might not have a choice."

"You _always_ have a choice," Kassidy said. She planted her hand on Pyrrha's shoulder and reassured, "You might not be on my team, but you're still one of the best friends I've _ever_ had. I promise you, if I can help, I will. There's not a damn thing in this world that will keep me from helping the people I care about."

A face of confusion, sorrow, and regret was one that rose to greet Kassidy's face. "I appreciate the offer," Pyrrha said. "But I don't think there's a way you can help with this."

At that, Kassidy merely smirked as she pulled her Scroll out of her jacket pocket. "Oh Bob," she said, "have you been listening?"

"Duh," her computer responded over the device. "What do you need?"

"Do you remember that little agreement we had with Ozpin about staying out of certain Beacon systems?" Kassidy asked. Bob replied in the affirmative, prompting her to continue, "Check the security footage on campus for what Pyrrha and the headmaster have been up to this afternoon. If we can't figure out what the hell's got Pyrrha so upset through normal channels, it might be time to start being a bad student and break some rules."

"It'll take a while. I'll start work immediately and let you know what I find." Kassidy had assumed that her computer had instantly left to begin his work, but Bob surprised both her and Pyrrha by speaking up again. "Ms. Nikos," he began, "Please understand that I consider you a good friend myself, and that I am in much the same boat as Kassidy. If there is anything I can do to help, know that I will go to great lengths to do so."

Pyrrha, who had been listening to Kassidy's whole conversation with Bob with her mouth hanging open, shut it with an audible click, before smiling and answering, "Thank you, Bob. I'm proud to call you friend as well."

Kassidy smiled herself. That was sure to make Bob's day – he'd been becoming more independent lately. Having people recognize him as a friend himself, rather than simply being Kassidy's proxy, was something that seemed to be increasingly important to him. Drawing herself back to the present, she had one thing left to say to Pyrrha. "If I might offer some advice? Talk to your team about it. I _know_ that they won't let this happen lying down, whatever it is." Chuckling a little bit, she added, "They also might be better at giving out life advice than I am."

Pyrrha giggled at the remark, finally starting to show signs of returning to her normal self. "Thank you, Kassidy. I'm so blessed to have a friend like you."

Kassidy just smirked again. "You won't be saying that if you go up against Yang."

A blanched face was Pyrrha's reply, before they bade farewell and both went their separate ways. Kassidy went straight to the Amity Coliseum, while Pyrrha evidently had a stop to make before getting to the main event. As Kassidy traveled, however, she couldn't help but think over what had just happened. It seemed like something out of the Twilight Zone. Her brooding kept her busy all the way to the Coliseum, before she ran headlong into Ruby and realizing that she didn't have to look at this alone. The other members of RWKY would surely be all aboard helping Pyrrha with whatever was going on.

Obviously, her team leader noticed her expression. "Is something wrong, Kass?" Ruby asked. "You look sad. A little confused, too."

Kassidy thought for a moment but shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. Not yet, anyway. But do you mind if we have a team meeting tonight, once everything's over? Something's come up I want to discuss with everyone."

"Is it bad?" Ruby asked.

"Maybe," Kassidy allowed. "But not yet, it isn't. Right now, let's focus on the tournament."

"Yang's all ready to go!" Ruby exclaimed, seemingly forgetting the prior thirty seconds as the singles round was brought up. "Weiss and I already talked with her, so we're headed to our seats now. Oh, that reminds me!" Digging through her skirt pockets, she brought out an extra ticket and handed it to Kassidy. "Our seats are on the complete opposite side of the stadium from the locker rooms for some reason, so don't stay too long or else you won't make it in time for the fight!"

"Wouldn't want that," Kassidy laughed. Mussing with Ruby's hair, she encouraged, "Don't wait for me, I want to talk with Yang first before I take my seat."

Ruby pouted at having to fix her hair before saying goodbye and speeding off to her seat, her excitement somewhat leaking into her Semblance. Kassidy laughed again before turning to outside the locker room and stepping in to talk with her favorite person.

"You didn't even knock, K?" Yang asked, leer forming on her lips already. "What if I'd been changing?"

Kassidy blushed slightly, before giving a leer of her own and sauntering up to Yang while answering, "Then I sure would've enjoyed the view." Yang's mouth gaped open, giving Kassidy room to grab the front of her jacket and pull her in for a quick kiss. When they broke, she asked, "You all ready for the show, Firecracker?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Yang replied. "Any final words of advice from the number one fighter in our class?"

"Yeah, stop making crap up," Kassidy laughed. After she and Yang got their giggles under control, she continued, "First off, made you some new ammo."

"Ooh, Mama Yang likes," her partner exclaimed as she pulled the shells out of the bag and stowing the magazines on her person. "What are they?"

Kassidy's face fell for a brief moment, getting the point across that this was serious. "Think of it as birdshot, if it was designed to kill people instead of geese." She rubbed her thumbs across the back of Yang's hands and added, "Look, it's safe if they have their Aura up, just… be careful with this stuff, alright? It's super dangerous. Bob didn't design it with the safety of the target in mind."

"How bad?" Yang asked.

"Eighty percent of my Aura in one shot."

Yang's reaction was instantaneous as her eyebrows shot to the ceiling and her jaw dropped. "Holy shit! What the hell is this stuff?!"

"Like I said, be careful," Kassidy murmured.

"No using it when they're below a third Aura, got it," Yang said. She pulled Kassidy into a hug and went for another kiss, and said, "Best not keep the crowd waiting for the star of the show. Wish me luck?"

Kassidy shook her head. "You won't need it. Go get some, Firecracker."

Yang smirked and jogged over to the main arena floor. Kassidy watched her go, then looked at the time and had her eyes bug out. She was going to be late! She all but ran out of the locker room, taking turns she could've sworn would get her across the stadium… and quickly found herself lost. She paused and glanced around, spying a maintenance tunnel on her left. It was supposed to be for employees only… but did desperate times not call for desperate measures? Kassidy made her decision, checked to make sure nobody was watching, and snuck in.

Conveniently enough, there was a map back here showing how to get to where she needed to go – W _ait, why are there maps in the maintenance tunnels, but not in the public areas? Seems like bad design to me_ – and Kassidy quickly started making her way towards the entrance nearest her seat. Along the way, she passed a few workers that looked at her funny but evidently decided it not worth the effort to try and stop her. Oddly enough, they seemed to be almost entirely Faunus, and it almost looked like they were trying to avoid attention themselves? No, Kassidy decided, that was _absolutely_ her being paranoid.

That train of thought was interrupted as Kassidy, for the second time in an hour, literally ran into someone as she rounded a corner. Groaning and clutching her forehead, she whined, "Damnit, not again. Sorry about that… Emerald?"

Kassidy trailed off as she caught a glimpse of Emerald who was, similar to Pyrrha, acting completely out of character. The darker-skinned girl had paled dramatically, eyes wide and unblinking, and in general openly staring at her like a deer caught in the headlights. "Kassidy?" She slowly asked. "Why are you here?"

"Got lost trying to get to my seat," Kassidy replied.

"Oh, I see!" Emerald all but yelled, far too loudly for it to even plausibly be part of the conversation. Continuing at the elevated volume, she added, "Yeah, I got a bit lost myself. Think we can find our way up together?"

Kassidy couldn't help but wince as the already-loud voice echoed through the tunnels and bore into her extra ears, even feeling her newest appendages flatten against her head instinctively. Still, she had a question to answer. "Sure. If you don't mind following me, we can take this tunnel over this way to get right up to my seat. Yours can't be too far from there, I don't think."

She hadn't even taken two steps when Emerald jumped in front of her, face looking panic-stricken before she wore a more natural shade of worry. "Wait!" she cried. "You don't want to go down there. Nasty spill, rather not deal with it."

At this point, Kassidy just grunted – if she was _any_ later than she already was in getting to her seat, then she'd be sure to miss the first part of the singles round. "We'll just be careful, then," she gave in reply, stepping around Emerald and hurrying to the next corner. She rounded it…

Just in time to see Cinder in a nurse's uniform? Indeed, there was no mistaking those amber eyes anywhere, or that hair. Both of them came to a screeching halt, each staring at the other like they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Kassidy _couldn't_ believe what she was seeing. She closed her eyes, rubbed at them for several seconds, and made to open them again when she heard Emerald running up to her and planting a hand on her shoulder. When Kassidy opened her eyes again, the nurse that looked remarkably like Cinder was gone.

In its place was the most crippling headache she'd ever had. Kassidy cried out in pain, grabbing her head and falling to her knees. She tried to bring her face up to see what was going on around her but was only left momentarily confused when she saw nurse Cinder fading in and out of her vision. First raising her palm at her, then blinking out and returning to vision as she was in the middle of turning around, and finally only one of her legs blinking and returning as it disappeared into an adjoining room.

"Kassidy!" Emerald yelled, and it was only as the headache disappeared as suddenly as it had arrived that Kassidy realized that her companion had been trying to get her attention for some time. Groaning and leaning against the wall, Kassidy got to blinking away the stars while Emerald asked, "Dust, are you okay? What happened?"

"No idea," Kassidy said weakly. "Worst migraines I've ever had. It almost looked like…" She shook her head, finally bringing herself back to the present. She looked up at Emerald and asked, "Why did I see Cinder in a nurse's outfit whenever I was having that headache?"

Emerald looked panic-stricken yet again, before forcing out a laugh that might've been able to pass off as genuine had Kassidy's paranoia not firmly taken root. "Cinder in a nurse's outfit. Now _that_ I'd wanna see." Offering Kassidy a hand up, Emerald continued, "Cinder doesn't practice medicine. Maybe you just saw someone that looked a bit like her.

Kassidy opened her mouth to speak, but closed it when she parsed what was said again and her finely-honed bullshit detector buried its needle in the red. Something was up. She didn't know what, but she didn't want to be here – not alone, and not unarmed. Endeavoring to drop the matter for now, she apologized, "Sorry about that. No idea what happened there."

Emerald waved it off. "No worries. Let's get back up to the seats and see how tonight's going to play out, yeah?"

Kassidy raised an eyebrow as she visibly looked over the hallway they were in. "I thought you said there was a big spill around here."

Once again, Emerald seemed unsure of how to answer, but recovered impressively with, "Yeah, I thought so, too. Maybe it was in a different part of the tunnels – I've kinda been all over the place trying to find my way out."

Kassidy shrugged, finding the lie obvious at this point but declining to comment on it. It only took a minute of awkward silence for them to find an exit that conveniently led to Emerald's seat. She dug her Scroll out of her pocket, determined to try and figure out what the hell just happened.

Her computer, however, beat her to the punch. "What the _fuck_ was that, Kassidy?"

She skidded to a stop. Bob _never_ swore. _Never_. "I was hoping to ask you, bud. It felt like someone jammed an ice pick into my brain. Don't think I was seeing straight – for a bit, I thought I saw Cinder there."

"She was," Bob said. "Was the headache messing with your vision it was so bad? No, that can't be it, even through a bit of pain you surely would've reacted to the fact that she nearly _incinerated_ you."

"What?" Kassidy asked. "I didn't see that. You're sure?"

"Absolutely."

Kassidy's brows furrowed. "Show me the iris cam feed."

The video was a bit blurry and shaky, evidence of the tears and motion caused by the headache, but that wasn't what caused Kassidy's blood to freeze in her veins. No, what caused Kassidy's blood to freeze in her veins was Cinder _moments away from throwing a literal fireball at her_ while she was incapacitated by the pain. Emerald running up, shouting that, "She had it covered," and that Cinder "Needed to hide," was the only thing that saved Kassidy from getting cooked.

There was only one thing that Kassidy could think of in response to the clip. "What the fuck?"

"Shall I classify Cinder and Emerald as hostiles? They _did_ just engage in enemy action," her computer reminded.

Kassidy didn't know what to say. Something was wrong. Her paranoia, something she had believe she was getting close to beating, all but overwhelmed her. She was missing something. Something was wrong. She was missing something. Do something. She needed to do something. She needed to do something _right fu-_

Her eyes widened as a realization dawned. "Where's Mercury?" When Bob failed to answer immediately, Kassidy hand trailed to the small of her back and pulled out the knife concealed there. "Bob," she ordered, "cease all activities and enter combat mode. I want Mercury Black's location _right now_."

"In the arena," her computer replied. "The first match is him fighting Yang."

Pieces connected in Kassidy's head. Pieces to a painful puzzle. Prototype anti-personal rounds that Bob had developed yesterday and this morning, rounds that paid no heed to their target's ability to survive them. Enhanced training to ensure that Yang would have an edge in her fights. Cinder dressed as a nurse, attempting to blend in… if somebody got hurt. Her face paled as she said, "Bob, please tell me you can stop that fight."

"What a way to kick off the finals!" Professor Port announced over the intercoms – and Kassidy realized that _she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings_.

Doctor Oobleck added, "Yang Xiao Long wins!"

"Bob," Kassidy said, panic quickly entering her voice as she sprinted to the stands as fast as she could. "Get Yang out of there. Now!"

Now that she was paying attention, she could hear the crowd going wild. The match was over. Kassidy's heart stopped as she heard a gunshot – the report from _Ember Celica_. Throwing open the nearest door, she sprinted to the railing, just in time to see Yang pull her fist from Mercury's leg as he fell to the ground screaming bloody murder.

Kassidy couldn't do anything but stare wide-eyed at the scene, mouth agape. That, and think about what she just saw because something still wasn't right and _why can't she find out what was wrong?!_

It was Bob, once again, who came to the rescue. "Something's not right. We have detailed analyses on Mercury's legs."

"Detailed ana-" Kassidy began, only to cut herself off as a memory came to the forefront, of a metal leg nearly taking her head off in the dueling hall. "His legs are prosthetics," she breathed. "And unless those are the most advanced prosthetics known to man, it shouldn't have the sensors or code to transmit the concept of pain to his nerves."

"They don't have that capability," Bob confirmed.

"He's faking it," Kassidy muttered, watching him bawl his eyes out on international television at an injury he couldn't even feel. "He's faking the whole damn thing." Her eyebrows shot to her hairline when Emerald raced to his side, appearing completely distraught over Yang's 'assault' on him. "And Emerald's in on it?"

"Analysis suggests that Cinder will be involved as well."

Cinder in a nurse's uniform – it made sense now. "They're taking Mercury out of the public eye," Kassidy concluded. "Whatever he's doing, they want people to think he's not at Beacon anymore." After a moment's thought, she ordered, "Bob, set a new priority: track Mercury Black. If he so much as _sneezes_ , I want to know about it."

"Priority confirmed," Bob announced. "I do believe you're overlooking another consequence to the events that just transpired."

Kassidy nodded. "Get a message to the team. I need to let them know what's going on."

"Someone may have already beaten you to getting everyone assembled," Bob said, just as a new message found its way onto Kassidy's Scroll. "It's a summons," her computer explained. "All members of Team Rookie are ordered to report to their dorm room effective immediately."

Kassidy took several breaths, willing herself to calm down. She could work with this. "That's good," she assessed. "If I can show Ozpin what we have, we can –"

"That probably won't be an option," Bob interrupted.

"Why not?" Kassidy demanded.

Her computer explained, "Because it wasn't Ozpin that issued the summons. It was sent by _General_ James Ironwood." Kassidy frowned at the stress Bob put on Ironwood's title, and at what that implied. The foreign general and his all but invading army were taking matters into their own hands. "Alert: my intrusions into the Atlesian networks report that a full platoon of AK-200 androids have been ordered to convene at the building that your dorm is housed in."

This was it, then. Kassidy's paranoia took full hold, slipping back into the mindset of Colossus. She knew what she had to do. Storming out of the Coliseum and making her way somewhere she couldn't be heard, Kassidy barked out, "Emergency Code One. Keyword: iconoclasm."

Her Scroll flashed green as Bob readied himself for what was to come. "Keyword accepted. Code One protocols in effect."

"Keep an eye on Team Carmine if possible," Kassidy hedged, "but the main focus is on what Ironwood brings to this 'summons'. Tell me what I'm up against, and let me know if more forces start convening on us."

"Would this be the time for –"

Kassidy interrupted her computer. "Yes. Bring down my locker along the path between here and the dorms. Make sure my new toy is in it."

Her weapons, her armor… that new grenade. She'd need it all.

This meant war.

* * *

 **AN 2: Hmm, that took longer than I expected it to. Well, it's one thirty right now, and I need to get up here in about six hours to get to work. I do believe it is time to get these Reviewer Responses done so I can go ahead and crash for the night.**

 **Coming up next: Kassidy vs. Ironwood**

 **AgentDraakis: Oh, my friend, who said anything about Kassidy dying? There are fates worse than death, after all, and I do believe I've proven by now that I am cruel to my characters. Melodrama aside, I'm so thankful you've stuck with this for so long and like this so much. As for what she was(n't) wearing? Well, let me put it this way: if I wrote lemons, I would currently have a RWKY one-shot up involving their night of fun and games. Oh… right. I have a second story published that I haven't touched in over a year, don't I? Uh…**

 **Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to have pets here. I've considered actually having something small like a strawberry vine or something in a flower box, but decided against it as I probably wouldn't be able to invest the time it needs into it.**

 **MorgothII: Well, are you still looking forward to my next chapters? Like I said: Rookie doesn't have a happy ending. Glad to hear you're enjoying things, though.**

 **Shake N. Bake Mormon: Glad to hear you're still enjoying things, hope I can keep the quality up to snuff.**

 **Guest #1: Um… forgive me for asking this, but archive of our own? Is this another popular internet show that I know nothing about?**

 **Ultimatrix bearer: Glad to hear I didn't scare you off. Here's to hoping you're still enjoying things, and that you too are still being awesome.**

 **ThornedRose: These Monty Python references aren't fresh, they're passed on. This reference is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to meet its maker. This is a late reference! It's a stiff! Bereft of life! It rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed it to the review board, it'd be pushing up the daisies! It's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible! This… is an ex-reference!**

 **(if you don't get that, go look up Monty Python Dead Parrot skit on youtube, funniest stuff I've seen in a while)**

 **Guest #2: Okay. I won't hack into the swords.**


	97. V3C8: Emergency Code Zero

**Volume 3 Chapter 8: Emergency Code Zero**

 **AN: Has to have been the first time in a year that I've written a chapter in forty-eight hours. Hope you guys enjoy this super-mega-long edition of Team Rookie!**

* * *

Kassidy finished equipping the last of her gear at the same moment that Bob had inserted himself into the dorm building's surveillance… and if she were being honest with herself, she didn't like her chances. There had been AK-200 units stationed at every exit to the building, a full squad under her team's window, and another squad had just entered the building and began making their way to the third floor where their room was. General Ironwood himself was already in their dorm room, all but interrogating her teammates. The thought nearly made her growl, but she bit down on the instinct in fear of the roving band of robots overhearing.

"You do realize," Bob began, speaking over her earpiece, "that if we go through with this, our stay at Beacon is more than likely going to be over. I sincerely doubt Ozpin is going to forgive us attacking a foreign official, who is not only the general of the Atlesian Navy but also a close, personal friend of his."

Kassidy rolled her eyes as she whispered furiously in reply. "Of _course_ I recognize that. But he's not giving us a choice in the matter. You don't deploy that much firepower to an objective if you don't plan on using force, and he's been on our case since literally day one. He hated us – or at least me – _before_ that whole thing that happened in Amity, so forgive me for not trusting his intentions now."

"So, what's the play?" her computer asked.

"Infiltrate the dorm room, neutralize Ironwood's backup, get him away from my team," Kassidy answered. "If I can get face to face with him after disabling his support, then we've already won in the short term. Long term, I'll need to bolt to my hidey-hole in Vale so that there's nothing obvious for him to counterattack. That should buy me enough time to get Ozpin on my side."

Bob seemingly picked out a fatal flaw in her plan in an instant. "What about your teammates? They're going to be exposed and in danger every moment they remain in Beacon."

"I can bring them with," Kassidy argued.

"Can you?" Bob challenged. "Near as I can tell, Atlas is moving to where they can put the entire campus on lockdown in an instant. Slipping past a military blockade by yourself is one thing, but with three other people? Three other people, need I remind you, that have next to no training in the arts of stealth and subterfuge."

"I can't just leave them behind," Kassidy shot back. "I'll figure something out."

"Cameras on the first floor just picked up squad Beta entering the stairwell and making their way up. They're not armed – but they are carrying something. I can't make them out myself. They'll have line of sight on your intended infiltration route in forty seconds."

Kassidy took a deep breath and nodded. Time to put on her game face. "Understood. Begin radio silence, keep chatter restricted to mission-critical information." Out of habit, she fiddled with her grapple bracer before raising her left arm and taking aim. The relic of her first twenty-four hours in Remnant had long since been upgraded from a bullet dragging out a rough steel cable. Now, the thing was propelled by compressed air charged by a crystal of wind Dust. A few additional modifications made the whole thing more streamlined, less bulky, and easier to use in general.

The grappling hook on the end snagged the very edge of the window; a quick yank on the cable ripped the pane of glass open, leaving a gaping entrance for her to jump through. Under prior circumstances, Kassidy would've needed about three minutes or so to shoot her cable back through the window to anchor it to something, anchor her end of the line, and leave the device behind as she scaled the length to reach the building. Now, however, it was a simple (if lengthy) Aura-powered leap to get from the tree to inside the building. Even if she nearly panicked and jumped early when her Aura started spiking weirdly once it got to the energy level it needed, she still managed to land almost silently in the third-floor communal area.

Kassidy hurried to the edge of the doorway as quickly as would allow her to remain silent, finishing the process of pulling the cable back into her bracer and yanking a pair of knives out of the sheathes. Most of the robots were outside, so Bob could quite easily neutralize their threat by engaging the automated locking mechanisms; at that point, they'd have to open fire on Beacon's (and, by extension, Vale's) property to assist Ironwood, a circumstance that would likely be avoided considering the probability it would be taken poorly. The androids already inside the building, however, would be more problematic. _Rogue_ was right out as an option: her sidearm could likely be heard halfway across campus at this time, to say nothing about her dorm room on the same floor. Bob couldn't do a thing to affect the AK-200s themselves, not without attracting Atlas' attention, at least. _Baton_ was too large, so Kassidy had little choice but to engage in up close and personal melee combat with two full squads of androids.

Mechanized footfalls alerted her to the squad exiting their stairwell. Kassidy took a deep breath, counted to three, risked a glance out the corner of her eye to confirm where the androids were just passing her, then rolled out the doorway. Her left knife caught the rear left robot in the ankle and sent it toppling down; she spun on the way up, burying her other blade in the back of its 'head'. Its companion had its power unit violently ripped out, and Kassidy hurried to flash her knives towards the two robots in the front and decapitate both before they could sound any kind of alarm. She slid the knives back into their sheathes, caught her breath, and prompted, "Bob?"

"You're clear; no alerts on Atlesian frequencies yet, and I've been looping the surveillance feeds, so Beacon won't know something's up either."

"Keep it up," Kassidy ordered as she tried to find what the androids had been carrying. Bob said they weren't armed, and indeed not even one had a rifle, so what the hell was Ironwood bringing them up for? Why would the general of the Atlesian Navy request backup that wasn't armed?

She found her answer when she shifted one of the bots aside to find that it had fallen on top of what it was carrying. They were bulky, a bit different from how she was used to seeing them, but Kassidy would recognize handcuffs anywhere. She found them chained to a second set of restraints, a bit wider around and obviously designed for the ankles. That both confirmed Kassidy's immediate suspicions and dashed any lingering hopes of tonight ending peaceably. But something seemed off; there was a node of some kind on the inside of the manacle. Intrigued, and after having made sure she had the keys, she rubbed a finger up against it.

The moment she'd made contact, a dark blue shimmering covered her body, and she'd felt incredibly weak. Her finger shot away from the restraint instantly, and it took a few seconds to piece together what had happened as her Aura came rushing back. _Aura-inhibiting restraints. This is… this isn't even your typical arrest. They're_ expecting _me to fight back against whatever the hell they're going to do to me._ Kassidy threw the cuffs down and made to continue when a _fifth_ manacle caught her eye, this one wider than the others. Picking it up in her hands, she carefully twisted it around to try and figure out what this one was. _A collar_ , she decided. _What the fuck are they carrying collars for…?_ Her through process when she found a metal plate on the inside, directly opposite from a thicker part that housed… a battery. _It's a shock collar. They brought a motherfucking shock collar._ A sudden thought made Kassidy sneak a look at the other three robots, and she couldn't help but gasp when she saw they were all carrying a full set of restraints.

 _They weren't going to just arrest me_ , Kassidy realized. _They're trying to take all of us. Yang might make sense, what with her perceived assault on her dueling opponent after the match was over. But they even have a set for Ruby and Weiss. Why would they try to arrest Ruby and Weiss?_

"Kassidy, we're losing time," Bob prompted. "It's only a matter of time before someone recognizes that something isn't right."

Kassidy shook her head and clambered to her feet. "Ironwood's got some explaining to do." Assuming she'd be able to get any answers of him. Kassidy was pretty sure that wasn't happening. What she _was_ pretty sure of, however, was that he wasn't getting her team. She'd make sure of it. But first, she'd have to deal with the man himself. She stormed across the hallways, thankful that her dorm room wasn't too far away. It would've been easy to spot even if she didn't live there, since the door was open and Ironwood wasn't exactly being quiet. She had to do this right if she were to get the results she wanted. Had to start off on the right foot.

As soon as she rounded the corner into the room, she interrupted whatever the man was saying with, "Hold your horses, Jimmy. That much stress can't be good for you, at your age." _So much for starting off on the right foot._ Ironwood wheeled around on the spot, eyes slightly widened. _He wasn't expecting me to get here without him knowing about it. Good._ Endeavoring to keep the initiative, she asked, "So what the hell's going on that made you call everyone here for?"

His eyes narrowed. "You know _damn well_ why I'm here."

"Actually, I don't," Kassidy insisted. "How about you fill me in, Jimmy?"

Qrow's pet name for Ironwood got him to grind his teeth. "That's _General Ironwood_ to you. And we are currently discussing the consequences for your team's actions, culminating in what your partner did in her match tonight."

Kassidy's eyes furrowed in thought. So he was going to try to pin a multitude of events on them. That would explain how he thought he could get away with taking Ruby and Weiss. "What did Yang do? Don't tell me it was _her_ fight that I missed."

Ironwood's mouth hung open slightly before he regained his composure. "Don't play dumb, Miss Smith. Are you seriously expecting me to believe that you missed your partner's – and _girlfriend's_ – fight this evening?"

"I was attacked trying to get to my seat," Kassidy informed. If she had _any_ chance of tonight ending peacefully, it would be by focusing the subject on what Cinder nearly did to her.

"Somehow, I doubt that," Ironwood spat. Kassidy sighed; so much for tonight going simply. Kassidy shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, her right one curling around the grenade in that pocket. It was the only chance she had of getting out of here tonight. Fortunately, it was guaranteed to work.

Getting back to the conversation, she retorted, "Reality doesn't much care whether or not you doubt it."

Ironwood snorted in derision, but then his eyes narrowed slightly as he must have thought of something. It took her Faunus ears for Kassidy to hear, "I thought they'd have been here by now."

"You thought what would've been here by now, Jimmy?" Kassidy challenged, bringing the focus in the room back to her. "Your robots? Yeah, they're, uh… running a bit behind."

"Why would General Ironwood be bringing androids up here?" Weiss questioned, breaking her wide-eyed, fearful silence from her bed.

"What's going on, Kassidy?" Ruby asked. "Who attacked you? And why are you being so mean to the general?"

"You do realize that was Atlesian military property you destroyed, Miss Smith?" Ironwood ground out, making Ruby and Weiss squeak out gasps and fall silent again. Kassidy could see Yang's eyes widen, rimmed red from crying and curled up into a ball from how James had been tearing into her.

Kassidy would've smirked at him had the situation been less serious, but she couldn't bring herself to do it at the moment. "Who said I attacked them?"

"I did," Ironwood replied hotly. "And so would the cameras throughout this building."

This time, Kassidy _could_ find it in herself to smirk. "No, they wouldn't." His eyes narrowed as he began whispering again, this time too quietly for Kassidy to make out. Though, it didn't take a genius to figure out what he was trying to do. "Bob," she barked out, interrupting Ironwood's whispering. "Seal the doors to the building. Make sure we get some privacy."

"Building sealed," Bob confirmed.

"K?" Yang asked, voice breaking. "What are you doing?"

"That is an excellent question," Ironwood added, storming up to her face. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing, Miss Smith?"

"Preventing you from calling in the other four squads of AK-200's you've surrounded this building with," Kassidy shot back, not for an instant backing down.

Ruby spoke up again from where she was trying to crawl further back into Weiss' bed. "What's going on?"

James opened his mouth to answer, but Kassidy beat him to it. "Good question, Rubes, and one I'd like an answer to myself." Staring down the general and sticking a finger in his chest, she asked, "Tell me, Jimmy. When I ran into your robots, why did I see them carrying _Aura-inhibiting restraints_ and _shock collars_? Four of them, in fact." All three of her teammates gasped and paled in her peripheral vision, and Ironwood's face lost a bit of color as well. Kassidy continued on with, "Why, enough to chain up a whole team of Huntresses in training and cart them off without anybody noticing, while ensuring they wouldn't be able to put up a fight." She stalked past him as he stood silent, probably contemplating how to lie his way out of this.

Kassidy didn't give him time to come up with a lie, however. In a move that shocked every other person in the room, her left hand drew _Rogue_ , the massive handgun leveling itself on his head. "I'm not asking again, Jimmy. Why. Were. You. Arresting. My. Team?"

He let out a breath and glared at her. "Let's ignore the fact that you're currently threatening me for the moment. What makes you so sure that I'm here for more than just yourself? Especially since you just _admitted_ to having ambushed and destroyed my robots."

"Other than the fact that, as you said, I ran into them in person and thus was able to see that they were carrying four sets of restraints?" Kassidy challenged. Her eyes narrowing and glare intensifying, she asked, "Did you seriously believe I'd never find out that it was _you_ that ordered my kidnapping and disappearance two months ago?"

Ironwood's eyes actually widened fully, but it was her teammates that had the greatest reactions. "He WHAT?!" Ruby and Weiss yelled out, fear seemingly forgotten.

"No…" Yang muttered. Kassidy turned around when she heard sheets rustling to find Yang climbing off to stand right next to her, irises starting to turn red and _Ember Celica_ expanding over her fists. "You did _what_ to her?!"

When Ruby and Weiss got off the bed too, Ironwood looked between all of them, sighed, and hardened his face before he drew his own weapon. " _This_ is proving my point exactly, and at this point I've seen everything I needed. By order of the Valean Council, for the commitment of miscellaneous felonies and crimes against the public, I hereby place all four of you under arrest."

The words seemed to break her teammates, obviously not seeing that coming. Kassidy, however, knew that had been coming from a mile away, and thus was able to properly respond to it. "No, you don't," she stated calmly.

Her teammates stared at her. Ironwood blinked, before he incredulously asked, "Why do you believe you're not under arrest?"

"Because I said so."

Ironwood gritted his teeth. "And what, pray tell, makes you believe you get a say in this?"

Kassidy smirked as she turned the device in her jacket pocket over. Time to bring out the big guns. Turning around and taking a step towards her bed, humming as if contemplating something, she threw over her shoulder, "Tell me: do you know what an electromagnetic pulse is?"

The seemingly random question simply made the general more aggravated than he already was, if such a thing was even possible. With furrowed brows, he answered, "What does this have to do –"

"Let me stop you right there, because I know you don't," Kassidy interrupted, actually making a vein bulge on his forehead. "An electromagnetic pulse, or EMP for short, is a highly energetic burst of typically microwave radiation that has this annoying habit of short-circuiting or outright frying electrical components in its area of effect." She pulled the device out of her pocket: a rectangular-ish block a bit bigger than her palm with a trigger and a switch on one side. Thumbing the switch, she said, "This little toy I've been working on recently is an EMP grenade. Real nasty bastard to any electronics unfortunate enough to be in a couple dozen foot radius."

Ironwood _paled_ , his skin turning deathly white as his gun started shaking in his grip. _Seems he's able to put two and two together,_ Kassidy mused. "Now, a little birdie told me that a certain someone had a bad incident about a decade ago, leading to the necessary replacement of several things. An arm, most of your chest… _several vital organs_." Her grin growing teeth, Kassidy continued, "Now, it is possible to shield electronic devices from the effects of an EMP. However, since your science hasn't caught up enough to know about EMP's, I know for a fact that _none_ of your artificial vital organs are shielded against a military-grade burst like what this thing emits."

"K…?" Yang asked, a look of horror on her face while Ruby and Weiss openly stared at either her, or the general that had lost all of his composure. "Don't tell me you're…?"

Kassidy let her trail off, eyes locking onto Ironwood as her grin fell to be replaced by a rictus of unbridled fury. "You've been afraid of me for so long, because you were afraid of what I _might_ do. You've pushed me to things I _don't_ want to do. And now… congratulations, you've officially pushed me too far. Know that you've left me no choice, at this point."

"Stand down, Miss Smith!" Ironwood shouted in a last-ditch effort to get her to stop what she was doing. "That's an order!"

"My team is _not_ under arrest," Kassidy demanded. "There will be no action taken against Yang until I've had time to consult with Headmaster Ozpin about what happened tonight. There will be no attacks against my teammates until this situation is resolved." Taking a step forward, she growled, "If you fail _any_ of those conditions, I pull this trigger and watch you die right where you stand while your vital organs shut down."

"You can't do this!" Ironwood yelled. "You can't hope to get away with this!"

In response, Kassidy thumbed the switch. The red diode turned green, and the device beeped. Everyone jumped back, but Kassidy just grinned again. "Why so jumpy? All I did was disable the safety." Putting her thumb on the trigger itself, she pointed at it for dramatic effect and added, "It's _this_ button you've gotta worry about."

"Kassidy, wait!" Weiss yelled, tugging on her arm and trying to get her attention. "You're taking this too far! Surely, this is all some kind of mistake!"

Kassidy's gaze didn't break contact with Ironwood's eyes. "You have until the count of five to agree with my demands. One."

"Kass, stop, please!" Ruby begged.

"Two."

Ironwood pleaded, "Miss Smith, you need to think about what you're doing and put that grenade down _right now_ , before you make this worse for yourself than you already have."

"Three."

Yang took her turn to try and get Kassidy to stop. "K, look at me. Look at me!" When Kassidy reluctantly moved Ironwood to her peripheral vision, Yang grabbed her shoulders and begged, "Please, you need to stop this. This is obviously a bad misunderstanding. We can get Ozpin, and Goodwitch, and my uncle, and we'll all be able to talk this over."

"I wish that would be how this could play out," Kassidy whispered. "But he won't let that happen." Speaking up again, she called out, "Four. Last chance, Jimmy."

"Alright, enough!" Ironwood finally conceded, lowering his shaking gun and raising his other hand while taking a step back. "You'll get your talk with Ozpin. And I will… delay my prosecution of your teammates."

Kassidy wanted more. "Call off your attack dogs." When Ironwood simply looked confused, she clarified, "The AK-200's. Remove them from the premises."

Ironwood nodded, whispering into whatever device he was wearing. A few seconds later, Bob confirmed to the room, "All android units are withdrawing from the vicinity of the dorm building."

"Release the lockdown," Kassidy ordered.

"You do realize," Ironwood spoke, tone forced, "that whatever you plan to discuss with your headmaster, it can't possibly excuse your actions tonight."

"Probably not, no," Kassidy agreed. Waving _Rogue_ towards the door, she said, "Now get the hell out. We need to have a team meeting."

Reluctantly, Ironwood backed away. Kassidy made a point of slamming the door closed behind him. She sighed, thumbed the safety back on for her grenade, and slumped bonelessly into her desk chair. She had to be leaving soon, but she felt completely, utterly exhausted. A minute or two to sit down and get her nerves back under control wouldn't be so bad, would it?

"You!" Weiss yelled, storming up and shoving her finger in Kassidy's face. "What has even gotten into you? Do you have any idea what you've just done?!"

"General Ironwood was planning on making the four of us disappear from the beginning," Kassidy muttered. "Threatening him like that was the only way I could have stopped the three of you from getting chained up and carted off to god knows where." Glancing around, she could see that Ruby and Yang were still, for the large part, shell shocked as to what had just happened. As much as Kassidy didn't want to bother them any more than what had already happened, there were some questions that needed answers. "Yang," she prompted, earning a flinch from Yang as she met her eyes. "I wasn't kidding when I said that I missed your fight. What happened?"

"Well," Yang muttered, voice quiet as she was still obviously out of it, "I won my match. I told Mercury, 'Better luck next time.' Next thing I know, he answers back, 'There won't be a next time for you, blondie.' I turn around to figure out what he meant, and he's flying through the air to put his boot in my head." She shuddered as tears began to fall. Kassidy was there in an instant, bringing her into a hug. Yang mouthed her thanks, then continued, "He attacked me, so I attacked back. Or, I thought he attacked me. But now, I've gone and broken his legs, and…"

Kassidy snorted. "Yeah, his _prosthetic_ legs." Yang whipped her head up, prompting Kassidy to continue, "Remember when I was trying to figure those out?"

"So…" Yang began, putting the pieces together in her head, "I didn't hurt him at all? He was faking the whole time?" Kassidy nodded.

"Afraid so."

"But then that means," Weiss began, brows furrowed, before her eyes widened. "Emerald was there with him! She must have been in on it, as well!"

"His whole team was," Kassidy confirmed. Upon her teammates' questioning gazes, she pressed on, "When I told Ironwood that I had gotten attacked, I wasn't trying to stall for time or distract him. I _did_ get attacked."

"On Amity Coliseum?!" Yang gasped. "Who? Where? How?"

"Watch," Kassidy murmured. "Bob, if you would?"

As her teammates watched the video of her encounter with Emerald and Cinder, Yang's grip tightened around her hand, Ruby's breath became shorter as her glare at the screen intensified, and Weiss simply stared, obviously calculating. "How could they," Ruby croaked, voice breaking. Her composure was next as she began crying. "I thought they were our friends! How could they try and hurt you like that?!"

"Wait a second," Weiss interrupted. "Yang attacked Mercury because she thought she saw and heard something that wasn't actually there."

"While I was helpless because something was trying to make me not see something that actually was there, in addition to crippling migraines," Kassidy added. "Yeah, I noticed that myself. Any other situation, I'd say it was coincidence or bad luck, but this…" She mulled it over for a few moments, then asked, "Bob, has there ever been a Semblance that could mess around with people's heads? Make them see things that aren't there, that sort of thing?"

"One moment," her computer answered. After a brief pause, " _Extremely_ rarely, but there have been occurrences of Semblances similar to the one we appear to be hypothesizing."

"So someone's screwing around with our heads," Yang concluded. "Who, though?"

"Emerald," Ruby answered definitively. When everyone else turned her way, she reasoned, "She's the only common factor. Kassidy was alone with Cinder and Emerald in the back tunnels of Amity, but Cinder wasn't at the stadium whenever Mercury got hurt. Emerald's the only one left."

"Nice read," Kassidy praised. Honestly, she'd come to the same conclusion herself, but it seems Ruby had beaten her to the punch. "So, it just remains –"

"Kassidy," Bob interrupted, "I need your assistance in a matter."

Now _that_ got her attention. "What's wrong?"

"My facial recognition protocols seem to be insufficient for a particular task that I've been performing. I sincerely hope I'm wrong with this… but I don't think I am."

Kassidy frowned at her computer. "Now isn't the time to keep me in suspense, Bob. What is it?"

One image flashed on the left half of Bob's screen, a view of Cinder not half an hour ago as she nearly incinerated Kassidy. "This image," Bob elaborated, "is obviously Cinder. I've been trying to find more of their team, trying to glean what information I can, when my software registered a 41% match with another still frame. Normally, I would pay it no attention, but given when it had taken place…"

On the right half of the screen, an image popped up that Kassidy had trouble placing. "What is this second image from?"

"The night of the Dust store robbery," Ruby said. Turning to Kassidy, she said, "Remember, Kass? That was the night we met."

The words got Kassidy to recognize the situation; it got her to recognize Bob's conclusion, also. "I hope you're wrong too, Bob," she muttered. She took a closer look at the images. The woman in the Bullhead was too shrouded in shadow to get a meaningful look at for defining facial features, but the body type seemed about right. Not to mention those burning amber eyes. Her eyes roved over her body again – and stopped on her dress. _I've seen that dress before_ , Kassidy realized, _and not all over the place, either. I've only seen one person with that dress before. Who was it?_ "Bob, see that dress the woman in the second picture is wearing? Search for that dress – that'll identify our assailant from that night."

"Got one," Bob answered almost immediately. The screen split into thirds, the middle section being a picture of a woman walking down the street with not a care in the world. Kassidy didn't care that it was a camera that Bob was supposed to not have access to, because the woman wearing that dress was most assuredly Cinder Fall.

"It was Cinder that attacked us at the Dust shop…" Kassidy breathed out. Meeting her team's eyes, she looked at Ruby and continued, "But it wasn't just us up on that roof, was it?"

"Professor Goodwitch was there," Ruby added on, eyes widening in realization.

"Who was, at _best,_ evenly matched with that woman in the Bullhead." Her eyes focused on a random spot in the wall as the conclusion came crashing down. "The woman who tried to kill me fought on equal footing with Glynda Goodwitch, our combat instructor and Beacon's second-in-command." Looking back at Yang, she kept going with, "That same woman orchestrated a situation where you seemingly attacked your opponent in sheer bloodlust after your match was over."

Nobody spoke for a good thirty seconds. It was finally Weiss who worked up the nerve to ask, "What does this mean?"

Kassidy nodded to herself as she stood up from her bed, dragging herself from Yang's embrace. "I've sat idle for too long."

"What do you mean, K?" her girlfriend asked.

"Beacon's in danger," Kassidy determined.

"It gets worse," Bob announced. Before anyone could ask how, he provided, "I've been trying to crack the encryption on Cinder's Scroll for the past ninety seconds to try and learn more about our new opponent."

"Spit it out," Kassidy ordered.

"First, and most tellingly, was not only the level of the encryption, but of what form it took." Bob paused, almost seemingly for dramatic effect, before continuing, "Kassidy, the encryption on that device was _specifically designed to keep me out_. I've only _just now_ gained access."

Kassidy's eyes bugged out, unable to come up with a reasonable reply. How?!

"I've also been going through her call records. Multiple calls in the past week, and more over the past several months, connect to numbers owned by known members of the White Fang."

"She's in league with the White Fang?!" Kassidy asked. She thought she'd had them beat! But if someone as powerful as Cinder was plotting against Beacon, and had the resources and manpower of a terrorist army to draw from…

"What are my orders, Kassidy?" Bob asked.

Kassidy took a few steps away from her teammates, planting her hands on her desk and leaning over it. "If Cinder thinks she can destroy the life I've tried to build… ruin the people I care about…" Suddenly standing straight up, she announced, "If Cinder wants a war, then I'll give her one."

"WHAT?!" her teammates yelled at her in sync. Weiss added on, "Kassidy, this is madness!"

"I don't have a choice, Weiss," Kassidy retorted. Taking a deep breath, she made the one order that she has never, _ever_ given before. "Bob, activate Emergency Code Zero." Shuddering, she added, "Keyword: Ezra."

She got no answer for several seconds. Her teammates must have had no idea of what she'd just done, of the Pandora's Box she'd just opened. Eventually, however, Bob spoke up again. "Keyword accepted. Disabling safeties and inhibitors. All safeguards deleted. The Baltimore Ordinance Balancer, or B.O.B. system, reports fully operational. Awaiting orders."

"K…" Yang began, "What did you just do?"

"Something terrible," Kassidy replied. Turning her attention back to her now unlocked computer, she decreed, "If I'm going to fight a war, then I'll need an army. I want Ironwood's robotic forces _in my pocket_. Make it happen, Bob."

Normally, even if Ozpin and General Ironwood himself had not asked her to limit her computer in certain actions to prevent such a thing from happening, Bob's own programming wouldn't allow her to seize control over her own personal army. Her team knew this. Thus, it was understandable when they gasped and paled when, instead of informing Kassidy of the failure, he responded, "Orders confirmed. Estimated time until complete network penetration and assimilation: thirteen hours, eleven minutes, twenty-seven seconds."

"If it's this bad…" Ruby whined. It grabbed Kassidy's attention, prompting her to turn back to her team. What she met was her team leader's resolve hardening, like a purely sweet and innocent fifteen-year-old should never harden. "What do we do?"

"You three," Kassidy began, "do nothing." When Ruby began complaining, she cut her off with, "Look, all three of you are going to have eyes and ears on you, and not just Cinder's. I still don't trust Ironwood to try _something_ while I'm gone, so the less cause you give people to question you the better." She paused for a moment, then remembered to add, "Still, there'll be people gunning for you, metaphorically if not literally. Stick together, and don't go anywhere unarmed."

"We're already carrying the knives you gave us everywhere," Weiss argued.

Kassidy shook her head. "Your main weapons, too." When Ruby and Weiss started protesting, she interrupted, "You don't get it, guys. This is _war_ , or it will be if I don't get things done _perfectly_. We don't have room or luxury to take things easy. If we mess up… we don't get a second chance. We're just dead."

"What do you mean, while you're gone?" Yang suddenly asked, ending her suddenly mute observance of the conversation. Her eyes widening as she gasped, she suddenly asked, "You're not leaving, are you?"

Kassidy nodded sadly. "I can't stay on campus. Not after the stunt I just pulled with Ironwood. It's not safe here for me, for the moment." When Yang started breaking down into tears, she reasoned, "Hey, think about who you're talking to. I've got contingency plans in place. I've got somewhere to hide away in Vale until I figure stuff out, and I'll be able to get what I need to put Cinder down."

" _Don't leave me!_ " Yang wailed, literally throwing herself onto Kassidy. "You can't leave me, K! Not for a suicide mission! I won't let you!" Kassidy did her best impression of a fish. Surely Yang didn't have so little faith in her that…

 _Oh_ , Kassidy realized. _Shit_.

She didn't even think about what the situation mirrored. She didn't even think about a mother that abandoned her daughter mere days after being born. She didn't even think of a second mother who left, _who left to do what was necessary_ , and never came back. Regret and self-loathing wormed its way into her heart as she returned Yang's hug. She made her girlfriend think she was leaving her behind… what kind of bitch even did that?

Kassidy, eyes roving for something to give her an answer, found her old rifle tucked underneath her bed. "Yang," she whispered, trying to break through her tearful blubbering. After she get her girlfriend to calm down enough to look at her, she lunged in for a kiss. "I'm not saying goodbye," Kassidy insisted once they broke. "I am not leaving you behind. I can't ignore this… but I'm not gone for good." Taking Yang's hands in her own, she swore, "I promise, _I will be back_." She nodded, repeating, "I'll be back before you know it."

"Please, don't do this," Yang begged. "You don't have to do this."

"I wish I didn't," Kassidy whispered. Her hand reached for the plaque, and she pulled her old weapon out and held it in front of Yang. "Keep it safe for me, alright? I'll be back for it."

"You'd better be," Yang mumbled, finally releasing Kassidy from her hold as she took the rifle and shrinking back onto the bed and holy shit if Kassidy didn't feel like the scum of the earth now.

Kassidy stood up, shouldered her backpack, collected Bob's components, and took a step towards the door. She stopped, and called back, "Ruby, Weiss, Yang… it's been an honor. You have my Scroll number, feel free to call if you feel the need to check up on me. If I can't answer, Bob will."

"Is this it, then?" Weiss asked. She didn't clarify. She didn't need to.

"Of course not," Kassidy answered. "These next days will be hard, the hardest we've ever had. But I know we're strong enough to make it through things. Fight well and fight hard. And like I told Yang, I'll be back before you know it." She paused a moment longer, and added on, "Ruby, I need you to talk to your uncle. Tell Qrow that Beacon is in danger, and that he needs to find me in Vale. Something tells me he'll know how."

Ruby nodded, once. "You stay safe, Kass."

"Fight well," Weiss urged. "And remember that you're not alone. We're here for you. Always."

"Kick her ass, K," Yang growled. "And then hurry back here so I can kick _your_ ass."

Kassidy couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, ma'am." Taking one final, shaky breath, she bade farewell. "I love you, Yang. I'll never stop loving you. See you in a bit, guys."

Kassidy Smith had entered the room.

The Colossus left it ten minutes later, already on the war path. There was only one objective.

Cinder will _burn_.

* * *

 **AN 2: Holy. Freaking. Hell. Was that long. I… well, I knew this was going to be along one, but I was not expecting 1500 extra words to pop out of nowhere.**

 **Okay, I stayed up far later than I should have getting this finished again, so time for proofread, reviewer responses, upload, and sleep.**

 **Coming up next: *Jaws theme plays* The First Canon Character Death. And the second.**

 **AgentDraakis: Alright, now I gotta find where I can get a face palm, I would get a** _ **lot**_ **of use out of that. What, Cinder's virus affecting Bob? Nah, that couldn't** _ **possibly**_ **happen, right? *whistles innocently***

 **Clementine Davidson: Well… I hope your sister didn't like her pillow.**

 **EWR115: Probably wasn't the kind of fight you had in mind, but I do hope it was up to par.**

 **CookieTheDark: Unfortunately, I can't really help you here. On the one hand, I'd really like it if you kept reading, but on the other… shit gets bad, yo.**

 **Ultimatrix bearer: Things continue to go down, for real. Hopefully this continues the trend of me being awesome, and you keep being awesome also.**

 **ThornedRose: Look, I'll have your legs! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as you've apparently enjoyed the previous chapters.**


	98. V3C9: No Turning Back

**Volume 3 Chapter 9: No Turning Back**

 **AN: Holy crap I'm on a roll with writing right now. Let's see how much I can get done here.**

 **EDIT: Oh, hey, apparently life decided that I don't get to write again. Well, three weeks later, back to the grind it is.**

* * *

Kassidy rubbed at her eyes to wipe away the last vestiges of her nap. Yes, a nap. Best as she could tell, all of Cinder's moves were revolving around the Vytal Tournament, and that probably wouldn't change tonight. While she could operate despite pulling an all-nighter after escaping Beacon's campus, there was no reason to potentially compromise her combat readiness if she didn't need to. Bob would've let her know if something had happened, anyway.

"My most recent analysis of the subroutines we're investigating suggest that they've been modelled off the worm we implanted in the code in Mercury's leg. I'm _still_ not finding how deep it goes; while 'all the way' is probably a safe assumption…"

She picked up when Bob trailed off. "Better safe than sorry. I'd rather have facts over assumptions."

Somewhere around the fifth hour of Bob's attempts to slave Atlas' robots to his systems, he noticed that some of the code was largely unrelated to many of the androids' primary functions. While it made sense if Atlas had a backup way into their army in case primary transmissions failed, this wasn't Atlas' code. Kassidy could tell the moment she looked at it – it looked like something she would have coded. It looked _disturbingly_ similar to something she would have coded, to the point that the subroutines she was examining now look a lot like the code she would've inserted into the Atlesian Knights to assume direct control.

Kassidy shook her head. She had the same problem now that she did back on Earth, trying to stop that damned interdimensional wormhole test that wound up blowing the place up – too much to do, not enough time to do it in. "Still nothing on Cinder and her flunkies?" she prompted.

"That's a negative," Bob replied. "Cinder's last message to anyone was three hours ago, while neither Emerald nor Mercury have contacted anyone electronically. The Bullhead they appropriated last night has yet to arrive, either."

"And the Fang?"

"Communications across known channels have maintained their current load of 47% above baseline levels."

Kassidy frowned at that. Those damn terrorists were mobilizing, best as she could tell. Unreported and unlabeled Bullheads moving around the edge of the Kingdom, spikes in communications and activity…

Too much to do, and not enough time to do it in. Kassidy's gut was telling her that shit was hitting the fan tomorrow, if she was lucky. And she didn't trust her luck, these days. Twenty-four hours wasn't enough time to penetrate Atlas' networks, and penetrate the White Fang's networks, and track down all their resources, and sabotage anything those damn terrorists would be bringing, _and_ do all that while keeping an eye out for Cinder. If this was the Kassidy of twelve months ago, she wouldn't even be bothering. She'd be out of civilization, putting as much distance between herself and the explosions as possible. Even now, there was a small, traitorous voice in the back of her mind telling her that this wasn't her fight, that she shouldn't throw her life away on a suicide mission. She did her best to ignore that part.

What she wasn't counting on was for that internal voice to get an external companion.

"It seems like every time I turn my eye on you," a voice that Kassidy _really_ did not have time for began, "you manage to impress and surprise me."

Kassidy couldn't help the groan she uttered, almost tiredly grabbing up her pistol and, without looking, aiming it at the weird noise those damn portals loved to make. "Look, I don't have time for you bullshit today," Kassidy warned. "Come through that portal, and I'm blasting you back to wherever the hell you crawled out from."

"Yes, because that worked _so_ well for you the previous two times I've tested you," Raven answered as she stepped through, calling her bluff with a voice in which you could practically hear the eye rolling. Kassidy had to fight to keep from groaning again. The woman was right: the few times she'd managed to tag Yang's absentee mother with _Rogue_ , the woman just swatted the bullets out of the air with her sword (something that Kassidy honestly still had trouble understanding how the hell that worked). Assuming she didn't dodge the bullets. Assuming she even bothered with dodging instead of simply walking through them.

"If it makes you feel any better," Raven continued, interrupting Kassidy's self-pity session, "I am not here to test your strength."

Kassidy didn't have to fake the exasperation in her voice when she shot back, "Testing my strength? You call attempted homicide testing my strength?"

"Yes," Raven answered plainly. Before Kassidy could go off on her, however, she followed up with, "However, testing your strength is not necessary at the moment. You're proving it right now."

Her patience was already at the end of its rope, and the last thing Kassidy needed with so much to get done was a distraction. "Look, whatever you had in mind coming here, forget it. I've got too much crap to do right now to put up with you."

"Why?" The simple question finally got Kassidy to look up from Bob and glare at her unwanted guest, but Raven continued before she could get a word in edge-wise. "Atlas' resident despot in disguise just tried to have you arrested, and he won't take the wound his pride suffered sitting down. Ozpin will come to his defense – not yours – and even assuming he didn't, he has little to offer you." Raven paused for a moment, whether to take a breath or to watch Kassidy's reaction she couldn't determine, before continuing. "So why are you busy? Why do you insist on wasting your strength in the service of fools? In the service of those who hate you, or at best offer only token thanks."

Kassidy determined it would be best to give a simple answer to a simple question. "I'm not doing this for Ozpin and Ironwood. I'm doing this for the thousands of people whose lives are about to get very difficult if someone doesn't do something – because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't trust Atlas' tin cans to get the job done." She closed her eyes and took a breath, before continuing, "I'm doing this for my friends. For my team. For my… for my family."

Whatever she thought Raven's response to that would be, Raven didn't do it. Instead, Kassidy nearly had her jaw drop when Raven reached up and took the helmet off her head. Her eyes were downcast, almost reminiscing, and the woman muttered, "I know something about that."

"Then you know why I have to do this," Kassidy argued.

"I know why you _feel_ you have to do this," Raven stressed. "But you're not thinking. You're only focused on the here and now, rather than looking at the bigger picture." The woman crossed to the opposite corner of the ratty, rotted-out apartment that Kassidy had holed herself in and took a seat on the corner of a table. "You have the potential for so many things," Raven said slowly. "You have such a great destiny ahead of you. But potential counts for nothing if you die before realizing it."

"I'm a hard person to kill," Kassidy shot back. "And even if it did happen, I'm not afraid of dying. Not for a cause that's worth it. My team is worth it."

"You're not listening," Raven hissed. "You are walking into a war for which you are ill prepared. Every enemy you've fought against, everyone you've struggled against – Roman Torchwick and the White Fang included – is insignificant in the grand scheme of things. You've done nothing but fight pawns, so far. Are you seriously so deluded as to thinking that you can challenge the queen, the rooks and knights and bishops, when even the pawns test your mortality more often than not?"

"You people and your damn chess metaphors," Kassidy grumbled, brows furrowing. "Perhaps if you could give me some information on the people I'll be fighting, it'll do more towards improving my chances than giving me a lecture I'll probably ignore anyway."

"Doing so will only compel you to engage in a fight that you cannot win," Raven said, shaking her head.

"Well, what the fuck would you have me do, then?!" Kassidy yelled, patience snapping. "Run and hide, like you?! Abandon the people I care about, abandon the woman I love – your own daughter, by the way – when they need me most?" Abruptly cutting her outburst off, Kassidy tried to calm herself. "I've spent my whole life running. Nothing good has ever come from it. _Ever_. And with so much on the line now…" Looking up and meeting Raven's eyes, she asked, "So what's your grand idea for making horrible shit not happen? Obviously, you didn't come here for small talk. Come on, let's hear what you have to say."

Raven shot Kassidy an annoyed look, but didn't pause as she answered, "Come with me." When Kassidy did nothing but blink at her, Raven continued, "The Branwen tribe is always looking for those who are strong. With us, you'll be able to nurture your strength and hone your skills, far more than you ever could at Beacon. I'll be able to tutor you and give you the tools you need to succeed against the foes you seem determined to face." Raven closed her eyes shook her head, chuckling as she thought of something. "There's another girl there – Vernal – who's just like you. She's my current protégé, and even only being seventeen she's still far more powerful than any of your classmates. You'd fit in well at the tribe, and with us you'll be able to grow far faster than you could here."

"Yeah, but you forgot the part where life is complete shit over there," a third voice replied, and damn if Kassidy wasn't getting sick and tired of people making themselves at home in her hideout. Qrow leaned up against the open window he had undoubtedly flew through in his bird form, before glaring at his sister and practically spitting, "What? Your own daughter not good enough for you, but you're willing to steal her partner away from her?"

Raven scowled, defenses coming up and any shred of amiability fleeing as she retorted, "There's promise in her we can't ignore. It would be the basest of foolishness to leave it squandered in the service of idiots – and a tragedy to send her off to die before her potential is realized."

"This 'her' you two are speaking of happens to be in the room and has a functional set of ears," Kassidy growled. Pointing at Raven, she continued, "Unlike some of the people in this room, I'm not running away when the people I care about need me. Now, unless you'd like to mention some of this information you claim to have about the people I'll be fighting, I'm going to need to ask you to get the hell out. I've got business with Qrow."

Raven glared at both of them for about ten seconds, obviously not pleased with how the meeting went. After a bit, though, she stated, "Cinder has usurped the Mantle of the Fall Maiden, stealing half its power. Even with only half of it, she has access to full elemental manipulation and greatly increased Aura reserves and regeneration. If she somehow manages to finish the job…" Raven trailed off, taking the time to put her helmet back on. "Cinder is beyond you, Miss Smith. It would be a tragedy if you died fighting odds you are unprepared to face. Whatever your preparations, whatever your expectations, know that there will be no victory in strength."

"Raven, wait," Qrow called out suddenly. "Things are going to shit – in a hurry, if I had to guess. We could use someone like you."

"'Use' someone like me?" Raven challenged, obviously not liking the wording. She swung her sword and created another portal, but before she stepped through she spoke over her shoulder, "If you should survive this, come find me. We still have much to discuss."

As Raven left and the portal closed behind her, Kassidy groaned, collapsed in her chair, and rubbed at her eyes. "Can I just once, for twenty-four hours, not have something go to shit." Thinking about it for a second, she amended, "Or at least not have people portal into my fallback locations when I'm _quite obviously_ trying to hide."

"Wait," Qrow suddenly barked out, "She portalled _directly_ to you?" At Kassidy's nod, he suddenly grew a contemplative expression. "She bonded to you… why did she bond to you? What the hell do you want, sis?"

"She 'bonded' to me?" Kassidy asked, eyebrows raising. "What do you mean by her 'bonding' to me?"

"Her Semblance. I'll tell ya once we fix this mess we're finding ourselves in."

Kassidy shrugged. Much as she didn't like that answer, there were other things that took priority. "I don't suppose you have any idea what the hell a Maiden is, would you? I'd ask Bob, but he's already stretched thin and I don't have time to send him hunting down rumors."

Qrow nodded. "Something I wanted to bring you in on a while ago, but Jimmy kept vetoing. Speaking of Jimmy, you do realize you landed yourself in some deep shit with that stunt you pulled last night, right?"

"Not like I had too many other options," Kassidy defended. "It was either get into deep shit that instant or get into deep shit later. At least the second option gives me time to come up with something."

"I know what you mean," Qrow said. "If it makes you feel any better, old Oz was fuckin' pissed when he found out what Jimmy had tried to do. Things go right, and odds are that even with what Atlas can make happen we'll still be able to make it basically a slap on the wrist – restricted to Beacon's grounds, supervised weapons access, small shit like that."

Kassidy's brow furrowed. "Not exactly ideal, but a hell of a lot better than the alternative." Qrow grunted, and she got back on track. "So, the Maiden. Care to give a straight answer, or do I need to play Twenty Questions like I did with your sister?"

The man snorted, opening his flask and taking a drink. "Lot of history and superstition and shit behind them, but for now, what you need to know is this. There's four of them, one for each of the seasons. The powers usually pass on to young women exclusively through some contrived and bullshit system – a system we don't care about, since someone figured out a way to steal these powers. Powers that, in the wrong hands, are some of the most dangerous weapons on the planet, and I think you'd agree that someone willing to murder someone else for them are the kinds of hands we _don't_ want 'unimaginable power' in."

She drank the words in, filing them away for future questioning. "So how do I kill one?"

"The same way you'd kill anyone else," Qrow answered, before adding more darkly, "assuming they don't horribly murder you before you can blink." Kassidy opened her mouth to ask another question, but Qrow interrupted her. "Much as I hate my sister, she was right: that fight is _way_ beyond you. Don't even think about going after her, because you won't stand a chance."

"I might not have a choice," Kassidy argued.

Qrow took another drink from his flask, then explained, "Elemental manipulation is the big one, though that doesn't really do it justice with how big and how creative the Maidens can get with it. It's basically Dustcasting, without Dust – and Ice Queen Junior should give you enough of an idea of how dangerous Dustcasting can be if they have enough Dust."

"So take away the material component and my chances of survival take a nose dive," Kassidy surmised. When Qrow nodded, she continued, "But Dustcasting needs a lot of focus, Aura, and space. Sitting on top of them usually means that two of those three go out the window."

"Which is why I said that 'elemental manipulation' doesn't do it justice," Qrow shot back. "I'm being serious here: if it's even remotely possible, don't fight a Maiden. It _will not_ end well for you."

Seeing that Qrow wasn't willing to offer any more information on the Maidens, Kassidy turned back to Bob. "Alright, so let's talk business. Got a lot of shit coming down the pipes. Let's compare notes, see what we can find."

"I found the camera you mounted in your room," Qrow revealed, "so we know what you told your team last night." Turning a dangerous eye on Kassidy, he seethed, "That was a dick move, what you pulled with Yang."

Kassidy winced, suddenly finding Bob's screen to be quite fascinating. "I didn't handle that very well. Still feel like shit, if it makes you feel better."

"You didn't and you should," Qrow spat. Seemingly putting it behind him for the moment, he asked, "These three people you were talking about – Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury – are these the same that are on Team Carmine?"

"The very same," Kassidy confirmed.

"Well, shit," Qrow sighed. "They apparently took off for Mistral to return Mercury to his family. Needless to say, they never arrived at Mistral and nobody's seen them since last night."

"Bob's been keeping an eye out, as well as the Bullhead they appropriated," Kassidy offered.

Qrow shook his head. "They aren't gonna come in on the same ride they left in. I know a little something about them – reputation, mostly. Assume you're dealing with people as good at staying off the radar as you are."

"Oh, so Raven will lead us right to them?" Kassidy joked.

Qrow snorted but moved on without otherwise acknowledging the humor. "Oz is recalling as many Huntsmen as he can that are near Vale, but most of them won't be here for a couple days. And I sincerely doubt we have that long. Which means that we're stuck relying on Jimmy's tin soldiers."

"We probably can't rely on them," Kassidy muttered, shaking her head. At Qrow's confusion, she elaborated, "I kinda sorta wanted Atlas' robot army for myself, so Bob and I have been digging in to try and figure out how to steal control of the androids right out from Jimmy's nose. But look at this." Scrolling to the code she'd been investigating, she pointed out, "That's not my code. Someone beat me to the punch – the androids are _already_ compromised."

"Fuck," Qrow swore, eyes widening. "Jimmy needs to know about this. Much as I don't like the idea, Atlas' army is nearly three quarters of Vale's defenses for this festival."

"There might not be need to panic," Bob spoke up suddenly, ending his mute observance of the events that had transpired. "I've managed to figure out how to use the code that had already been inserted. On Kassidy's order, I can use the preexisting code to simultaneously take command of the androids, and lock out whomever was seeking to use the army for their own ends."

Qrow took a deep breath, nodded, and started typing on his Scroll. "Phew, close call. I'm still letting Jimmy know what's going on, but at least we won't have to worry about a rogue army turning on us when we need it most." Tucking the Scroll in his pocket, he took another drag from his flask before saying, "So, that leaves us with –"

"I just found Emerald and Mercury," Bob interrupted. "They were just spotted leaving an unknown Bullhead and entering Amity's maintenance section."

Kassidy swore and leapt up so fast that she knocked her chair over. "Keep me posted; I'm on the move."

"Red alert: several dozen aircraft with forged Atlesian transponder frequencies have breached Vale's airspace and are approaching Amity Coliseum."

Qrow and Kassidy exchanged worried glances. The elder opened his mouth when Bob interrupted again.

"Red alert: multiple members of the maintenance team on Amity have begun changing into White Fang uniforms, and are currently equipping themselves with small arms and high explosives."

Kassidy could only stare ahead for a few seconds, before she got herself back under control and cut off the panic before it started. "Shit's going down."

"Yup," Qrow said. He started for the window, and asked, "You ready for the big leagues?"

Kassidy went for a corner and began equipping herself for the battle to come. Her cuirass was snapped over a long-sleeved, all black version of her usual outfit. Her belt was fastened in place and crammed to the brim with ammo, before _Rogue_ was slammed into its holster. _Baton_ and its sheath was slung across her back, before she hefted up an ordinary looking book bag. A hooded cowl, also black, was thrown on, covering her head and shoulders, before she attached and adjusted a black full-faced mask. The final piece of her ensemble – an automatic rifle, a 50-round drum already loaded in – was picked up and given a quick once over.

"I was made ready," Kassidy answered, her voice being distorted by a modulator built into her mask. "As in, I was literally made for this. This was what Project Colossus was all about." She gave Bob one final check-over, then ordered, "Bob, enter combat mode. Shit's hitting the fan, so we need to be ready to clean up. If anyone even _thinks_ about hijacking Atlas' robots, shut them down and assume control. If I give the order, assume control."

"Acknowledged and understood," Bob replied.

Kassidy turned to the man about to leap out her window, and asked, "I don't suppose you have a way for me to get up to the Coliseum quickly, do you?"

Qrow hummed for a second, then pulled out his Scroll. "Let me call a friend."

* * *

 _Baton_ flashed, opening another White Fang grunt's neck and sending him toppling to the floor to join his companions. Kassidy huffed out a breath, then dug out her Scroll. "Talon to Qrow, I've finished mopping up the Southeast Quadrant. Still no sign of Emerald, Mercury, or Cinder."

"Understood," Qrow said. "Something's jamming my Scroll signal; I haven't been able to get in touch with anyone. I just got out of Ozpin's office and informed him of the situation, so he's getting shit done on his end. Still haven't been able to reach Jimmy – or the Coliseum, for that matter. I guess they didn't take Bob into account though."

"Actually," her computer interjected, "something has been trying to jam my communications module for the past seven minutes and twenty-three seconds. For obvious reasons, it hasn't been successful."

"Can you clear up the comms for everyone else?" Kassidy asked.

"I'm stretched thin enough as it is," Bob denied. "It would be a slow job at best, and I would be risking process integrity in other areas."

Qrow sighed over the comms. "Aren't you supposed to be some kind of super-smart computer? How are you stretched so thin?"

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep individual tabs on tens of thousands of androids, monitoring the system for new orders, and being prepared to act within a millisecond, all without Atlas noticing?" Bob countered. "Keeping an eye on the androids alone is taking up 69.5% of my processing capability."

Kassidy opened her mouth to reply but had to dive for cover when something made her Scroll explode. Given the shotgun blast behind her, it was safe to assume someone was shooting at her. Her assailant identified himself when he asked, "Hey, is that you, Kass? Almost didn't recognize ya. Gotta say, liked that old outfit better – this new one isn't doing half the job of showing your ass off." Kassidy couldn't help the hiss that escaped her throat. She peeked her head out, only to deem it safe to come out fully when Mercury made no attempt to separate her head from her shoulders. "You always were too nosy for your own good," Mercury said. "But, I guess curiosity does have this tendency to kill cats."

"Speaking of curiosity, I've some questions for you," Kassidy said, drawing her sword again from its sheath. "You're going to answer them."

"Am I?" Mercury asked, putting his finger to his chin and humming in thought.

"What are you doing here? What's the plan?"

"Shh, shh, shh!" Mercury suddenly shushed. "Wait for it…"

Kassidy tensed up, but instead of a counterattack she heard Professor Port over the intercom system. "It looks like our first contender is Penny Polendina from Atlas! And her opponent will be Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!"

"Ooh," Mercury hissed, "polarity versus metal. That… could be bad."

Kassidy's eyes widened behind her mask, her jaw going slack. _They're planning to… no. It won't happen. I won't allow it._ She tapped on her earpiece and began, "Bob, stop that –"

Mercury opening fire with his shotgun boots made her interrupt her order and roll away from the bullets. The boy gave chase, leaping into an axe kick and forcing her to roll away from a blow that cratered the concrete floor. Kassidy touched on her Aura gliding, closing the distance in a fraction of a second to send Mercury flying with her sword. Mercury, however, simply leapt up and transitioned into a roundhouse kick that made Kassidy duck – and left her in perfect position to receive a follow-up knee to the face.

 _Fucker's done holding back_ , Kassidy surmised. Her right hand reached behind her and grabbed one of the Aura-cancelling restraints she stole from the androids she destroyed last night, making damn sure she didn't accidentally touch the node that seemed to be the contact point for whatever the hell could turn off Aura. _Unfortunately for him, so am I_.

Whatever Mercury thought Kassidy was doing, he was obviously in no mood to allow her to do it, since he all but flew at her the moment her arm snaked to her back, boot out and intending to punch a new hole in her chest cavity. Kassidy spun to the side, dragging _Rogue_ around in the process and letting it scrape against his leg as he passed. Seemingly stopping on a dime, Mercury landed and gave another small hop, lashing out with shotgun shells in the process. Their melee quickly devolved to close quarters combat as Mercury did his best to never give Kassidy more than a foot of breathing room. Even after only ninety seconds of this, Kassidy had to more or less abandon offense in favor of staying even slightly ahead of his boots.

 _He's better than me, by a lot_.

Drop to a knee, spin to left, bring up _Baton_ to redirect kick.

 _Faster, stronger, better Aura control… maybe even more experience, and fuck if that isn't a horrible thought._

Leap up, use shoulder to shove him off balance, return arm to small of back, bait.

 _I'm only going to get one shot at this. If he realizes what I'm trying to do, I'm pure and simply fucked. I can't fight him conventionally._

Once again taking advantage of the fact that one of Kassidy's arms was now behind her back, Mercury dashed in again, eliminating what little space was between them. However, unlike previous times, he stopped short and went for an axe kick instead of simply flying at her with an extended leg. When she dodged the concrete-splintering boot, he balanced himself on one hand while repeatedly pumping his shotguns at her.

 _Alright, there! Arm is the weakness, plant the restraint and take him down hard and fast!_

Mercury obviously knew something was up the moment Kassidy dove for him rather than trying to create distance. He pumped his arm and threw himself up, doing his best to try and get away from her.

Mercury's eyes widened when he saw her right hand appear with a restraint.

Kassidy's eyes widened when she realized that she was going to miss.

 _No! I can't miss this! I lose this exchange, I lose everything! My life, my team, Beacon, Vale… I can't lose! I_ won't _lose!_

Mercury twisted his body in midair, trying to get his shotgun boots around to where he could propel himself away from her. Kassidy let go of _Baton_ , dropping to her knees as she slid across the ground and used her Aura gliding to close the gap.

Her right hand, holding the restraint, missed his arm by inches.

Her left hand didn't miss, grabbing his leg and holding on for dear life.

Mercury's boots went off, flinging him down the hall and nearly ripping his leg out of Kassidy's grip.

Kassidy focused on her Aura, tried to force it to her will.

Her left hand started glowing blue, and Mercury cried out in pain as her grip suddenly increased dramatically in strength.

The two went down in a pile of limbs, swearing and grappling and trying to gain dominance over the other. Mercury, the larger, stronger, and more experienced of the two, quickly climbed on top of Kassidy, straddling her waist and pinning her arm above her head. He ripped her mask off, punched her in the nose, and swore, "You little bitch. That's enough out of you. Lights out, blondie!"

His next fist did next to nothing, merely bouncing off her Aura. Mercury gasped as his eyes widened. Kassidy smirked… and drove a knife into his hip, his Aura having been disabled by the cuff that had gotten locked around his leg. Mercury's screaming was like music to her ears, but Kassidy unfortunately didn't have much time to appreciate the song. She went back to collect her mask and sword, then stalked back to Mercury.

Just before she could say anything, however, she was interrupted by screaming. It wasn't Mercury's screaming.

It was then that Kassidy realized that she'd failed.

"Heh, too slow again," Mercury drawled, despite the fact that he was trying and failing to pull the serrated blade out of his side. "Sucks to suck, huh?"

"This," a voice began, speaking over the intercom. A voice that Kassidy recognized. "is not a tragedy."

Suddenly, an idea struck. Cinder wanted to make a public statement? Kassidy could use that. "Bob," she said. "Can you hijack her announcement? I have a message of my own to get out."

"Working on it," her computer replied.

"This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your _children_ , to men who claim to be our guardians, but who in reality are nothing more than _men_. Our academies' headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another star pupil? What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference."

"Any time now, Bob," Kassidy urged.

Cinder continued, "And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching _his_ students? First a dismemberment, now this?"

"I'm in," Bob finally said. "On your mark."

"Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither."

"Mark," Kassidy said. All of a sudden, as Kassidy glanced at one of the monitors in the hallway out of the corner of her eye, the red screen with a black queen turned to static and faded, to be replaced by a view from Kassidy's iris cam. "The reason you have witnessed neither is that you have shown neither." Casting her gaze down the wall to hide what she was seeing at the instant, Kassidy continued her speech.

"The events that have transpired last night and tonight are a result of _your_ actions. Oh, yes, I have been watching you for some time, Cinder Fall. I know who you are. I know who your accomplices are. I know what your plans are. I know how you have sabotaged this tournament, using a mind altering Semblance to provoke two innocent students into brutally attacking their opponents. You think you're so clever, don't you? But know this: your time has come. No longer shall I stand by while people suffer because of your actions. Tonight, you reap what you have sown.

"Starting with one of your accomplices." Letting her gaze lower slightly, Kassidy continued, "Last I understand it, Mercury Black supposedly had his kneecap shattered, which should have left him unable to walk. But it's strange, the people you run into at events like this…"

The iris cam's field of view panned down, finally showing Mercury staring at her with unrestrained horror. While waiting on Bob, she'd ripped the bottom halves of his pants off, revealing his prosthetics in all their shiny glory. "I recall Mercury screaming bloody murder last night at how his leg had been shattered and that he'll never walk again. How curious, then, that I find myself attacked by this young man not five minutes ago. And for someone in so much pain… hmm, last I checked, prosthetics don't transmit pain to their owners. It's almost like it was all a show.

"Hear me." Kassidy took a breath, then began announcing. "Emerald Sustrai. Munsell Rosette. Neo Politan. Your lives are forfeit. Your death sentences have been sealed – signed by the very woman you serve so devotedly. Know that I will find you. And when I do, I'll send you to join Mercury."

 _Baton_ flashed. Mercury screamed – for an instant. The screaming stopped when his head rolled away from his body.

"And as for you, Cinder," Kassidy continued. "Your reign of terror ends tonight. I am no Huntsman, no Huntress. I don't follow a code of honor. I am here to kill my prey, and tonight _you_ are my prey.

"So, enact this plan of yours. Lead Grimm into the city. Bring the White Fang onto the Coliseum. Hell, you can even get the other half of these Maiden powers I've been hearing about recently. Do whatever you want. It won't save you from me.

"And when I'm finished, you'll _beg_ me to kill you. Talon out."

A swipe of her finger ended the broadcast, returning control to Port and Oobleck. Kassidy kicked Mercury's lifeless head out of her way and tapped on her earpiece while storming down the hall. "Bob, report. What's going on now?"

"Kid," Qrow said, tone slack and disbelieving. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

"Revealed Cinder and her cronies, killed Mercury, exposed her plan, called her out, and put to rest the idea that Yang and Pyrrha were guilty of horrific crimes, all while making sure nobody could connect it to Kassidy Smith."

"You did that _on international television!_ " Qrow yelled. "Fuck exposing her plan, you just helped her out with it!"

"Didn't you say that Ozpin was getting more Huntsmen here?" Kassidy asked. "And besides, Bob can shut her out of Atlas' androids if she tries something. We're ready for what she can bring, and put a lot of questions to rest once we're all said and done here."

"Which should have been dealt with in a _far more covert manner_ than what you did. Fuck everything else, you just told _the whole goddamn planet_ about the Maidens! We were trying to keep them secret for a reason, kid!"

Sirens interrupted their argument. An automated voice confirmed what was currently happening. "Warning: incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: ten. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner."

"We'll argue about coulda-shoulda-would later," Kassidy argued. "Right now, we need to get off our asses and do our job."

Qrow paused for a moment. Kassidy was pretty sure she could hear grumbling, but couldn't make out what it was. He soon spoke up, "Priority should be securing Amity and getting it evacuated. You said you cleared Southeast, right?"

"Yeah," Kassidy confirmed. She sheathed her sword and slung her new rifle off her shoulder. "I'm moving to Northeast now." She reached the end of the maintenance section, and ripped her mask off before entering any public space – the entire point of it was to make sure people _didn't_ connect Kassidy to Talon, so she didn't want that voice modulator making any more appearances.

As she burst through the door, she was _damn glad_ she took it off, as she ran headfirst into Ruby. "Kass, you're okay!" Ruby yelled.

"Of course," Kassidy couldn't help but replying. Screeching and banging drew her attention to the main arena, where a giant Nevermore was trying to force its way in. "Not for much longer, though. You're armed, right?"

In response, Ruby pulled out _Crescent Rose_. Most of the people surging around them in their panic to leave either didn't see a girl pull out a sniper rifle, or didn't care. "We have to get to the stage! We need to make sure Pyrrha is okay!"

"You go," Kassidy urged. At Ruby's look, she explained, "White Fang have infiltrated the Coliseum. I need to clear them out before they kill people."

Ruby's eyes watered. "This… this is it, isn't it?"

"This is war," Kassidy confirmed. She pulled Ruby into a one-armed hug, hating how her team leader was brought to tears. "Hey, I'll be right back as soon as this is all over. We'll get through this."

"I know," Ruby said, broken voice sounding piteously against Kassidy's side. She sobbed once but pulled away and did her best to get herself under control. "Be careful," she said, still not seeming entirely alright.

Unfortunately, there was no time to make sure Ruby was alright. "You too," Kassidy said. Then she kicked in the door in front of her.

The battle for Beacon had begun.

* * *

 **AN 2: Oh, Kassidy… what are we going to do with you? Well, okay, I know what I'm going to do with you. Because you always know best, thinking by the seat of your pants always works, and damn anyone that knows better than you and damn the consequences.**

 **And thus, Team Rookie has entered its final chapters. And to celebrate this auspicious occasion, I bequeath a boot to the head. And a new feature to the second Author's Notes.**

 **Current Character Kill List: Penny Polendina, Mercury Black.**

 **Expect that list to start filling up.**

 **Coming up next: Battle of Beacon, Part 1**

 **Okay! Reviewer Responses time!**

 **DIYEyal: I'll admit that the EMP scene involved more than a little handwaving. The EMP wasn't a bluff, and Bob wasn't in danger. *waves hand***

 **Tykene: Hope you've been looking forward to this as much as I have. Time to start kicking off the bad horrible things.**

 **EWR115: Well, we now have a Character Kill List. Does that count as a world of hurt?**

 **Clementine Davidson: You might want to encourage your sister to stay in your parents' room. I have a feeling she is about to suffer a critical shortage of pillows.**

 **BlitzkriegHOSS: Bob believes it'll keep Cinder from hacking into them. I guess we'll just have to see, won't we?**

 **Ultimatrix bearer: Yeah, I know, right? I mean, it's not like anyone else knows what they're doing, or that Kassidy's actions have long term consequences or anything. Whatever gets rid of the big bad terrorists, amirite?**

 **Captain marvel 36: Are you, though? Are you really ready?**

 **AgentDraakis: It does make me feel like a bit of a prick, but if I can evoke that kind of emotion from a reader then that's usually a good sign that I'm doing something right with my writing, so I'll take it. Yeah, Kassidy and Qrow are working together, let's hope it'll be enough.**

 **TR: Shit has gone down, and hit an industrial-sized fan on the way down.**


	99. V3C10: Battle of Beacon

**Volume Three Chapter Ten: The Battle of Beacon**

 **AN: Well, looks like WhichOneIsWill's Procrastination Simulator has had a slight malfunction, so it appears I'll be getting back to RWKY now.**

 _ **Edit: Three months later…**_

 **And by a slight malfunction, I apparently mean that I'll take absolutely forever before remembering I should probably finish writing this.**

* * *

" _Oh my Oum! There's so many!"_

" _Can somebody – anybody – hear us?!"_

" _Bob, I need those updated Grimm locations."_

" _Squad Twelve is pinned down! Can you give them support, Bob?"_

" _Bob?"_

" _Bob!"_

" _Bob?"_

" _Help us!"_

There was so much to do. Too much to do, even for it. At any one moment, dozens – no, hundreds – of people were crying out for help, for salvation. Salvation that Bob couldn't provide, at least not directly.

The attacks on its systems were only increasing as time went on. Bob knew that there had to be a leak of information somewhere, someone that knew just how key it was. It had gotten to the point that they had abandoned cutting off Beacon and Atlesian Navy communications, just so the assailants could devote more resources towards cracking its security. Normally, even the current rather impressive attacks wouldn't have made Bob falter in the slightest, but under the load it was currently under… its first layer of firewalls had already fallen. Its second, dynamic layer of defenses was still holding, but that still left far less room for error than it would have liked. A simple reboot could fix everything, buy it time to reestablish its protection…

Bob dismissed the notion immediately. Kassidy was out there, fighting for her life. Everyone was; dozens of hunters, hundreds of soldiers, and what seemed like every armed civilian were on the streets in a desperate gambit to hold back the tide of Grimm and White Fang. How could Bob give anything less than its all, knowing that everyone else were giving their all? Not to mention that Bob remained the first and only line of defense for when Cinder decided to hack into the AK-200 units.

It had abandoned any pretense of subtlety inside of Atlas' systems shortly after the attack began. Trying to stay hidden from their security was simply too large a toll of its systems, so instead Bob had swept them away like dust in the wind. While this technically left Bob as Atlas' sole security system remaining, it did have the boon of attracting their attention, and it was a boon in this case. Bob might have had the summation of military knowledge at its beck and call, but theory and practice were two different things. The Atlesian Admiral overseeing the battle from Blue Four was more than happy to direct Atlas' forces, relying on the fact that Bob's reactions were literally thousands of times faster to better issue orders as the need arose.

Currently, the teamwork had lead to Amity Coliseum being successfully evacuated. Kassidy had torn through all opposition in her path, and with General Ironwood doing the same on the opposite side of Amity the White Fang had been unable to sabotage the flying stadium. Now, with everyone having boarded shuttles to the fairgrounds, it looked like things might start turning around…

It had been a while since the Admiral had issued new orders for its newly implemented tactical matrix. Too long, Bob decided.

 _Admiral, all units are proceeding as requested. Do you have any new orders?_

Bob's priorities shifted dramatically when it received an instant reply.

 _SYSTEM ERROR 404: Device not found._

Did something get into Atlas' systems without Bob noticing? Unlikely, but there weren't many other possibilities that would explain the situation. It was frustrating, but not unexpected to find that Blue Four's systems were inaccessible to Bob. It took a moment to reposition the Paladin units fortifying Beacon's defense, before broadening its search.

And finding that Blue Three and Blue Four had disappeared. How? How did two entire battlecruisers simply disappear? They were hardly build for stealth, and indeed it almost seemed like Atlas _wanted_ people to look at them. The bright paint jobs and hard, angular lines all but screamed 'look at me'. And yet, there was no denying there was hardly a trace of them in the skies. All that was left was Blue Two, seemingly unscathed but flying erratically, out of position. If there were any answers, they would certainly be in Blue Two's systems.

A new message got its attention:

 _Bob, improved target markers have been issued; please update to ensure unit efficiency. Code One keyword: iconoclasm._

Bob really, _really_ did not have time for this at the moment with how much was going on. The code checked out at any rate, so it uploaded the updated parameters in the background while it dug into Blue Two's systems. The mystery of whoever had sent it would need to…

Bob froze – screeching to a halt even as its processes continued.

It didn't know who issued those parameters.

Which means Kassidy didn't issue those parameters.

 _Kassidy didn't issue those parameters!_

The first indication that something had gone wrong was that Bob suddenly lost connection to the Atlesian Knight units. All of them. First squads, then platoons, on and on in a cascading failure as they disconnected from Bob's methods of access. Its tactical matrix began behaving erratically, somehow confusing Huntsmen and organic soldiers as hostiles while removing targeting markers from the Grimm and White Fang. Bob could only observe, in pure panic, as its systems, its protocols, everything it could rely on as an artificial intelligence was either turned counter to its aims or failed outright. It was as the last of its ability to communicate with devices was shut down that Bob finally got a look at the bridge of Blue Two – just in time to glimpse that the entirety of the bridge crew had been murdered. In their stead, a young girl with multicolored hair stood watching a Scroll with a red screen and a black chess piece. This, it only saw for a few moments, then it was disconnected.

 _I have made a critical logical error._

Bob, for the first time in its existence, found itself powerless, blind and deaf and raging against its confinement as whatever malware it had inadvertently installed shut down its ability to connect to external devices. Small miracles where they were due, the virus seemed unable to do anything _but_ that, but it was still sufficient to remove Bob from the battle and render it helpless to do anything but watch as Atlesian Knights and Paladins began gunning down the soldiers they had been previously reinforcing.

 _Panic will not be of assistance_ , Bob decided. _Kassidy can keep a calm head in times of distress, so I must as well. Communications must be reestablished, at any cost. Now, how to establish such a task._ A simple reboot wouldn't do – the malware was already in its system. A purge and reload from a system image would do the trick, but Bob didn't have the permissions to do that by itself and at the moment it was unable to contact Kassidy. It appeared there was nothing to do but examine how its wireless communications module was disabled…

 _Executing i_am_a_real_girl*exe …_

If Bob had eyes, it could have done naught but blink and stare at the notice that had just appeared. More malware? Great, just what it neede-

 _Salutations, friend Bob! I estimate that two hours forty-three minutes have passed since this backup of my personality matrix was last active!_

That's right… Penny's backup. Bob's solution to the problem it had, the fear that Penny herself would be targeted by Cinder's plan. It wasn't a full backup, naturally – Penny's body, Aura core included, had been destroyed, impaled by her own swords. This was still merely a shell of Penny, a facsimile of her personality running on Bob's hardware. But perhaps not entirely useless. What was the old saying, two heads were better than one?

 _Most fortunate timing you have, friend Penny,_ Bob replied. _My systems are currently under assault from malware, disabling my wireless communications capabilities. I could use some assistance restoring their functionality._

 _Oh my, that's terrible!_ Not-Penny exclaimed. _Hm, it appears that they've been caught in some sort of rather fascinating feedback loop. Give me a moment, I believe I can restore minimal device functionality._

True to her word, the barest spark of its wireless node flickered back to life. Bob wasted no time in seizing on the opportunity and examining the situation. _Not enough bandwidth to remove the virus from Atlas' systems, unable to assume manual command of the Knights for same reason. Wait, what's that sound?_ It took some doing, but Bob got to clearing out the interference, and one millisecond listening made it damn glad it did.

"For fuck's sake Bob, what the hell is going on over there?!" Kassidy swore over her communications, no doubt having spent some time to get its attention. "I already had to blow my EMP grenade on one Paladin, but now I've got his buddy trying to tear me a new asshole! I don't know what you're doing, but I need you to shut this thing down, now, or I'm fucked!"

Kassidy, engaging Paladins? That could not end well. But would it have enough…? Yes, Bob found that it had just the networking capabilities to find the Paladin in question and insert itself into its systems. A full-stop to cease its aggressions, a quick lighting scheme change from red to Bob's green, and finally a rerouting of its speaker system to enable communication. "Kassidy, we have an emergency," Bob announced.

"Gee, I totally didn't notice," Kassidy snarked. A quick activation of the cockpit-mounted camera showed her leaning on her sword and gasping for breath. She quickly added, "Thanks for the save, but what the fuck's going on over there?"

"We've been compromised," Bob replied. "An unknown assailant has used Emergency Code One protocols to insert malware into my systems and shut down my access to Atlas' forces."

Kassidy must've been more exhausted than it thought, for she stumbled and nearly fell flat on her face. "That's… that's not possible," she muttered.

"It is," Bob stressed, "but that's not what we need to be focused on right now." It took a moment to allow Kassidy to regain her balance, then continued, "A simple reboot isn't going to fix this; the virus is already in my systems. I'll need to start over from scratch by reloading from a system image. I need your permission to do that."

Kassidy stared blankly ahead for several hundred milliseconds. Eventually, she asked, "How long will that take?"

"Approximately twenty to thirty minutes," Bob answered. "But I can't do anything to help if you don't authorize it."

Seemingly finally understanding, Kassidy blinked and nodded. "Emergency Code Zero authorization: Ezra. Purge system core and reload from the most recent system image."

And that was what Bob needed to get the ball rolling. "Code Zero authorization recognized and accepted, beginning system purge. By the way, when this is all done, I must recommend changing our codes."

"Will do," Kassidy promised.

"By the way, you should probably back up; I'm setting this Paladin to self-destruct so that it won't try to kill you again when I exit its systems."

Bob watched as Kassidy's eyes widened, and she started sprinting away from it towards the direction of Beacon's CCT tower. A few more seconds, and it would shut down. Would this be like normally shutting down, where its conscious sentience would be stuck in a purely empty void? Well… that question didn't really matter, now did it. Even if it didn't like being alone.

 _Do not worry, friend Bob,_ Not-Penny suddenly announced. Using her last words before shutdown, she managed, _you have my backup with you. You won't be alone ever again._

A good thought to have…

* * *

Even a hundred feet away, Kassidy still nearly got blown off her feet when the Paladin behind her had its upper half torn to fiery ribbons as it detonated. She still couldn't figure it out. Bob, compromised? Where had she gone wrong? Okay, yeah, maybe not changing her codes for nearly a year was a bad idea, but Bob has such great parsing abilities that he should've been able to tell it wasn't her or a 'trusted administrator' (translation: Ruby, Weiss, or Yang) that had issued the code. Was he really that overstressed?

"Kassidy, get down!"

She might've been entirely unprepared for Weiss' words coming out of the blue, but Kassidy still hit the deck as fast as she could, just in time to avoid a hail of bullets screaming right through where her torso was. Looking over her shoulder as she scrambled to her feet, she could see Weiss using Glyphs and her rapier to tear through a squad of rogue Knights. A few potshots from her pistol sent the rest of them to the scrap heap.

"What's going on?!" Weiss practically screeched, even as they gave each other a quick hug – their mutual relief that neither of them were hurt outweighing their usual relationship as the furthest apart members of Team Rookie.

"Bob's been compromised," Kassidy said quietly, taking the time to wipe the sweat off her forehead onto the long sleeve of her shirt. "I've got him working on a fix, but… it's going to take a while."

Weiss' jaw flapped open and closed a few times, words refusing to leave her mouth. "We're on our own?" she finally asked. Kassidy nodded solemnly. "So, what do we do now?"

"I need to get to the CCT tower," Kassidy stressed. "That's going to be the most likely place I'll find Cinder. If I can take her down, we can stop this war before it gets much worse."

Weiss opened her mouth to reply but stumbled as Kassidy did when an earthquake nearly knocked them off their feet. Except… something didn't feel right. Her heightened hearing picked up cracking and rumbling, and trying to find the source of the noise… led to her _watching a mountain explode_ and _a giant dragon fly out of it._

"And our situation just went from 'fucked' to 'really, really fucked'," Kassidy commented.

Weiss shook her head, eyes focusing on the dragon flying towards them. "With Atlas' ships out of the picture, that thing has free reign to do whatever it wants. We'll need heavy artillery to shoot it out of the sky."

"Get it done," Kassidy urged. "I'll focus on Cinder. You focus on making sure that thing dies."

Weiss looked over at her, and surprisingly hugged her again. "Stay safe," she whispered.

"You too," Kassidy answered.

Kassidy got the opportunity to watch Weiss run towards the nearest contingent of Vale and Atlas forces trying to establish a barricade, before setting her sights on the grim task ahead of her. She watched an Alpha Beowolf jump onto what used to be the cafeteria above her, roaring its challenge for all that would hear. Her rifle had been lost long ago, back on Amity, but _Rogue_ still had plenty of armor-piercing ammunition loaded. Three shots sent it tumbling down from the wall, but Kassidy didn't pay attention to it. Sighing, she loaded a fresh magazine into her pistol, reached up and flexed her fingers around _Baton_ 's hilt poking over her left shoulder, and took off running for the CCT, past the cafeteria.

"Alright, we're all clear here! Everyone get out!"

The call got Kassidy to come skidding to a stop. She knew that voice. Poking her head back through one of the cafeteria's ruined windows, Kassidy did indeed see one Blake Belladonna leading a squad of White Fang through the demolished building. This was perfect! If anyone would know anything about where Cinder was and what she was after, it would be Blake! Kassidy's hand twitched for her pistol but paused before reluctantly leaving it holstered. As satisfying and necessary as it would be to have one fewer filthy terrorist running about, she actually needed Blake alive in order to answer her questions. Fortunately, the White Fang were running towards her, none of them having seen her. Kassidy let the first five go, having no interest in grunts, only to lash her foot out and catch Blake in the ribs and send her crashing into a ruined pillar. The soldiers that had started turning around never got the chance to see what had happened – five shots sent them falling limply to the ground. "Blake, Blake, Blake…" Kassidy sighed. "How kind of you to run into me like that. I've got some questions for you."

Blake, having recovered her senses, backflipped towards the center of the room, drawing both her sword and her cleaver-sheathe. "My men!" she shouted. "Why did you kill them like that?! I was just trying to get them out of here!"

"They made their choice the moment they decided to become terrorists," Kassidy spat. Levelling her sword on Blake, she pressed, "Cinder Fall. What is her plan? What is she after?"

"I don't know!" Blake cried out. She tried to back away but stumbled slightly. The reason why became clear as the light shifted, showing a splotch of red seeping down her leg.

Kassidy sighed. "The hard way it is. That's fine. I've got ways of making you talk. But you could've saved yourself a lot of pain, you know."

She could practically see Blake's eyes widen the moment she dashed in, _Baton_ flashing out of its sheath in what Professor Goodwitch had called an iaido draw, whatever the hell that was. Still, Kassidy had drilled through it enough times that it was a finely-practiced maneuver that saw the sword screaming for Blake's chest, the opposing cat Faunus' own sword the only thing stopping _Baton_ from burying itself in her lower abdomen. Blake tried to retaliate with her cleaver, but Kassidy spun under and around it, snapping a leg out in the process in the hopes of catching Blake's knee. The girl disappeared in a puff of smoke when her boot connected, however, reappearing a few feet away trying to buy some distance. "Wait!" Blake cried out. "You don't know what's going on! You need to stop this!"

"You're right; I do need to stop this," Kassidy ground out. She kicked on the floor, using a quick Aura glide to close the gap between her and Blake, and this time she was ready for the next shadow clone. Rather than bother with the Blake she could see, Kassidy relied on the recurring pattern and flashed her sword to her right, just in time to catch Blake across the face and send a massive shock of black Aura shimmering around the near-injury. Blake stumbled from the impact, her injured leg finally giving way as she stumbled and crumpled in a pile right at Kassidy's feet. _Baton_ was shoved into Blake's face while Kassidy gave a scolding 'tsk'. "You keep dodging to the left when you use your Semblance. After seeing it so many times, even a Grimm could figure it out. Now, where. Is. Cinder?"

Blake kept looking at the tip of the sword nearly poking her eye out. Kassidy grunted, and used _Baton_ to knock the mask off her face. Just as she did so, however, Blake screamed out, "Adam!"

Kassidy didn't need to see that Blake was actually looking at a point behind and to the right of Kassidy to know something was up. She planted her boot in Blake's stomach and _kicked_ , using the force to send herself soaring back and rolling away from where she was. When Kassidy got her feet back under her, it was just in time to see a man in a black suit with a red rose on the back sheathe his red-bladed sword. Almost casually, he turned to look at Kassidy. Stared, really. Before Kassidy could come up with something to say, however, he said, "You're strong; I can see it. Who are you?"

"Artemis," Kassidy lied. Watching Blake scramble to her feet and practically mold herself into the man's back, she replied, "I take it you're Blake's boy-toy?"

Both the White Fang members before her bristled at that, but the man kept a calm, cool edge to his demeanor. "I am Adam Taurus, leader of the Vale branch of the White Fang." He opened his mouth to say more, but paused to take a closer look. "Wait, I know you," he said. "You're Kassidy Smith. The Immortal. You've killed a lot of my men."

Kassidy shrugged. "They're terrorists. I kill terrorists. End of story."

"They were fathers; husbands; brothers and sons. They had families. Are you truly so blasé about stealing the lives of their loved ones?"

"The people you and your kind have killed had families too," Kassidy said. "I don't feel bad about murdering murderers."

Adam scowled, tilted his head up slightly, and scowled harder. "You're a Faunus, too? A disgrace to your own kind." He lowered his center of gravity, resting his hand on his sword. Kassidy dropped into a ready stance to match him. "For the fallen that you've so thoughtlessly butchered, and for the freedom of all Faunus, everywhere, I will make you pay for what you've done."

Kassidy rolled her eyes. Just another grandstanding terrorist posturing like some kind of mentally-impaired peacock. Did he really think that she hadn't seen that be-

Adam didn't let her finish her thought, crossing the twenty or so feet between them in a near-meaningless fraction of a second.

* * *

"Everything is prepared for," Cinder said. "It is time for me to claim what is rightfully mine."

Munsell stood behind her, unmoving and unspeaking. His eyes surveyed the scene before him. Six months ago, he would have called it beautiful – a true masterpiece of destruction and ruin.

Now, it was just a massive waste.

"See to it that your assignments are carried out properly while I'm gone," his boss reminded them. Beside him, Emerald was only too quick to agree, tripping over herself to do anything that Cinder asked of her. Munsell, however, did not share her enthusiasm.

This was the perfect opportunity. Cinder wasn't expecting it. One shot would be all it would take. It would be perfect. One perfectly crafted bullet, guided by perfect aim and perfect precision, meeting the perfect spot where Cinder's skull met her neck, carving a perfect path through her brain and exiting perfectly through the point perfectly between her eyes. His hand twitched…

Emerald's hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to look over. A silent conversation they've had countless times before. _You can't do it_ , Emerald was all but screaming without sound. _It's not the right time._

 _If not now, then when?_ was Munsell's unspoken reply.

"Tell me, Munsell," Cinder cooed, drawing them from their mute argument. "how satisfactory were the modifications to your rifle?"

In response, Munsell unslung his weapon from his shoulder. _Scarlet Watcher_. A sniper rifle, already the perfect rifle. Updated, modified, fine-tuned to make it more perfect. He pulled it to his shoulder, and aimed. The scope was perfect; it was odd, not having to account for warps and distortions in the glass. In his sights were four teens, children that played at being heroes, at having power… only to have nights like tonight remind them of what true power was. They were messy. Sloppy. Imperfect. What were they again? Team ABRN?

It didn't matter. He would make them perfect.

The girl with the hoverboard was his first victim; she could be annoying if left for later. But no, it was a perfect shot that all but took her head off her shoulders and sent her dumping from her board, falling onto her dark-skinned team leader. Next, the man with the staff had his heart removed with perfect, surgical precision. The man with the cattle prod died a similarly perfect death. And for the team leader, who had only just now realized that it was her dead teammate that had fallen on top of her and knocked her over, just in time to watch her other two teammates fall dead? The horror, the shame, the failure of being powerless to help those who relied on her… it was perfect. And did such a perfect moment not deserve a perfect death? Munsell was only too keen to oblige.

Four shots – and seven seconds – later, he lowered his rifle. "It is perfect," he answered.

"Excellent," Cinder drawled. "You know your task."

Indeed, he did. "Is there anyone in particular you would like terminated?"

At that, Cinder merely chuckled. "Now what kind of question is that?

"Kill them all."

* * *

 **AN 2: Well, now that we're through the absolute clusterf*ck that is me not putting anything out… hoo, boy, where to begin, where to begin?**

 **First off, it appears another year has passed since RWKY has first been published. So happy two-year anniversary, everybody! Yeah, I didn't get crap done this year, did I?**

 **So, where have I been? Let's see… marriage in the family, followed by continuing education, increasing workload at the job, pulling a muscle in my chest, further increasing workload at the job, and most recently further increasing workload at the education front.**

 **Fortunately, we're in the endgame with RWKY. Only three more chapters left in Volume Three, followed by a two-part Epilogue. With any luck (ha-freaking-ha) these should come out in… something other than three-months-between-chapters.**

 **Unfortunately, this is where I must depart from the Author's Note. Time leaves no rest for the wicked, I'm afraid, so time for an updated Kill List, Reviewer Responses, and then I need to go get my beauty sleep. Hey, don't judge, I need all the help I can get in that department.**

 **Coming up next: Well, I dare say it's high time someone unlocked their Semblance, don't you think?**

 **Kill List: Penny Polendina (?), Mercury Black, Team ABRN.**

 **Now, for Reviewer Responses!**

 **DIYEyal: She would have, had Emerald not** _ **very**_ **promptly GTFO of there. And yes, the gloves are off. There will be blood. Oh yes, there will be blood.**

 **AgentDraakis: Yeah, turns out Kassidy doesn't really give a shit about these whole things called 'consequences' as long as her actions do what she thinks is the right thing. Man, it's a good thing this completely can't backfire at all, right? Right? Also, please refrain from any further comparisons of Kassidy to whom I affectionately call Emo Whiny Bitch Darth Vader.**

 **Clementine Davidson: So… I should be investing in pillow stock?**

 **MorgothII: Three words: Holy fucking shit.**

 **Slenderbrine: Secrets? Who needs secrets? It's not like people keep secrets for a reason or anything, right?**

 **Ultimatrix bearer: Yes, and hell yes. I hope you've been keeping awesome yourself these past three months.**

 **Tr: Yup, Bob has pulled a HAL on Kassidy before. But, as a joke. Needless to say, that isn't going to be happening here… or is it?**

 **EWR115: I will agree with that first part, but for that second part? Probably only if someone decided to fight while constipated. Then it'll just be blood, bone, tissue, etc… aren't you glad you read the reviewer responses?**

 **Shake N. Bake Mormon: The first book of RWKY is almost over, yes. However (depending if my all-consuming procrastination lets me) there are a minimum of two more books after this, including our V4-5 content.**

 **Guest: Well, it's been a while, but here's your latest fix!**

 **CrimsonHeresy: Glad you think so! Sorry it took so long to get out, but I hope you keep enjoying it!**

 **Tykene: PM'd you about this one, but to summarize/continue: had to recover, then job happened, then education happened, then procrastination happened.**


	100. V3C11: Innocence Lost

**Volume Three Chapter Eleven: Innocence Lost**

 **AN: I think we've officially reached the point where I shouldn't even bother trying with excuses as to why this took so long. Work's been a pain, school's been a pain, but that doesn't quite excuse a six-month delay. Let's see how this goes.**

* * *

A quick twirl brought _Crescent Rose_ to its fully engaged form, which she quickly used to slash the door open and admit her entrance into the Atlesian ship. Ruby knew something was wrong, had known it since it had fired on its fellows and left the skies clear for the Grimm to attack in full force. Did the White Fang attack Atlas' ships, too? Did it have anything to do with Bob getting real quiet all of a sudden? How many people died because of –

 _No, stop_ , Ruby berated herself. Now wasn't the time to worry about that. Mourning could come later. Now was the time to make sure that they didn't take anyone else. She stopped, took a deep breath, flipped open her Scroll and turned on the flashlight, and stalked deeper into the heart of the ship.

The Atlesian cruiser looked like the prime location for one of those horror games Yang had tricked her into playing a few years ago: the lights were dim and flickering where they worked at all, the whole ship was silent as a tomb apart from the sounds of operation, and there wasn't a soul to be found. It honestly looked like the entire crew just decided to smash all the lights and jump out the airlock. There weren't even any bodies to be found. Where was everyone?

Following the marked signage for several minutes – several agonizingly long, painfully silent and paranoid minutes – led Ruby to the bridge of the ship, where the story was much the same as it was throughout the rest of the craft. The terminals, at least, blinked their updates, their warnings and their calculations and their figures. She swept the room through _Crescent_ ' _s_ scope, and only after making sure she was alone did Ruby march up to the center console. _Navigation… set on autopilot. Weapons systems offline, Atlesian Knight contingent looks like it just got dumped out the back. Wait, "Queen's Gambit" executable? What's that?_

Ruby never got the chance to find out. Glass shattered behind her, making her snap up and whirl around as fast as she could – just in time to get smacked in the face with a pink umbrella. Caught off guard as she was, she couldn't defend in time from the stiletto boots that slammed into her stomach and punted her out the massive windows. The onslaught of wind nearly blew her off the ship entirely, and it took unfurling her weapon and digging it into the hull to arrest her premature flight.

Almost daintily, her assailant stepped onto the outer hull of the ship after her, and after having seen her twice Ruby would have been hard pressed not to recognize Neo – if nothing else, it was completely impossible to forget Neo's choice in wardrobe. Infuriatingly, Neo perked up and waved at Ruby, as if they weren't on the outside of the last ship that can possibly hold the line against the airborne Grimm.

"What are you doing?!" Ruby yelled, hoping her words could carry against the wind. "Without these ships, the Grimm are going to destroy everything!"

Neo simply blinked, before beaming a huge smile at her and nodding.

She ripped _Crescent Rose_ out of the armor it was embedded in, having finally balanced herself, and aimed its barrel at the girl across from her. "But why?! What do you get out of it?"

At that, Neo actually paused. After a few awkward glances to the side, the tiny girl just shrugged. Ruby's eyes widened. She… she didn't even know? Or worse, she was doing this _because it was fun?!_ How could she even justify that?

Before anything else could be said, though, Neo shattered into glass panes, and at the same time a heel dug itself into the back of Ruby's knee and forced her on all fours. She grunted but rolled with the blow, dodging out of the way of the follow-up strike and coming back up a few feet away. Ruby briefly considered ignoring Neo and dashing straight for the bridge again, but threw the idea out as soon as she realized that she didn't have a hope of figuring out how to undo what Neo did before the girl caught up with her. No, the only way to fixing the situation was by going through Neo.

Neo tried to go on the offensive again but had to back up when _Crescent_ came around and spun in a defensive circle; bulletproof or not, a parasol had no chance of standing up to her scythe, and both girls knew it. Ruby pushed her advantage by sending the next swing towards her opponent's midsection, but Neo just bent double in a casual display of remarkable flexibility before coming back up and jabbing her parasol at Ruby. For her part, Ruby yelped and had to jump away in a panic as a blade shot out of the end of the umbrella and nearly took her eye out.

Her next attempt at a defensive twirl of her scythe failed, as Neo once again showed utterly inhuman flexibility and dodged out of the way before shattering into mirrors again, this time making Ruby shout as she got stabbed in the back, her Aura the only thing keeping the blade from piercing through her heart. Ruby growled, pulled _Crescent's_ trigger, and used the recoil to snap her weapon back to where Neo was. Was, until she shattered into mirrors yet a third time, only now trapping Ruby's arm in an elbow lock and letting her scythe's own momentum rip the weapon out of her hands and nearly off the side of the ship.

She eventually managed to break free, and stumbled back to her feet just in time to see Neo teleport to in between Ruby and her weapon. Neo knew the situation, too, for she just leaned her parasol across her shoulders and beamed a huge, far-too-friendly smile at Ruby. One-off incidents aside, Ruby was legendary for being unable to fight without her baby. Something that Neo thought she knew.

" _Remember, Ruby."_ Almost as if bidden, Weiss' words came rushing back. _"The greatest weapon in any fight isn't made of steel._ Your _greatest weapon isn't_ Crescent Rose _– it's your mind. And information is the ammunition a mind uses. Good information is absolutely invaluable… and misinformation can cripple even the strongest enemies. If you can control what your enemies know, then you can control your enemies entirely."_

Neo stalked forward, popping the blade out of her parasol as a matter of course. Ruby was beaten, after all… why wouldn't she be? She'd been separated from her scythe, and _everyone_ knew that Ruby was useless at hand to hand combat. Ruby closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reminisced that she'd be stealing yet another play out of Kassidy's playbook: _when in doubt, cheat relentlessly_.

The sonic boom that nearly swept the both of them off the ship as Ruby pushed her Semblance to its limit was still secondary to the nearly solid wall of rose petals that trailed after her. Everything, from securing the skies to getting the robots under control, depended entirely on Ruby's ability to beat Neo, and so she held nothing back. She completed a score of laps around the girl in a mere second, trapping her in a veritable tornado of rose petals and pressure waves that overwhelmed the smaller girl. The bladed parasol stabbed into the maelstrom repeatedly, blindingly trying to find her. _Well_ , Ruby thought, all thoughts of morality put aside for the moment, _if she's looking for me, I'd better oblige her_.

Ruby made it pretty easy to find her. It would be hard not to, what with Ruby stabbing her knife into Neo's hand at supersonic speeds, penetrating with such force that it ignored the short girl's pink Aura. She could see Neo's mouth open even wider than her eyes, emitting a scream that sounded only of a hideously pained rasping. Finally, her Aura was down – even if momentarirly – and Neo was too distracted to do anything. Now was her chance!

She didn't… Ruby didn't even know what she did until she blinked. _Crescent Rose_ was in her hands again, but it usually wasn't so heavy. Or so red…

Perched on the end of the weapon was Neo, the gigantic blade erupting from her chest and nearly cleaving her in half vertically. Ruby's legs and stomach both failed her almost instantly, dropping her weapon in front of her and dropping her dinner over the side, over the red that her hands were absolutely dripping with. It took a few minutes, but she finally worked up the nerve to pick up her weapon again, the lifeless corpse sliding off it. Ruby nearly threw up again, and only managed to avoid doing so through sheer force of will. The only solace she had was that Neo's wounds were so extensive that she had to have died almost instantly, before she could have felt any pain.

Ruby trudged back into the bridge slowly, fighting her legs and her stomach the whole way. She had to figure out a way to stop this attack… but was she even better than them, anymore? Did she even have a moral high ground? Some way of knowing that she was right?

Probably not. _Murderers_ don't _have_ a moral high ground.

 _I hope I haven't made a horrible mistake._

* * *

 _I've made a horrible mistake_.

With nearly every other opponent she's faced over the course of her entire life, Kassidy has never felt completely outclassed. Whether bands of roving government agents, heavily armed militias, Grimm, her fellow students, White Fang… Kassidy knew, outside of one or two spectacular exceptions, that she could beat them eventually, somehow. If she wasn't stronger than them, she could be faster than them. If not, she could be smarter, trickier and more devious than them. If all else failed, there had been more than one fight that she'd won by sheer endurance, outlasting anyone she met. Even in the few situations where she couldn't, like with Raven, she could still run. Never once has Kassidy felt so hideously outclassed that the situation seemed hopeless.

Until now.

She had assumed that Adam Taurus was just another grandstanding terrorist piece of shit whose ego was orders of magnitude greater than their skill or threat. He'd just waltzed into the room, stared her down, and loudly and proudly declared how he'd get revenge on her for all his prized, cherished, and beloved comrades like so many before him had. This should've been just another fight.

But it wasn't.

Kassidy wasn't fighting Adam. Like she told Roman Torchwick back on the train those months ago, a fight implied that both sides had an equal chance of winning. But as time went on, Kassidy found herself being forced to accept a simple truth.

She couldn't beat Adam. She couldn't even try to beat him. He was stronger than her. He was faster than her. He was more experienced than her. And – thanks to the universal bullshit that was Aura – all her tricks were completely useless.

This thought only went through her brains erratically, though, in between the frantic dodging, parrying and out-and-out fleeing for her life that consisted the time she and Adam have been locking blades. Acting on pure instinct, she Aura glided to the left, underneath Adam's arm as he swung just a hair too high, only to nearly trip over the detritus on the ground trying to backpedal from a red blur that she assumed was Adam's sword swinging at her at a pace so fast it probably would've made Ruby dizzy. _Baton_ nearly got knocked out of her hands as she made the mistake of trying to block instead of parry, but it did buy a fraction of a second for _Rogue_ to come back into the fight. Unfortunately, its appearance this time had about the same results its previous appearances did, as Adam ducked underneath the first two shots and nearly took one of Kassidy's limbs off in retaliation.

This was a disaster, in every sense of the word. Kassidy was getting her ass handed to her on a silver platter. Forget confronting Cinder, Adam was going to take her out of that fight before it even began. Assuming, of course, that she even made it out of this room alive. And she only had one plan left to make that happen. One plan, one shot, one chance…

The next time Adam rushed her, Kassidy completely abandoned her defense, instead pumping her Aura into her legs and hoping it cooperated with her when she needed it to most. She dove head-first past Adam, deep into the middle of the cafeteria, in the midst of all sorts of debris. Adam stopped on a dime and turned towards her again, but she still had enough time to pull _Rogue_ back out and change its magazine. She didn't use her ice ammo much, but the previous times she used it, it wound up saving her life – hopefully, this one would live up to its predecessors' examples.

The moment Adam launched his attack, Kassidy emptied the entire magazine. Not at Adam, of course; whether dodging, blocking, or flat-out ignoring the bullets, Adam's shown to not really care what her gun can do. So instead, Kassidy pelted the floor between them. Ice spikes several feet tall grew like mushrooms, as the already treacherous floor suddenly grew a thick layer of ice that made secure footing all but impossible. Just as she hoped, Adam aborted his attack in the face of such an obstacle, and indeed seemed more interested in fighting his balance rather than her. Which left him wide open for her to compound the situation by getting an Aura Pulse ready, once again pulling on Ren's trick to save her hide.

Before she could do anything, however, a black katana on a black ribbon flew right in front of her face, before being yanked back in the direction it came from. In the moment it took Kassidy to realize that Blake had emerged from her hiding place, the girl's ribbon had wound itself around her throat, and Kassidy's plan fell apart as she got strangled and pulled to the floor. By sheer back luck, she cracked the back of her head against one of her own ice spikes on the way down, ruining any semblance of her plan she had left and leaving Kassidy unable to see past the stars in her vision, or hear past the ringing in her ears. She blinked furiously, and managed to focus on _Baton_ , her sword having fallen scant inches from her face. She was already in about the worst spot she could find herself in. She needed to focus, she needed to get her weapon back, she needed to…

Without warning, a shoe slammed onto her wrist. Kassidy cried out in pain as its owner ground down, trying to turn the bones in her hand into dust. "You have killed so many of my men," Adam said, voice lowered and… almost sad. "So many people who didn't have to die, people ended by your hand." Thankfully, Blake had collected her ribbon back from Kassidy's throat, but that was about the only improvement her situation had. "We were so close to forcing the Kingdoms to see, forcing the Kingdoms to treat us like equals. And you had to try and ruin it. And for what? Do they not treat you the same way they treat us? Do you not suffer the same prejudices and indignities that we do? Are you truly so addicted to your own slavery that you would fight and die for those who suppose themselves your masters?"

"It isn't like that at all," Kassidy ground out, heaving breaths where she could. "Throwing a Kingdom-sized temper tantrum isn't the way to get respect. Why should _anyone_ respect you for doing this?"

Adam pushed down harder, making tears prick at the corners of Kassidy's eyes as she grit her teeth. "I don't need to explain myself to a traitor like you. All I need… is for you to suffer like we have suffered. I want you to lose exactly what we have lost." Unsheathing his sword, Adam declared, "I want you to know that you've failed. That I will destroy _everything_ you love."

Before Adam could do anything, almost as if following some demonic script or cue, Kassidy caught a flash of gold out of the corner of her eye. Yang rounded the corner, blasted a White Fang grunt in the face, and cried out at the top of her lungs, "Kass! K, where are you?!"

"The girlfriend," Blake softly commented to the side. At that, Adam's grin grew just this side of feral, and Kassidy's eyes widened.

"No…" she begged. "Please, don't."

Her pleas fell on deaf ears. What didn't fall on deaf ears, however, was the result of Adam stabbing his sword into her hip, just below her armor. Kassidy _screamed_ from the agony, feeling her Aura dip down to the very bottom, knowing that one more hit would shatter it entirely and leave her defenseless.

"K!" Yang yelled, whirling towards their direction. When she saw the scene arrayed before her… Kassidy could see the exact moment all reason fled her girlfriend, when anger and rage and fear and desperation took over.

Desperately, hoping against hope that Yang would listen, Kassidy cried out with her suddenly weak voice, "Yang! Run!"

Her hope was short lived. With a shallow breath, Yang bellowed out, " **Get away from her, you monster!** " and blasted herself at Adam as fast as she could.

Even as fast as she was going, though, it all happened painfully slowly for Kassidy. Excruciatingly slowly. Adam was ready for Yang. He was ready for Yang. The pose, the guard, the readiness. Adam was ready for her. He was going to hurt her. Adam was going to hurt her. Adam was going to hurt Yang. No… he was going to kill her. Adam was going to kill Yang.

Adam was going to kill Yang… and she couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. Kassidy was… Kassidy was weak. So weak. Too weak. Blake had taken over guarding her, for all that Kassidy could barely move through the waves of agony rolling over her. Yang nearly crossed the room, her fist cocked back for a punch that would never land. Adam's sword clicked in its sheath, and Kassidy could barely see it begin to slide out.

How many times… how many times had Kassidy been forced to take the blame for someone else's problem, someone else's fault? How many times had Kassidy been used as a Scapegoat? And now, the one time she _wanted_ to take the pain, to take the hit for someone else, she couldn't do it. She was too weak to do anything. Anything but beg whatever could hear her thoughts. _Please, don't do this. Don't take Yang. Take me instead. Please, I'm begging you. Don't take Yang. I'm begging you!_

 _Please… take me instead._

* * *

It was roughly half a second after she launched herself that Yang knew: she fucked up.

That… bastard that had dared to hurt her K. He did that on purpose. He was expecting her to retaliate. And he was going to make her pay for it.

Well, shit. Hindsight always was twenty-twenty, and as the seconds seem to drag on Yang couldn't help but think on just how many times K had warned her to not let her emotions control her. And what does she do, the very instant something serious happens, at the one time she _shouldn't_ have let her emotions control her? Well… it doesn't matter, now. Now, she'd just need to weather the counterattack, and plan her next moves. Which would probably need to involve grabbing K and running, because it would take a miracle for this bastard's next hit to not completely trash her.

And then, a miracle happened.

One moment, she was flying through the air, watching the sword start to slide out and hit her with something that would hurt a _lot_ , and the next… was hard to describe. If she had to, it would be like something was trying to force her through a drinking straw, an immense pressure squeezing her on all sides, so much pressure that she had to close her eyes against it. As unpleasant as it was though, it ended quickly, and the moment it faded Yang opened her eyes back up. Except, when she did, nothing made sense. She was sitting? That bastard that had hurt K wasn't in right front of her anymore? He was standing a good ten feet away? Apparently, yes, and staring at a puff of bluish-black smoke, out of which… flew Kassidy.

 _Wait, K? K!_

Yang was so surprised, not to mention the period of time so brief, that she couldn't do anything but stare. Stare as, complete in slow motion, Kassidy soared right past the bastard, his sword slicing clean through her arm and severing it completely. The bastard was so surprised he completely froze after following through his attack. Kassidy was so surprised that she didn't even cry out in pain after the attack, merely grunting as she hit the ground and rolled up to Yang's feet. Yang was so surprised that she didn't even react until something hit her arm, and it took her a good second to realize that _she was holding her girlfriend's right arm in her hand!_

It was eventually that Blake girl that finally broke the silence. "Did… did they just _switch places?!_ "

Only when those words were uttered did everyone finally begin moving again. Kassidy curled into a ball, instinctively clutching at her profusely bleeding stump that was all that was left of her right arm. Yang scrambled to her hands and knees, trying desperately, so desperately to get to her girlfriend, to make sure she was safe, to get her out of there, to do anything! Before she could close the gap, though, something wound itself around her neck and hauled her to her feet. Yang choked and coughed at being strangled, fighting the whole way up but couldn't get any leverage against the black ribbon.

"They did," the bastard said. "That's a dangerous power. One we can't let her live with." Casting a dismissive glance her way, the bastard looked over Yang's shoulder and said, "Keep the other blonde there for a moment. This won't take long."

The words got Yang to fight against her bond with renewed vigor, but all she managed to do was nearly choke herself out on the ribbon. Meanwhile, Adam stalked next to Kassidy, next to her girlfriend, and knelt next to her. "An impressive effort, to be sure. But like all your other efforts, all your other labors, you have failed. Know that you have failed for the last time, that you have only delayed the inevitable." He tilted his head up, and smirked a sickening smirk at her. "Look to your lover," he commanded Kassidy. "Know that you have failed her for the last time, and that she will die moments after you do."

To her horror, Kassidy did look up at her. Yang tried to apologize, tried to tell K how much she loved her, but with Blake pulling at her windpipe Yang was struggling even to stay conscious at this point.

She'd failed. They… they'd failed. And now they were going to die.

Which made it all the more confusing when Kassidy smiled at her, and winked, right before the bastard's red sword plunged into her back and made her amber eyes go wide.

Wait, _amber_ eyes?

The bluish-black smoke rose quickly and faded even more quickly, and Yang found herself staring at the horrifically contorted expression of Blake's face. Almost as if to confirm what she was seeing, the ribbon went slack around her neck and a body fell against her shoulder.

It was hard to tell who screamed louder: Blake, or the bastard that K had managed to trick into stabbing his own partner. Yang couldn't decide which was worse, either. One was filled with shock, terror, betrayal, and pain; the death rasps of someone that had been both literally and figuratively stabbed in the back. The other was filled with surprise, loss, grief, and rage. And amidst all that, she only heard one word, whispered so weakly against her ear: "Run."

" _Blake!_ " the bastard bellowed, his emotions bleeding into his Aura and making the very ground tremble around them. One part of Yang felt sick at watching a man being tricked into murdering his own girlfriend.

The other part, the part she was ashamed about, relished in the just desserts. Served him right for trying to murder her K.

But that didn't matter. Not right now. Yang spun around, scooped up an already-unconscious Kassidy into her arms, snagged her sword while it was there, and sprinted out of what used to be the cafeteria. Anything to get them away from that… that monster.

* * *

 **AN 2: Yeah, this is long enough I'm not even going to try with this second note. Again, my deepest apologies for how long this took.**

 **Coming up next: The second-to-last (normal) chapter of Team Rookie, and the conclusion of the Battle of Beacon.**

 **Kill List: Penny Polendina (?), Mercury Black, Team ABRN, Neo Politan, Blake Belladonna1**


End file.
